# Eyes, ears and beard...oh my!



## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

since you guys had such great info on the other grooming stuff, am wondering if I need to be cleaning Sophie's eyes and ears on a regular basis and if so how?
Also her beard...I wipe with wet paper towels after each meal but I do wonder if it being damp contributes to her itchies. since that means it's damp a fair a few times a day. Do you guys dry after washing and also what is the best/most effective way to clean off a beard after a meal?

Look out Barbara and Loki this might be a pocket book hit for us again lol

i.e. I could either afford all this grooming equipment or just shave her and buy a 2nd havanese haha


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## Barbara Levy (Apr 22, 2016)

Dee Dee said:


> since you guys had such great info on the other grooming stuff, am wondering if I need to be cleaning Sophie's eyes and ears on a regular basis and if so how?
> Also her beard...I wipe with wet paper towels after each meal but I do wonder if it being damp contributes to her itchies. since that means it's damp a fair a few times a day. Do you guys dry after washing and also what is the best/most effective way to clean off a beard after a meal?
> 
> Look out Barbara and Loki this might be a pocket book hit for us again lol
> ...


I clean his eyes everyday. I use Paw Choice Tear Stain remover and then when the hair is damp I use the CC feet and face butter comb to get the gunk out of his eyes. He doesn't love it but puts up with me. I also use the stain remover on his beard. Sometimes I just use the Earthbath Grooming wipes on his face when I am in a hurry.

I think I should be cleaning his ears too but haven't.


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## katscleancutdogs (May 18, 2016)

Check the ears for and discharge. Dog's earwax is a brownish red (reddish brown?)  They should not be hot or red.. They should be a light pink and about body temperature or just over especially our guys in full coat. Ears are mostly "self-cleaning" but if you feel the need then I recommend a 50/50 solution of organic apple cider vinegar and water... It kills yeast, bacteria and viruses. 
Also One of my customers who has tear saving issues said she is putting a drop of organic apple cider vinegar on the back of her dogs neck to clear up the red staining. I am trying it with Kati and it does seem to help.

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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Dee Dee said:


> i.e. I could either afford all this grooming equipment or just shave her and buy a 2nd havanese haha


HAHA! I tried to add up Nino's expenses the other month. With classes, show entry fees, vet bills, grooming products, etc, he has almost matched his initial price already. I can't even imagine where it must be for you given Sophie's health issues.


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## katscleancutdogs (May 18, 2016)

*staining not saving 

Also there is much debate about removing eat hair. On that I say do research and make your own decision. 
I have always pulled the ear hair in my girls, but have done so since they were itty bitty so it's pulling a couple hairs at a time. My vet recommends it, however, in a lot of the dogs I see you at the salon it is more painful because they are not used to having it done. And if they are already infected with anything, it can open up those pores to that infection so no pulling when they're infected. I also only pull what easily comes out I don't yank and tear at the ear. 
I have seen that most of the recent viewpoints on your hair is to leave it unless it is actually thick and blocking any ventilation to that year. But like I said do your own research and make your own decision because there's much on either side of the debate


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

I'm also interested if you all dry the beard after washing. I've noticed that Willow has been doing a lot of scratching under her chin and I wash her face at least twice a day, sometimes more, with a damp cloth and I've been wondering if being damp is contributing to the itchies.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Thanks you guys!
Is there any reason to clean eyes if staining isn't an issue? That sounds like a really dumb question when I say it out loud. 

Sophie has had her ear hair pulled twice, once by groomer and once by vet. We were hoping it might help with her scratching her ears but it didn't.  But I was there with her when it was done and she actually seemed to enjoy it, probably because they were itchy. Since it didn't help I won't keep doing it and possibly open up another can of worms. Her ears "look" perfect, but they are itchy. My last girl with her allergies had the same problem, itchy but looked fine. I'd prefer itchy and not looking fine so there would be something to fix!

