Do you pluck your doodles ears?

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Abby is almost 5 months old and I have noticed some fur growing inside her ear. Do you pluck your doods ear canals? What do you use? Fingers, tweezers?

[Tammy & Gracie]

I don't myself, but I have the groomer do it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Dogs that have wooly or curly coats need to have the hair removed from the ear canal. Jack doesn't have that kind of coat, but all my past dogs did. I always had the groomer remove it when they were groomed, but you need someone who knows what they're doing. We just had a discussion the other day about this when Fergie had an ear infection. The most common tool used is a hemostat, but people who don't use it correctly can hurt the dog & cause an infection. Here's a link to it: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/fergie-had-a-bad-night

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Thanks for the link I dont know I missed so much...I read the post (dudnt respond because I couldnt help) but not all the responses after. I should have read through it all. The long article from Joy is great.

[Adina P]

I don't pluck. I trim the hair under the flap and directly outside the ears. Rosco, my furriest one, had ear infections around 5 months...one that took FOREVER to heal and then again when he had a foxtail in there...but hasn't had one -- knock on wood -- in probably 2 years.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Murphy is almost 6 months and the vet showed me how to pluck the hair with tweezers or hemostats, but I find just pulling little bits out with my fingers to be very easy and he doesn't mind at all. BIG difference in cleaning the ears and keeping them dry.
My daughter said her vet did her doodle's ears once and he just grabbed ahold of the whole wad of hair and yanked! He let out a painful yelp and it just broke her heart. I certainly wouldn't recommend that technique.

[F, Calla & Luca]

No I haven't found it necessary. I too cut the hair around the ear area short and cut some protruding from the ear without letting it go in the canal. I do use Malaseb to clean the ears weekly..

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

I always clean Abby's ear out with a baby wipe...she loves it when I go deep in - sounds weird but she just loves it - like getting an itch scratched I guess. Also Joy mentioned if the ear smells something is amiss. What does she mean smell? Abby's ear have a pungent doggy type odor (like frito feet -lol), smelly enough to not enjoy going in for a sniff but not a stink. What do your dogs ears smell like?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't know how to describe it, but you can tell when something's not right. Usually, their ears shouldn't have much of an odor at all. I can't remember what the smell is like, it's been awhile.
The one benefit of having a dog that does shed...no ear infections. That's about the only issue Jack doesn't have.

[Adina P]

It's kind of sweet and kinda dirty smelling all at once...

[Tricia, Shiloh, Fenway & Tessie]

I was upset after Shiloh came home from the groomer.....obviously hurting from the plucking with the hemostat....so this last time I asked her not to do that. Now my question is....poodles have been around a long time, and this ear hair is a poodle thing....but why would they be made that way if it NEEDED to be pulled out....I mean, I get trimming it....but does anyone think it serves a purpose being there...or is it just a big fat joke that was played on poodles everywhere when they were created.....forcing them into a painful pulling? I'll do it (or have it done) if someone can explain to me why it has to be that way...otherwise I would like to leave it to nature, they were made that way....shouldn't it be alright?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The thing is that they really weren't made that way; as poodles became popular as house pets and then became the "it" dog in conformation, breeders went towards the most profuse coats they could get. They bred towards overly woolly coats because they are so spectacular in the show ring. Just as doodles can have silkier, looser, more "open" coats, so did poodles origianlly, but that was bred away from. The coats on today's poodles are much different from the ones on the duck-hunting poodles of 200 years ago.
Nature really didn't intend for any dog to have thick woolly hair trapping moisture, oils & bacteria, and blocking air flow, inside their ears. Nature did give them a smaller amount for a reason...probably protected the ear canals from the wind, sand & dirt when they were standing out on a hilltop in the country, lol. But they're not doing that anymore, either.
Dogs whose coats are more retriever-like don't have these same issues. But I know poodles inside out and backwards, and I can say from long experience that if you leave a lot of thick woolly hair inside the ears, you're going to have ear problems.

[Tricia, Shiloh, Fenway & Tessie]

Thanks for the explanation, Karen....that makes a lot of sense. I guess I need to let them torment my Shiloh then....because he is definitely more poodle than doodle! Fenway isn't....he got lucky I guess....he doesn't have hairy ears!