# Groomer really cleaned ears and...



## Alcibides

Lucky keeps shaking his head. Groomer said that was because he has air flowing through his ears that he didn't before (she really cleaned them out and they were very dirty and plucked his hairs), but I'm worrying that the ear cleaning maybe was something for the vet to do AND wondering/worrying when he will stop shaking his head (as if he were trying to shake something out). ANyone have any experience with this? Thanks.


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## tokipoke

The vet would have done the same thing the groomer did. After a thorough ear cleaning involving plucking the hair and ear cleaning solution - dogs normally shake their heads to shake the cleaning solution out, but at the same time, the skin is inflamed from plucking the hair. In addition to the air flow, it probably feels itchy. Some dogs get very obsessed with shaking their heads that they will shake until a hematoma forms on the end of the ear (localization of blood outside of the blood vessel). Keep an eye on his ears so that this does not happen, also look in his ears to see if the skin looks irritated. Some dogs have sensitive ears. Some dogs will also scratch at the inside of the ears, irritating it even more and scratching the delicate skin till it bleeds. For dogs with sensitivities like this, it's better to not pluck the ear hairs clean, but pluck the hairs that come out easily and carefully trim around the opening with blunt tip scissors.

Keep an eye on him. If he JUST got groomed, this should last a day. If it lasts for more than that or it's obsessive, there is something bothering him inside his ear.


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## Dory

I haven't had Quincy's ears plucked, but I was wondering if it's absolutely necessary? I'm not comfortable doing it myself and I'm trying to do as much grooming myself as I can. If I keep his ears clean and dry do you think it will be okay not to do it? He's only 15 weeks old, so I'm sure there will be more hair growing in there, but just wondering what the best way to deal with this is?


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## jabojenny

Timmy had his ears plucked the first time he was groomed. I asked the groomer if it was necessary and she said that if mats form in his ears and hold moisture bad combination. She said the decision to pluck was up to me. Timmy was about six months old when I decided to get them plucked, he had a ton of hair. I do admit that his ears were really sore for the next day or so, he would duck his head when someone would try to pet him.  I called the groomer back and asked what I should do and she said to keep his ears as dry as possible for the next couple days and keep an eye out for redness. She warned me his ears might bother him but if things didn't clear up in the next day or so call her back. He was fine just like she said and since then no discomfort with plucking maintenance. He had so much hair the first time around, I never realized until I saw them afterwards. If Quincey is shaking his head really hard it must not hurt too much, I know when Timmy's ears were bothering him he would try to shake them but did it very gently.


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## lise

I have cleaned Teds ears every few days with a cotton swab but I have not plucked either. I pull on the hairs but none come out easily yet. He is not scratching or shaking his ears at all. I asked my groomer about it and she said, when she cleaned the ears, she just pulled out anything that came out easily but that it was up to me if I wanted to pluck or not.


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## tokipoke

If there is a lot of hair in there or the ears have never been plucked, the dog will react dramatically to an ear plucking. It's a new sensation for them.

You can choose to pluck the ears squeaky clean, or pluck the hairs that easily come out with ear powder. My poodle's ears are large and I like to pluck as much hair as possible. Louis's ears are small and even if I wanted to, I can't go digging in his ear to pluck every last hair because my fingers won't fit. I only like to use my fingers for plucking. Many groomers like to use hemostats (tweezers). With the use of hemostats, you can go deeper and pluck even more hair. I believe it's not necessary. Also, many times groomers will take the hemostats, clamp on to a large group of hair, twirl, and rip everything out at once. Imagine the feeling inside the dog's ear! Itchy, throbbing with slight pain, almost a shock of feeling in there. 

Just use your fingers with ear powder with Quincy's ears. Even if you decide you don't want to pluck them yourself, it's good to keep an eye on it. Train him to accept a person looking in the ears. You don't want the only association with ears to be pain. If water somehow got into his ears, just squirt some ear cleaning solution in his ears and let him shake it out. Keep the ears dry as possible.

I've seen worst case scenarios of ears left unplucked. The hair got so overgrown, and moisture got trapped in the ears, that an infection brewed. The infection got worse and kept producing more wax, coupled with the trapped moisture and the fact the ear canal couldn't breathe - the ears got even more inflamed. I've seen very bad yeast and bacterial infections. So bad that one smell could knock you off your feet. The ear hairs inside can also get severely matted. I groomed a dog where the outside of the ear opening was a crusted mass of hair and ear wax. I had to use scissors to chip away at the mass. It was very nasty with a lot of wax. Once I was able to break away the hard bits, I pulled out big, hard mats from in the ear - they looked like dreadlocks! I think it was the first time the dog could even hear correctly. Of course after this kind of intense cleaning, the dog was scratching and shaking his head. After a thorough cleaning like that, you have to keep a closer eye on the ears so that it does not get irritated and re-infected.


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## tokipoke

lise said:


> I have cleaned Teds ears every few days with a cotton swab but I have not plucked either. I pull on the hairs but none come out easily yet. He is not scratching or shaking his ears at all. I asked my groomer about it and she said, when she cleaned the ears, she just pulled out anything that came out easily but that it was up to me if I wanted to pluck or not.


