# Nair in ears?



## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

My first thought was WTH...My second thought was WTH?


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## FireStorm (Nov 9, 2013)

I cannot imagine using that on a dog's ears. I used it on myself once, and it really irritated my skin. I do have sensitive skin, but still...it seems like it would be horribly harsh.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

My vet and I actually joked about this once when we were discussing ear hair. He suggested one of those battery operated nose hair clippers. LOL. But the Nair thing was a JOKE!


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## PammiPoodle (Jul 16, 2011)

Goodness, that sounds nuts!! I hope the other groomer was only joking with her, and the owner missed the joke. That seems like a really baaaaaadd idea to me, yikes!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

I have actually seen chatter on the internet about using Nair to remove dogs' ear hair. (I recall seeing it discussed on a Pet Groomer forum, with naysayers and advocates.) Makes ya' wanna holler and shout though, doesn't it? Saw it discussed here once years ago. http://www.poodleforum.com/9-poodle-grooming/448-ear-hair-removal.html#post3916 My thought is..._over my dead body_! :becky:


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I used to use Nair when I was a young teenager. It works. I don't recall it being irritating.


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## Karen and Stella (Dec 28, 2013)

I certainly hope it was a joke, and she misunderstood the last groomer. I have plucked hairs out of ears that were almost an inch and a half long (I call those brain hairs, lol). Seems like if one did use nair, it would most certainly get trapped in the ear canal, and possibly damage the eardrum. I have no intentions of trying it out. Anyway, he turned out nicely, and she made an appointment for me to come out again in 6 weeks. If she insists on nair, I will have to tell her to go back to the other groomer. The idea of it doesn't sit well with me, and I certainly don't want a lawsuit on my hands. 


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I used it once or twice and it burned the living h e double hockey sticks out of me. It looked like I had a 3rd degree burn. And I DON'T have particularly sensitive skin. I would never use it on a dog. They're skin can be really sensitive. Anyhow, human stuff shouldn't be used on dogs and visa versa without a doctor's advice imo...at least in most cases. And I wouldn't use a battery nose clipper either...too close to the ear drum...might really be too much even though they seem pretty quiet.


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## Wild Kitten (Mar 13, 2014)

Karen and Stella said:


> I explained my veterinary background and told her that I considered anal glands to be the vets job, as they are best expressed from the inside out.


How from inside out?


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## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

Wild Kitten said:


> How from inside out?


The vet puts one finger inside the anal canal & the thumb on the outside, then squeezes the gland on one side. Then does the same for other gland after repositioning fingers. This is more precise than trying to squeeze both glands from outside. One of my dogs had to have this done at vets all the time.


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## Rachel76 (Feb 3, 2014)

I read the title and thought no no no please don't. I am so glad you didn't. Wow. I would not want that in my own ears and I would not want it in my dog's ears. Yikes.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

N2Mischief said:


> My vet and I actually joked about this once when we were discussing ear hair. He suggested one of those battery operated nose hair clippers. LOL. But the Nair thing was a JOKE!



The nose hair clipper thing... Was that for real ? 


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## Wild Kitten (Mar 13, 2014)

MiniPoo said:


> The vet puts one finger inside the anal canal & the thumb on the outside, then squeezes the gland on one side. Then does the same for other gland after repositioning fingers. This is more precise than trying to squeeze both glands from outside. One of my dogs had to have this done at vets all the time.


Got to be quite hard and uncomfortable to do it to a toy breed...... 

I've never seen a vet do this, and a vet thought me how to empty the anal glands of my first miniature poodle years ago. 
I think emptying from the inside is only necessary if you can feel them full but are not able to empty them from the outside...... 
Emptying from the outside is still better than not doing them at all.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Hey let's pretend that this didn't even sound totally crazy...
....

I'm sure it must say "external use only" on the container anyway!! 

I would never put that in my ear, and specially not in my babies's ears! 

Crazy!! 0.o


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Wild Kitten said:


> Got to be quite hard and uncomfortable to do it to a toy breed......
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I have never had any issues with my poodles's anal glands, they have never been emptied, (unless a vet did it without my knowledge) but as far As I know and according to what one vet told me, the glands normally empty themselves when they poop, no need to do it manually unless there is a medical problem ...

But I don't know because I'm not a vet, just my personal experience is that I don't even ever remember my poodles have "them"...


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

I have only one poodle (my daughter's poodle, actually) that I will express anal glands. Mosltly because after I groom him, I tend to take him shopping or something (feed store, etc) and he got nervous once and expressed them all over me. :/ I only do his when I plan on taking him out after a groom. He hasn't done it sice he was a wee lad, but it was a really, really long day covered in that smell. lol

Nair in the ears - uh, NO! The smell alone irritates me. I tried it once, never ever again. OUCH!


