Ear chewing?

[Melissa]

OK, I searched and did not find anything on this.  Once in awhile Buddy will chew the tip of his ear.  He will use his front paw to push the ear into his mouth and just chew on that hair at the end.  This morning I looked at it and I swear it looks like he was able to chew some of the hair off.  It is "cut".  I kept thinking to myself...did I cut some of that when I groomed him, but I know I didn't.  And of course I didn't find anything in his crate so I can only figure he ate it.

 

Any other doodles do this?  I am baffled.  Is the hair too long and bothering him?  I would cut it but everytime I try to hold onto his ear he wiggles and tries to bite me.  Maybe I need to be more diligent. 

 

I also checked his ears for any sign of infection, etc. and they seem ok.

 

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd have the vet look at it. Mites are invisible to the naked eye. I'd guess he's chewing it because it itches or bothers him. Mites or some other skin problem could cause hair loss, too.
When Jack licked & chewed his paws because of allergies, they'd end up fur-less. He wasn't really eating the fur, and i didn't see it lying around, but chewing at themselves can wear the fur away.

[Melissa]

He isn't doing it all the time. Only like 1-2 times per week, if that. And the hair did not look like it fell out, it looked cut. Weird. I will watch him and see if it gets worse. Thanks.

[Ronnie & Emma]

yeah emma chews her ear too.. but nothing comes out of it.. she just chews..i guess tha tis part of grooming.. cus hse does that for her body as well.

[Melissa]

Glad Buddy isnt't the only one. :) We had Buddy back at the vet today because he was licking his wound from the neutering and I asked the vet about the ear chewing and he said the ear looks fine, probably just a nervous habit or something.