The ear hair just appears that you can't pluck it if you are not using ear powder. Without it, it's too greasy to get a good hold on the hair. You will be amazed at how much a difference a little ear powder makes. It's also amazing how much hair does come out without hurting the dog.


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## Dory

He's not shaking his head or anything and his ears don't smell bad. I'll have to pick up some ear powder and maybe just get out the ones that come easily. I don't want him to get an infection so maybe I should pluck some. I do see hair in there and he doesn't have a problem with me looking/putting my fingers in his ears, so I'm assuming all is well in there right now.
I can't imagine having a big clump pulled out with hemostats all at once, ouch!


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## Sparkle

So I'm thinking us newer owners should get the hair removed from the ears soon before too much accumulates. Kallie has a vet visit this evening, so I'll make sure & ask. Will let you know what vet advises.


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## Dory

Sparkle said:


> So I'm thinking us newer owners should get the hair removed from the ears soon before too much accumulates. Kallie has a vet visit this evening, so I'll make sure & ask. Will let you know what vet advises.


Quincy has an appt for his last set of shots on Monday, so I'll be asking as well. The girls in the vet's office aren't all that great at nail trimming, so I'm not sure how good they would be at ear hair removal


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## krandall

I think it is really dependent on the dog. Some people have had their dogs get more ear infections without plucking, others have had ear infections WITH plucking. Some grow SO much ear hair that there really is no choice... the hair, literally, fills the ear canal, and can never dry out. Others, like Kodi, get some, but it's never that much. 

I did pluck his ears a couple of times when he was little, but then, after reading more, decided to leave them alone and see how things went. He hasn't had his ears plucked in at least 2 1/2 years now, and he has had no problems at all.

This is something like anal glands, IMO. Once you start, you kind of have to keep it up, and the dog may never have needed it to start with. If the dog NEEDS it, you will know soon enough, and then you'll have to do it regularly anyway.


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## miller123

I pluck Millers ears because when he was around four months old, he got an ear infection and i had to give him ear drops for a week and he hated it, so i pluck his ears clean about once a month or as needed.


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## littlebuddy

DJango use to have the hair plucked out of his ears until he had a bad experience at the vet. He wouldn't let me (or the groomer) go anywhere near his ears for one year. I had to on a daily basis rub his ears to get him use to fingers in there again. 

Because of that, when he had his teeth cleaned 3 weeks ago, i asked the vet to please pull the hair out of his ears. I figured since he was under, this would be the best time.

The vet told me that there was so much hair that was impacted in his ears it had wrapped around his eardrum! Fortunately, they were able to remove the hair without damaging his ear drums. He said he had never seen anything like it before.
Having said that, we go to the vet every 3 weeks for his precortin injection so, every other week, whether he likes it or not, he will get his nails trimmed and now the hair pulled out of his ears. My hope is that over time he will realize this is just part of the visit and he may not like it but hopefully he won't put up a fight.


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## TilliesMom

Tillie ended up with a horrid yeast infection in her ears when she was 5 months old ... the vet was able to clean out the majority of the gunk so the medication could get down into her ear! I am certain she got the ear infection AT the groomer, over several bath/grooming trips when she was young, moisture in her ears, not cleaning them, etc.

After that ear infection, I slowly started taking over her grooming and by 8 months old I was doing everything for her.
With her ears, I also use the ear powder and only pull out what I can grab with my stubby fingers. I also trim the longer hairs in and around the ear canal to that they can get air ...  they havs sure do have lots of 'parts' to take care of! lol


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## whimsy

Whimsy doesn't seem to have much hair inside her ears..I clean them with Vet-solutions cleaner ( I get it from my vet) once in a while. Never had any problems so I leave well enough alone. No plucking.


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## Gabs

my gabby recently got an ear infection caused by plucking (irritated the ear), she hardly has any hair in her ears, so for my babes we're going to try no plucking. She too had a bad experience with the infection. Plucking seems like it's a very individual thing, needed for some and not for others


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## lise

Well now I'm absolutely mixed up!:ear:


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## Alcibides

Such great and thorough good advice. Many thanks.


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## Suzi

lise said:


> Well now I'm absolutely mixed up!:ear:


 That was cute I have never needed to pluck Maddies ears and I have only done Zoey a few times. With zoe I just decided to try it myself and found it really easy. I dont think it bothered her at all. Only once in almost two years has she even had a waxie feel in her ear. I also have always been very careful and never put water down their faces or heads . I use a wash cloth so water has never gotten in to cause problems.


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## lise

Suzi said:


> That was cute I have never needed to pluck Maddies ears and I have only done Zoey a few times. With zoe I just decided to try it myself and found it really easy. I dont think it bothered her at all. Only once in almost two years has she even had a waxie feel in her ear. I also have always been very careful and never put water down their faces or heads . I use a wash cloth so water has never gotten in to cause problems.


Wash cloth, now thats something I've never thought of using. Much better than all those little cotton balls. I'll have to buy some that are just for Ted. Maybe baby wash clothes, nice and soft.:bathbaby:


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