I agree with Jackie would still like to know the best way to clean their beards off after eating, etc to get them clean enough yet not be damp a long time and mess with their skin? I thought about blow drying her beard but that would be a few times a day and I know she'd not appreciate it. Hoping for a better solution?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I use a damp paper towel to wipe Pixel and Kodi!s beards. I do that with Panda too, some of the time, but I TRYto give hers a more throughout his shampoo and rinse every couple of days, because her's is white, stains easily, and she's showing.

Kodi and Panda don't get much eye gunk. With them, I flick out anything that builds up with a face comb when I groom them. Pixel's eyes DO get gunky, and if I don't stay on top of it, she gets that sour, wet wash cloth smell around her eyes. So for her, I soften it up first with some water on a cotton pad, then comb it out. I wash it more thoroughly when I bathe her weekly.

I don't believe in removing hair from ears unless the hair is a problem. (So thick that it is blocking air flow, causing yeast infections, etc.) None of mine get their ears plucked, none of them have a huge amount of hair in their ears, and all of them have nice clean ears.

Kodi has had some problems with ear infections when he was having allergy problems, but hasn't had one in a couple of years now. But it had nothing to do with hair in his ears.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Thanks Karen. That is how I clean Sophie's beard too so if the dampness is contributing to her scratching, she is probably prone to it anyway since yours don't scratch. Her itching has been way better lately I wish I knew why but am very happy about that.

Good to know about the eyes too thank you I've never had a dog with any eye gunk to speak of before so haven't had to think about it, Sophie does get some but not extreme. I just soften and clean them off with a wet towel too. 

I agree with you about the ears. We only did Sophie's hoping it was contributing to her itchies at the time but apparently wasnt. These dogs have hair coming out places I've never seen dogs have hair coming out of before. LOL! 

So glad you got Kodi's allergies sorted out!


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

krandall said:


> I use a damp paper towel to wipe Pixel and Kodi!s beards. I do that with Panda too, some of the time, but I TRYto give hers a more throughout his shampoo and rinse every couple of days, because her's is white, stains easily, and she's showing.


Karen, after washing the beard area, do you dry it with the dryer or just leave it damp?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I just let it air dry. It doesn't stay damp for long.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Thanks Karen. I know both Dee Dee and I were wondering if dampness could be contributing to itchiness under the chin.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Yes thanks Karen. My Hallie had allergies but her itchy spots weren't around her head and chin so much so wondered if Sophie's had something to do with the wet beard also. 
Still desperately trying to find and answer that won't be she actually has allergies LOL


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I don't know... Kodi definitely DOES have allergies, but he doesn't itch his chin or face really. For him, it's his ears, feet and bum.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

That is where Hallie's main itchies were too. I suppose each dog can be different but I know there are more typical areas dog itch with whatever the issue is. I've just found it strange she can be so itchy around her head and not as much elsewhere.


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## seesawhavanese (Jun 17, 2015)

Dee Dee said:


> since you guys had such great info on the other grooming stuff, am wondering if I need to be cleaning Sophie's eyes and ears on a regular basis and if so how?
> Also her beard...I wipe with wet paper towels after each meal but I do wonder if it being damp contributes to her itchies. since that means it's damp a fair a few times a day. Do you guys dry after washing and also what is the best/most effective way to clean off a beard after a meal?
> 
> ....


We clean Mochi's eye area every morning. We wet it first and use a flea comb to get the dirt out and then some diluted shampoo and rinse. I think her tear staining was due to improper cleaning, once we started to clean regularly, the tear staining decreased.

We use a wet face cloth to wipe her mouth after meals. We don't dry. So far, we haven't had any problems.

We originally did do some ear hair plucking, but one vet said it wasn't necessary. So we tried leaving it alone and so far no problems. We just pluck the excess hair if it's getting dirty and occasionally wipe with ACV and water. We also have ear powder if it's damp and some herbal ear cleaner that we use once in a while.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

krandall said:


> I don't know... Kodi definitely DOES have allergies, but he doesn't itch his chin or face really. For him, it's his ears, feet and bum.


