Face trimming

[Cathi Thompson]

 

i am trying my hand at grooming and need a litttle guidance in face trimming and ear hair removal?

[Jane Smith]

I can't help with the face trim, because I don't do my own.  But, I can help with the ear hair.  Petsmart has a powder that you squirt in their ear.  It makes the hair really easy to grip and pull out.  They don't really feel the hair deep inside being pulled, but get too close to the outter part, and they will let you know.  Good luck.

[Dori & Rua]

How do you know when you should pull out the hair?

 

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Dori...I don't think from the photo that Rua has much ear hair.  Not all Doodles have it.  It comes from the Poodle side and from what I can see, she looks OK.  If there is hair growing in the canal and it looks like a "birds nest" then you need to pluck.  Gracie Doodle is like that and I have to pluck her ears.  In fact, that is scheduled on my list for this week.  I hate doing it but she is good about it.  I feel so bad like I am intentionally hurting her but she never makes a peep!

[Lynda Kamrath]

Dori ... These ears look great!

[Jane Smith]

You should be able to look down into the ear canal without the obstruction of hair.  There will always be some hair way down in there, but I take out everything that would keep my vet from being able to see clearly.  Lucy has very hairy ears, while I hardly have to pull Ethel's.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I don't like to put the powder in her ears because it tends to clump up later on.  I use it on my fingers.  The only reason for the powder is so you have some gripping power.  The powder makes it a lot easier to hold on to the hair.  The trick is only very small amounts of hair at a time.  Then you do a quick sort of sideways pluck.  If you look back in our archives you will find lots of discussion on this.  Also, go to YouTube and search for "Plucking Ear Hair".  There are some really good videos on how to do it.  The subject may not be a Doodle but the procedure is the same.  I watched quite a few of the videos before I did it and they really helped.  I need visuals to do things rather than words...ha ha!  Good Luck. 

 

Face trimming I only use scissors and then I use the small blunt end (round nose) scissors around the eyes.  The rest of the trim I use my thinning or blending shears.  I will use curved shears along the jaw/lip line depending on how long you want the hair to hang and since I don't like beards I use my clippers with a comb attachment under the chin.  I also use the clippers under the ears.  You want to keep that hair closer to the head to let the ears air out.  Every face is different because our Doodles have so many different types of hair growth patterns, consistency, texture, etc.  One thing we never do (or at least most of us) is shave the snout!  That is for Poodles and these are Doodles.  Again, there are tons of discussions in the archives.  There are even pictures that have been drawn on showing the directions of the cut pattern.  If you are willing to sit at the computer for a few hours you would be amazed at how much valuable information is in the Grooming Group.  Also, again, YouTube has tons of stuff on grooming...and Doodles specifically.

[Jane Smith]

After i pull the hair i clean their ears with solution. In fact, i clean their ears every two weeks and pluck about once every four to six weeks. I dont use that much powder that i would have to worry about clumping.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Some dogs just have more hair in their ears, and it is from the poodle side.  Even though I try to keep the ears plucked and clean, my pup got an ear infection which led to hot spots on his face.  It was an expensive bacterial infection so I think I learned something about the ears.  First of all, put cotton balls in their ears when bathing to keep the inside of the ears clean.  Then pluck out all the little hairs on the inside of the ears with your fingers.  Ear cleaning liquid can be squirted in the ears and the ears cleaned with a soft tissue after their bath.  They will usually get any excess fluid out by shaking.

After having several poodles with ear infections, I vowed that my doodles would never get thick ears from all the hair in them.  I also shave or clip the hair on the inside flaps so their ears do not get heavy and matted.  It's an ongoing process, but worth the work.