Kai here and I need some help please!

[Kai Doodle (Kathy & Keith)]

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Hi it's me, Kai! Mommy & Daddy say I am doing great! They are amazed at how smart I am. I sit when they tell me and am working on down but sometimes I am so excited it's all I can do to sit.

I do have one issue. Mommy took me to the nice doctor and he said I play in the water too much. I like to get in the shower with Daddy in the morning to wake up. I have these fountain things in my backyard and I like to run through them and bark at them to stop. (Sometimes they even listen)

The doctor gave Mommy medicine for my ears he said I have a yeast infection, whatever, I just know they itched but are much better now. Mommy need to know how to get the hair out of my ears, I cry when she does it so she doesn't like to but keeps saying it's for "my own good" Love, snuggling and play are for my own good pulling hair from my ears just hurts and makes Mommy feel bad too. So I thought I would ask all my doodlekisses friends how their Mommy's and Daddy's get the hair out of their ears so my Mommy doesn't have to feel so bad and we can do something important like snuggle.

Thanks
Kai

dictated but not read :-)

[Tammy & Gracie]

Gracie has her ears plucked at the groomer. Between, when she is laying in my lap for grooming in front of the tv, I just pull a few hairs out with my fingers. It does not bother her at all. I do this at night and don't bother her ears until she is very relaxed from other grooming. Just a few at a time and she does not seem to notice. They also come out amazingly easy. Gracie started this as a pup. She too gets wet whenever possible. I use the vet ear cleaner once a week or after any swimming....

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I use the EpiOtic once a week and have the groomer take care of the hair once a month. He gets a bath and the hair around his eyes and "butt" trimmed each month, so the groomer trims the ear hair at that time. Never had an ear infection, but he's not around water that would get into his ears.

[Annie Starlight Dancer Hovis]

Annie gets ear infections all the time from the water. It sort of just comes with the breed with those drop ears. To prevent it after she goes in the water we put medicine in her ears and if she starts to scratch at them we take a look then give her some benadryl and she is fine!!!

[Lynda Kamrath]

I have always "plucked" the hair from my doodles ears with my fingertips when they are lying with their heads on my lap. They don't seem to mind. However, we had a standard poodle who got REALLY thick hair on the inside of his ears and he hated us to touch his ears. Therefore, I have been shaving the insides of my doodles ears ever since they were pups. I would suggest using a shaver on the outer edges (inside of the ear), then go to scissors closer to the center and pull with your fingertips in the inner section. Main thing is to start while he is young and just do a little at a time. My goldendoodle LOVES any kind of grooming and will stand for hours. My husband and I take turns and a total groom on him takes about 5 hours. We usually break it up into a couple of days. The labradoodle is less patient, but he requires a lot less grooming also.
Oh yes, be careful with the yeast infection. They are very contageous. Wash your hands constantly with soap and water whenever you handle the dog and especially before and after using the bathroom yourself.

[Kyoko]

I'm scared to pluck the hair out of the ears also. I have her vet and groomer do it. But after reading these comments, I may just get them trimmed, too.

[Lorraine Bromley]

We use a cheap mens hair trimmer with attachments to trim around Neely's eyes. I haven't done the ear canal thing as the vet wasn't concerned other than the ear cleaner. I could use the nose hair trimmer atachment to do the ears too. After swimming or bathing I usually blow dry him under the ears even if I don't blow dry the whole body. I often pet him and fold his ears over the back of his head to inccrease air flow.

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

Yankee is prone to ear infections. Clean once a week with ear cleaner (got mine from the vet). The vet shaved inside his ear and said to have this done when he is groomed. I wouldn't pluck, I would shave or scissor if it is necessary. I haven't been cutting the hair in his ears, just cleaning regularly and it is working.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I don't pluck either but I trim with scissors making sure not to let any hair fall in the canal. I clean with Malaseb once a week(from vet) and Luca hasn't ad any ear infections since I've had him, over a year.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It isn't really the hair that causes the problem, it's that a lot of woolly hair inside the ear is a perfect place for moisture, bacteria and yeasts to hide & grow. You can clean the ears with special solution that you can buy from the vet (I use Epi-Otic), some people mix their own concoctions from vinegar & water, or other home-made ear washes. There is a powder called Thorn-it that some people order from England, I believe. (Some people like a mixture called blue ear wash, whioch is strictly for yeasts, not bacteria. I personally dislike it, partly because it stains like crazy.) The cleaning gets rid of the yeasts and or bacteria that causes infections. The second part is that you have to make sure the ears are kept dry inside, which is hard to do with a lot of woolly hair in there. Use cotton pads to dry the inside of the ears thoroughly after swimming, and after cleaning.
Obviously, if there isn't much hair in there, it's a lot easier to prevent infections.That's why people pluck it. With my poodles, just having it done every 6 weeks at the groomers was enough, and there isn't a doodle alive with woollier, more profuse ear hair than show poodles. It is done with a hemostat, and if it is done properly, it shouldn't hurt or cause an infection, but unfortunately, there is an art to it. If the hair is plucked so harshly as to cause an irritation, that will lead to scratching & cause an infection itself.
You could also try putting Kai's ears up in a "ponytail" on top of her head with a scrunchy, especially after swimming...that will let the air circulate and dry the inside of the ear.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

The plucking thing! I have heard both 'do it to prevent ear infections', and 'dont do it, it causes ear infections'. I think I would leave it alone unless there is so much hair in the ear canal that it is impenetrable. Some poodles get so much hair in their ear it is like an ear muff inside the ear... but if it is just a few wispy hairs and air obviously gets into the ear canal (and it hurts him to pluck) leave it be. Or do what Adrianne suggested.