crazy head shaking post grooming

[StaceyW]

so Ollie got his first grooming today - he looks adorable (he is 5.5 months) but since he got home he gets shaking his head - seems like his ears are bothering him - they plucked them (they were very hariy) and one of them looks a little red and irritated - is there anything I should do for him?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

He may develop an ear infection from this...happened to me many years ago when a new groomer was too rough plucking my poodle's ear. I think there are powders you can use to soothe the irritation, but I don't know if they're available over-the-counter. I ended up having to go to the vet because of this. If his ears keep bothering him, you may have to take him to vet.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

He could also have water in his ears. If so, you can use an over the counter or from the vet or homemade solution to clean them out to prevent infection. Also lift the ear flaps to help air circulate - we tie them back with a scrunchie - does not work for long but....

[Lorraine Bromley]

Neely does this after a cleaning and pluck. It won't last long. I take and rub his head behind his ears kinda grabbing the base of his ear with my thumb infront holding him looking at me. he will still will do it alone. He'll almost knock himself of balance walking. I don't think it hurts just an irritation or sensation. He gets lots of treats for ear grooming too. He had to have his plucked at about that age as a forest grew in there over night. He gets the superficial ones in the ear canal that are eash to remove. Then he gets these sprigs of really long ones down in as far as you can see and further. They are a chore as he has to stay in that possition and have his ear manipulated to open the shaft so I can get down there and grab the sprigs I see the tip of. They are sometimes dark and hold more dirt and wax on them so that makes me think they are the most important to get out so I don't get ear problems. Usually pulling ine sprig draws another bunch out when I don't see any I do asweep with a q tip to make sure there aren't any more. The vet said I do a good job. He did seem to have alot of discharge or increase in wax in one ear and by doing this the vet said that when he checked his ear that I had it under control and it never developed into an infection that needed meds.

[BetteB]

"He'll almost knock himself of balance walking" LOL... that reminds me of Agnes' head shaking... she gets pretty intense, and sometimes I think she's partially doing it b/c it feels funny to be a little dizzy :)

[BetteB]

Agnes did this after her most recent grooming. I just cleaned them out with an ear-cleaning solution. She stopped doing it soon after that. If he's still doing it after a couple days, you may want to take him to the vet... as others mentioned, he may have an infection.

[StaceyW]

Whats an ear cleaning solution? He seems to be doing it a little less this morning

[BetteB]

I use Epi-Otic. You can probably get some from Petsmart or a similar store. You can pour a little into his ears (have someone else hold him still) and them gently use a cotton ball to swab the inside of the ear flap, removing some of the excess moisture, and dirt, wax, etc.
Using something like Epi-Otic will also prevent infections. We use it after Agnes takes a bath, as well, because it helps get some of the excess water out of her ears.

[BetteB]

Also, I'm glad to hear that Ollie is doing it a little less today. My guess is that his skin is a bit irritated due to the plucking, and he'll probably stop doing it by the end of the day.

You may want to still try the ear-cleaning just to prevent infection, and it's also nice to have some on hand. It's not very expensive and ours has lasted a long time.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

I use R7 because it is fast drying and you can also purchase it at local pet stores

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Sometimes from the plucking their ears can become a little red and irritated, if they are still that way in a few hours and if you have ear cleaning solution like R7 (can keep on hand anyways and purchase at pet stores) just use a lillte bit to reclean the ear and let them dry. The groomer has probably used the ear powder which is to help with the plucking of the hair, so I wouldn't reuse that. If you clean Ollie's ears and you are getting any brown, waxy stuff...call your Vet, probably an ear infection, and your Vet can give you what they recommend.