hair in ears

[Tammie Miller]

Ive read on the main page to PULL OUT the hair in their ears. This seems very painfull. What is everyones thought and how many do this and how? I notice my 10 week old has alot of ear hair now and realize it will grow more but pulling it out seems harsh

 

[Patty, Jesse & Bodee]

I think ear hair (poodle thing) mainly causes a problem when it's combined with "ear wax" (which seems to be a Golden Retriever thing).  After a bit of head-shaking, my Vet pulled a few hairs (which didn't seem to bother Jess' at all)... and I now check the ear canals as a regular part of grooming (at home), just making sure it's not too dense and over-grown.  Also, a little warm water with one part vinegar on a cotton ball, placed on ear.. covering with ear flap, and gently massaging for a minute, supposedly is good for softening/dislodging ear wax.  (Tip from my Vet.)  

My experience, thusfar... and Jesse is an F1B, 19 mos. old.   

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

The hair is not well rooted and comes out easily. I start pulling hair in the ears as early as 6 weeks so the puppy has had it done a couple of times before they leave for their new homes. You need to have ear pulling powder to get a grip and you can use your fingers. Just be careful to avoid any hair that is growing outside the ear. That would hurt.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I use the ear powder to help me grip the hair and neither of my dogs even flinch (unless I accidentally get the hair on the outside of the ear like Barb mentioned).  I also shave under the ear to allow more air to get in.

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

Just a few thoughts - First, as someone else said, "if it ain't broke don't fix it." It's been my experience (but observation isn't empirical data) that sometimes perfectly normal ears can be irritated into an infection cycle by pulling the hair. I asked my vet about that when I brought Lachlan (and his lovely poodle ears) home and she said that she's noted the same, so food for thought. I held off on him until it became clear that he's prone to infections anyway.

Second, like Amy mentions, shaving under the ear does a lot for promoting air flow into the canals. It's a good idea to keep that area shaved on flop-eared, full-coated dogs.

Third, ear powder really does help. Like Barb said, the hair that needs to be pulled isn't deeply rooted and should come out easily if you're pulling a few at a time. The ear powder seems to help desensitize the ear (although that's possibly just because you can get a better grip and pull faster).

Last, and I'll go away and have my evening glass of wine *grin* If you do need to pull ear hair you don't have to do it all in one session. Just a little bit here and there.

[Audra Hicks]

I have been told that if they are not prone to ear infections then you don't have to have the hair pulled out too.  Although, when I first brought Stewie home at 8 weeks old, we went to the vet and she said that I need to have the hair pulled (that was the first I had heard about that) so I went to a groomer and had them do it.  He screamed so loud that I felt so bad for him and really didn't want to have that done again.  I make sure that I keep his ears clean & get him used to playing with his ears, but a few weeks ago I noticed him scratching at one so I thought I would take him back to get it done again.  He was about 5 1/2 months then and he didn't yelp at all!  He was only scratching because he had some ear wax he was trying to get out because when she pulled all of that hair out it brought out a lot of deep ear wax!  Guess its good to just keep an eye on them and just do that when you think it needs to be done, not all the time, or I think it could cause irritation myself!  He is a fleece coated, multi gen, not sure if that makes a difference in the ear infections or not, but he doesn't seem to be prone to them.  This has been our first Labradoodle, which are definitely high maintenance, but well worth it!  Love him!