Ear hair removal

[Cindy and Mandy]

Mandy is 12 wks old and I was wondering about her ear hair. I am not sure how to remove it, or should I have a groomer do it. What age should this be done? She has some hair in her ears, but not a lot. I have used ear cleaner/dryer solutions and the vet said her ears looked really clean.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

You can start removing ear hair anytime. I do my puppies before I sent them out to their new homes at 9 weeks. If you start small, it is not so traumatic for them later. Buy some ear powder...it helps you grip the hair. Just use your fingers for pulling the hair for now. I use auto mechanic small part grippers to pull hair on the older puppies and adults. The points are not as sharp as the ones made for the job. If you feel uncomfortable using tools, you can get a groomer to do the pulling.

[Cindy and Mandy]

Thank you for the information. I also have a minature schnauzer that I have been clipping myself but the ears bother me. I will get some ear powder and try it myself before going to the groomer.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Hey, I have a miniature schnauzer too.

[Cindy and Mandy]

My miniature schnauzer is 8 years old and is adjusting well to having a 12 wk old puppy here, of course it has been 4 weeks now!

[Nancy Cavanaugh]

I would only suggest that with a young puppy - do a little at a time - and make a big fuss about how good she is. She probably doesn't have much ear hair yet - but I always stroke the ears - and massaage the ears. Then I pull a little. Finish with an ear massage that will probably have her groan in contentment!

[Mommy2Max]

FYI - Some groomers use forceps to grab a chunk of ear hair and twist them out in one tug. Some feel that is painful and cruel to the dog. So, if that is something you don't want done to Mandy, check with your groomer on how they remove ear hair.

I pluck Max's ear hair using ear powder. I pluck a few at a time. He doesn't mind it much.

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

Cindy, I had the vet show me about 2 weeks ago when I took him in for what I suspected was an ear infection.(he was 17 weeks old then) As it turned out it was a mild case of yeast infection and it was treated with a very oily antibiotic. He recommends plucking a little bit of hair at a time, being careful not to pull on the skin. Also keeping the hair right outside the ear shorter to help stay dryer and with air flow.
He said it really doesn't hurt as much as we might think it does, kind of like plucking our eyebrows, so with that in mind I just take a few hairs at a time. I work rather quickly too.

I use a really good tweezer and have hubby hold him and give him treats during.I did wait until the antibiotic was done and I use a powder my breeder recommended, called Thornit, which I ordered from ebay. (Not available in US.) The powder not only helps with keeping his ears dryer, but aids in pulling the hair more easily.

After my daughters vet just yanked a big mass of hair out of her doodles' ears and she heard him YELP! in the next room, I swore I wasn;t going to have that happen to my pup if I could help it.

[Lorraine Bromley]

whatgsad(doodle helping type!) what about using ear hair trimmers for men??

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Hair needs to be pulled as it will totally block the ear canal and cause infections. The hair is not well rooted so it is not painful to pull unless the dog already has another ear issue. Then even a bit of air can cause discomfort. Many dogs yelp when it is pulled because they are frightened. This usually means they were not slowly and caringly introduced to the procedure. I am sure it is not fun for them, but neither should it be traumatic.

[Lorraine Bromley]

Neely seems to have grown hair over night. It is deep in the canal and there seems to be alot of it. I have been cleaning his ears reguarily. They seem dirty with reddish brown waxy stuff that seems stuck in the hairs. I have plucked alot using fingers, not good as the hair is too deep and to close to the skin to grab. I tryed tweezers and got some plucked but again getting that deep with a tweezer when he is moving all over and I need to grab so close to the sides of the actual ear canal is difficult. I got the mechanics pliers and they do a good job of the hair they can get too but again getting that deep and so close to the skin is almost impossible. I did use the mens trimmers before being told that it had to be plucked. I am having issues with the men and boys of my family not helping me hold and or hold a light or pet the hair away from my work area as they think I am killing him. He shakes his head vigorously. I still loves me though. I saw a tv show that had a man getting his nose hairs waxed. They wiped it in rolled it around then yanked it out whalla!! Any idea if they can do that?? I want to do this myself. My vet never said anything about having to pull it when I asked him but that was when Neely was little and didnt have so much in there. He just said keep it clean with cleaner and swab it out. Can I possibly skip the hair and just clean them?? Is it an extra in care or a must?? How do you know if it is a ear infection if the dog is showing no signs except the dirty wax ( no bad smell either)

[Lynne B]

Beck likes it when I pull out ear hair, he actually sits really still for it and wags his tail. My mom had poodles and she always did it with them and they never seemed to mind either.