# Wait! We've Gotta Pull Hair From the Ears?



## JazzWife (Jan 8, 2022)

New Havanese mother here. Over the last few days, he's learned sit, touch, and come and I've discovered he REALLY like Stella & Chewy's Lamb Heart treats. Once in his crate for the night, he gives me no issue; he sleeps in all kind of positions, which amuses me to no end. That's just a little update and a new pix.










Here's the question: Took Tatum to the vet on the 14th and he told me that I have to pull the hair (gently, of course) out of his ears daily.

What?!!!!


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Daily seems excessive, even for a dog that needs ear hair plucked. I would think that would make the ears pretty prone to irritation. It should only be done as needed, not as a preventative thing, and some dogs never need it. If the hair growing out of his canal and in the pinna seems to be contributing to buildup of debris, pluck. If not, leave it be.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

The amount of hair in a Havanese ear will vary greatly from dog to dog. As an adult, Ricky only needs his ear hair plucked two or three times a YEAR! His groomer does it as part of his grooming regimen. I've never heard of ear hair being plucked weekly.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> Daily seems excessive, even for a dog that needs ear hair plucked. I would think that would make the ears pretty prone to irritation. It should only be done as needed, not as a preventative thing, and some dogs never need it. If the hair growing out of his canal and in the pinna seems to be contributing to buildup of debris, pluck. If not, leave it be.


Exactly what Sophie said! All of my dogs have VERY light ear hair. I allowed Kodi’s ears to be plucked a couple of times when I didn’t know any better, but he really didn’t need it even then. For every story I’ve heard of a Havanese getting an ear infection from too much hair build-up in their ears, I’ve heard another where a dog has gotten an infection from too much pulling of ear hair. So I definitely believe this is something that should be done only if there is a clear sign that the hair is actually causing a problem.

Now, there ARE some Havanese that have SUCH dense coats that they need their ears plucked intermittently or their entire ear canal would be packed with hair. But it’s hard to believe you would/COULD know that about a very young puppy.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

I did not have to pull Tucker's ear hair at all. Ever. Not in almost 14 years.


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## KristenC (Sep 20, 2021)

JazzWife said:


> New Havanese mother here. Over the last few days, he's learned sit, touch, and come and I've discovered he REALLY like Stella & Chewy's Lamb Heart treats. Once in his crate for the night, he gives me no issue; he sleeps in all kind of positions, which amuses me to no end. That's just a little update and a new pix.
> 
> View attachment 177073
> 
> ...


My Charlotte has to have her hair plucked at the groomers every 5 weeks, sometimes more. At about 10 weeks old she had a 9 week ear infection that would not go away...... hence the ear plucking and weekly ear sniffs.


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## Havanese Dreams (Jun 6, 2021)

I'm taking a wait-and-see approach with ear hair. I'd be interested in seeing pictures of ears for anyone:

Who thinks their dog needs hair removed regularly (right before pulling)
Who thinks their dog never needs ear hair removed


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## Kay251 (Jun 17, 2021)

I'm not plucking unless there is an issue. Nikko does have ear hair but I just cut it short and comb it out occasionally.


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## JazzWife (Jan 8, 2022)

Thank you all . . . to be honest, I'd really rather not. It seems like it would be painful or uncomfortable. I haven't plucked my own eyebrows for that very reason. Thankfully, I am not a unibrow grower.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Havanese Dreams said:


> I'm taking a wait-and-see approach with ear hair. I'd be interested in seeing pictures of ears for anyone:
> 
> Who thinks their dog needs hair removed regularly (right before pulling)
> Who thinks their dog never needs ear hair removed


I only had two of mine close at hand to take pictures of, Ducky and Panda. But neither (I think it’s pretty obvious!) need to have their ears plucked. (Though I need to clean Panda’s ears! LOL!)


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

KarMar said:


> Daily seems excessive, even for a dog that needs ear hair plucked. I would think that would make the ears pretty prone to irritation. It should only be done as needed, not as a preventative thing, and some dogs never need it. If the hair growing out of his canal and in the pinna seems to be contributing to buildup of debris, pluck. If not, leave it be.