Willow is a terrible foot licker. She has licked a couple of feet so much that they are now are showing saliva staining. I tried using some of the OTC sprays that are supposed to stop itches, but it seemed to make her lick her feet even more. I think she was trying to lick the spray off, so I stopped using it. The vet has checked her feet and see's nothing that would cause her to lick. Sometimes I think it's OCD.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Do keep in mind that itchy feet can be a food intolerance. Kodi's front feet and the base of his tail were all stained pink before we changed his diet to something that worked better for him.


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## Cbelknap (Sep 17, 2014)

I may have the solution to Willow's paw licking ....

This summer, I started walking Max and Molly in a new area. The grass was freshly laid sod and many dogs were walked in the area. After walking this path a few times, Max began licking his front paws endlessly. He had never been a paw licker before, but within a few days was developing saliva stains on his front paws. His white paws were turning red!

I knew it had to be the new grass, something the grass was treated with or just stepping where so many other dogs were traveling. I found this wonderful article by Dr. Becker about the advantages of giving your dog a daily foot soak. It has made a HUGE difference. Within just a few days, I noticed a remarkable difference. Now I wash their feet almost every night and the foot licking has almost completely stopped. No more new saliva stains. The old stains are slowly growing out as you can see in the pictures below. I also feel better knowing that their paws are clean ... especially when they sleep on the bed at night.

Clean Your Dog's Paw to Reduce Her Paw Licking Tendencies


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

And the Povodine doesn't stain them?!?! I'm surprised! 

Kodi id DEFINITELY allergic to something in wet grass. Our best guess is mildew of some sort, because he's fine when the grass is dry. I TRY to wash his feet after wet grass too, but, he's in and out 20 times a day, so it's tough. Also, he gets very itchy from sitting down in wet grass.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Thanks for the tips on feet licking. Unfortunately grass and gravel is about all Willow gets to walk on. I'll try the foot baths and see if that helps. I've also been wondering if it's triggered by some food allergy. I was giving her I-Stain which someone on this forum recommended. I believe it has powdered milk in it. I stopped it when she had a tummy issue and now that she is back on it I've noticed that the licking seems to be increasing. I'm going to try stopping it again and see if that makes her stop licking so much. Maybe she has an intolerance to the milk powder. My vet told me once that many dogs are sensitive to dairy.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Very ineresting about the wet grass. We noticed when May came to visit, and the grass is wet she will itch like crazy. She says she doesn't itch at home (her yard is solid pea gravel no grass). 

I've also notice that Sophie's scratching goes way up when she gets wet in the yard. And another friends dog little yorkie was here in the wet the other day and was itching like crazy and doesn't normally.

Maybe I need to move Sophie to Arizona! Although we both hate anything over 65 degrees. 

That is surprising how red his feet got! I didn't know they would stain that dark.


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## katscleancutdogs (May 18, 2016)

It never gets as low as 65 degrees here! Well it does for a couple of weeks in December and January. And that's not much of an exaggeration. I got to stay on the peninsula for nine months a couple of years ago and I just loved it.


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## M&J (Mar 1, 2016)

Tucker had eye issues when he was little. Stuff in them everyday. Now is hardly anything and there is no staining at all. I do keep them clean but it is not a daily thing with him. Don't know why or if this is normal but there is very little build up in the corners when I groom him. Weird?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

M&J said:


> Tucker had eye issues when he was little. Stuff in them everyday. Now is hardly anything and there is no staining at all. I do keep them clean but it is not a daily thing with him. Don't know why or if this is normal but there is very little build up in the corners when I groom him. Weird?


It's not weird. A lot of it has to do with the shape of the muzzle and eyes. Dogs with shorter snouts and rounder eyes are more likely to develop tear staining than those with longer snouts and almond shaped eyes. But even among those there will be variation. My girl who gets the most gunk is Kodi's half sister, and has a normal Havanese shaped muzzle and almond eyes.... and she still gets gunkier eyes. Not terrible, but they do require more cleaning than my other two.


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## M&J (Mar 1, 2016)

Thanks Karen, glad to know that information in case I need to pass it along to someone. Just didn't know why Tucker had very few problems with his eyes compared to some on here.


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