Springer Spaniel ear infections and water bowls

Those gorgeous Springer ears are a real problem around water bowls — they trail right in, stay damp, and that moisture is almost certainly making the ear infections worse. It's one of the most common and most overlooked issues with spaniels. Before I point you to the right bowl, can you tell me: how severe and frequent are the infections, is he on any ongoing treatment for them, and what bowl are you currently using for water — wide, standard, raised, anything like that?

That wide ceramic bowl on the floor is pretty much the worst setup for a Spaniel — his ears are swinging forward and hitting the water every single time he drinks. The left ear going in more often than the right makes complete sense, depending on which side he naturally approaches the bowl from. The fix here isn't complicated, but it does need to be specific. You want a tall, narrow bowl — narrow enough that his ears fall outside the rim rather than inside it. Some people try ear snoods at mealtimes, but honestly a properly shaped bowl solves this more reliably. Has he got any joint issues or anything that would make bending down uncomfortable, or is he otherwise fit and well?

Good — that simplifies things. Since he's comfortable bending and the sole goal is keeping ears out of the water, the product I'd go straight to is the Spaniel Ears No Wet Ears Dog Bowl by Road Refresher, or if you want something even more purpose-built, the Loving Pets Bella Spill-Proof Travel Bowl works well, but the one I'd actually recommend for your situation is the Spaniel Bowl by Henry Wag. It's tall and narrow with a specifically designed deep, slim profile — your dog's snout reaches the water but the ears stay outside the rim. It's available on Amazon UK, straightforward to clean, and it's genuinely designed for this exact breed problem rather than just being a generic slow feeder or travel bowl repurposed. Given he's getting infections every couple of months, this one change could meaningfully extend the gaps between flare-ups.

Yes, genuinely matters here. Plastic bowls can harbour bacteria in tiny scratches on the surface, which is the last thing you want when you're already managing infection risk. Stainless steel is the better choice — easy to sterilise properly, no surface degradation over time, and most of the purpose-made Spaniel bowls come in stainless. The Henry Wag one is stainless, which is another reason I'd go with it over plastic alternatives. Just run it through the dishwasher every couple of days and that's one less source of bacterial load near his ears.

The bowl is the main thing, but a couple of small habits will compound the benefit. After every walk and every drink, just give the inside of his ear flap a quick dry with a soft cloth — takes ten seconds and removes the residual moisture before it has a chance to sit. Some Spaniel owners also use ear snoods during mealtimes as an extra layer, particularly if the dog drinks fast and enthusiastically. Your vet's advice about keeping the ears dry is right, and the bowl change is honestly the most direct way to act on it. If the infections keep coming at the same frequency despite the bowl change, it's worth asking the vet about underlying allergy involvement — that's a separate conversation, but recurring ear issues in Spaniels are sometimes allergy-driven rather than purely moisture-related.