I check Perry's ears every few days because I hadn't for a while (last year) and ended up with a mat that was hard to the touch and difficult to tell from ear cartilage  so now I check his ears every couple of days just to be careful. I've plucked a little myself, but I generally leave it to his groomer who only plucks if needed, not as a regular thing. He has pretty hairy ears but making sure I comb the actual ear hair as much as possible, is usually enough.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Melissa Brill said:


> I check Perry's ears every few days because I hadn't for a while (last year) and ended up with a mat that was hard to the touch and difficult to tell from ear cartilage  so now I check his ears every couple of days just to be careful. I've plucked a little myself, but I generally leave it to his groomer who only plucks if needed, not as a regular thing. He has pretty hairy ears but making sure I comb the actual ear hair as much as possible, is usually enough.


It seems to me that those with denser undercoats and curlier hair are more likely to also have hairier ears. It would be interesting to know if that's what other people observe.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

krandall said:


> It seems to me that those with denser undercoats and curlier hair are more likely to also have hairier ears. It would be interesting to know if that's what other people observe.


Brisket's definitely got hairy ears... I don't pluck often but will spot pluck if I'm cleaning ears (vs Nino who I never pluck for). I wouldn't say he has a dense coat as that isn't correct for the breed, but he certainly has his share of undercoat. No curl either.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

This is Perry's ear. He was at the groomers on Jan 28th and she definitely plucked some but not all.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> Brisket's definitely got hairy ears... I don't pluck often but will spot pluck if I'm cleaning ears (vs Nino who I never pluck for). I wouldn't say he has a dense coat as that isn't correct for the breed, but he certainly has his share of undercoat. No curl either.


Well, you know what I mean the dogs that do EXTREMELY well in th show ring, there is a BIG rang in the amount of coat... and a lot of the ones with denser coats and MORE undercoat do better. Panda did NOT finish on the merit of her voluminous coat!  Ducky has a lot more than SHE has (ahhh, hormones!  But still not as much as many "show" Havanese!)


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

My shock when I got Perry was that you had to trim the hair between their paw pads (and how fast and furry it grew). My Mom had a scotty before I got Perry, and they have to be groomed, but I don't think his foot hair grew as quickly or as thick as Perry's because I never noticed between grooming that his was getting long so it was a bit of a shock to realize that I would have to trim that.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

krandall said:


> Well, you know what I mean the dogs that do EXTREMELY well in th show ring, there is a BIG rang in the amount of coat... and a lot of the ones with denser coats and MORE undercoat do better. Panda did NOT finish on the merit of her voluminous coat!  Ducky has a lot more than SHE has (ahhh, hormones!  But still not as much as many "show" Havanese!)


This is what I don't like about AKC conformation competition - judging is subjective, arbitrary, and political. Too many judges have preconceived ideas of their opinion what a Havanese should look like which sometimes does not have anything to do with the HCA standard. If not the HCA standard, what standard are Havanese supposed to be judged? The breeders are then forced to play the judges game. The Havanese I see competing at Westminster, and doing well, tend to look more like Maltese than Havanese. The best Havanese in conformation does not necessarily always win, in my opinion, using the HCA standard.


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## Havanese Dreams (Jun 6, 2021)

Thank you for posting some ear pictures. Very helpful!


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## Havanese Dreams (Jun 6, 2021)

Here's Kiki's ear pic. It's the best I could do because she didn't want to hold still.








I don’t think she’s had any hair plucked. So far, it doesn’t seem to be an issue.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

That looks like a preety hair-free ear to me! I would NOT be plucking!!!


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## jilliow (Jan 6, 2017)

When I told my groomer I didnt want the ears plucked he replied, "We arent allowed to do that now anyway"
This is in the UK, maybe we have different rules this side of the pond.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

I pluck some hair from Leo’s ears a couple times per year. I found through experience that more often or plucking too much inevitably resulted in an ear infection. I just thin it some because he does have quite hairy ears.


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