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## PoodlePaws (May 28, 2013)

BorderKelpie said:


> I have only one poodle (my daughter's poodle, actually) that I will express anal glands. Mosltly because after I groom him, I tend to take him shopping or something (feed store, etc) and he got nervous once and expressed them all over me. :/ I only do his when I plan on taking him out after a groom. He hasn't done it sice he was a wee lad, but it was a really, really long day covered in that smell. lol
> 
> Nair in the ears - uh, NO! The smell alone irritates me. I tried it once, never ever again. OUCH!


Is it a fishy smell?


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## Wild Kitten (Mar 13, 2014)

Lou said:


> I have never had any issues with my poodles's anal glands, they have never been emptied, (unless a vet did it without my knowledge) but as far As I know and according to what one vet told me, the glands normally empty themselves when they poop, no need to do it manually unless there is a medical problem ...


The larger dogs usually empty them better than the small ones. I had a Belgian shepherd and I never needed to do his, I checked from time to time but they were always empty. My mini poodle needed them done monthly, that's why the vet showed me how. 

Lucia also needs them doing. She actually scoots on her bum so then I see she is bothered by them, I empty them and she is fine. If I felt that they were really impacted and were not emptying easy the usual way then I would take her to a vet ........ but then again, if they are done regularly then they won't fill up so badly that a vet needs to do them from inside. 
So in my experience, better to do it from the outside than not do them at all.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Ages ago, I had a Dobe that needed his expressed. It was back when premium dog foods were first coming out and I think his stools became so compact that they weren't able to help him express his own. I think sometimes we (as humans) go a bit overboard trying to do the right thing. I have learned that slightly larger stools and a bit of fiber in their diets helps immensely in that area. But, just to keep from getting 'blessed' like that time with poor Hercules at Tractor Supply (and lunch with my mother, and having to eat while smelling THAT *shudder*) I'll continue to express glands at bathtime (when I remember to, that is - I'm practicing my demetia a lot lately) 

PoodlePaws - no, not fishy, I smell it as a harsh, bitter chemically smell. But, then, my sinuses have been so badly damaged I may detect it differently than 'normal' people do. lol


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## Wild Kitten (Mar 13, 2014)

BorderKelpie said:


> PoodlePaws - no, not fishy, I smell it as a harsh, bitter chemically smell. But, then, my sinuses have been so badly damaged I may detect it differently than 'normal' people do. lol


They don't all smell all the same, some are really bad but some are a little easier to bear, lol


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Lou, yes, he thought since she was so used to clippers and the nose hair things don't cut skin or cause pain it might work. I turned one on near Misha and she freaked! lol So we didn't even go there. I use blunt tipped nail scissors and lightly trim what I can and the groomer lightly hand plucks occasionally.


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## Karen and Stella (Dec 28, 2013)

Emptying anal glands seems to be a common thing for for most groomers to do. Here is why I don't do them. I started grooming in 2000, and have worked for vets as an assistant/groomer for the majority of that time (small animal and equine) Over the years I have seen hundreds of dogs come in to the office with anal gland abscesses. Once they abscess it tends to be a reoccurring issue that requires surgery and continuing veterinary care. A healthy dog who eats good food and has a good immune system will not have problems with their anal glands, unless they are set too far back in the rectum to express properly when they poop. In that case, I will leave it to a vet. When the vet empties them it is quick, copious, and with minimal discomfort. Would someone go to their hairstylist and ask for an enema? No, that is the doctors job.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

I like how this thread has gone from ears to rears. (All bases covered!)  Continuing in that direction, some good info on AGs from Dr. Karen Becker, DVM.
Your Pet's Anal Glands - YouTube


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

MiniPoo said:


> The vet puts one finger inside the anal canal & the thumb on the outside, then squeezes the gland on one side. Then does the same for other gland after repositioning fingers. This is more precise than trying to squeeze both glands from outside. One of my dogs had to have this done at vets all the time.


It it tougher on a toy dog. My vet always had to have one of the techs do our Pomeranian because he's a big guy and our dog was 5 lbs. I used to kid him about giving the newbies the dirty job. I never have a groomer to anal glands and never have Lily's ear plucked either. But no way would I use nair! OMG. The hair doesn't dissolve, you wash it or wipe it off. How would you do that inside a dog's ear?

LOL @ Chagall's mom. Ears to rears!


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

I like how this thread has gone from ears to rears, all all bases covered!  Continuing in that direction, here's an informative video on AGs from Dr. Karen Becker, DVM.
Your Pet's Anal Glands - YouTube


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## Karen and Stella (Dec 28, 2013)

Chagall's mom said:


> I like how this thread has gone from ears to rears. (All bases covered!)  Continuing in that direction, some good info on AGs from Dr. Karen Becker, DVM.
> Your Pet's Anal Glands - YouTube


Thank you, that is exactly what I was trying to say! 


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## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

Wild Kitten said:


> They don't all smell all the same, some are really bad but some are a little easier to bear, lol


I had a bichon that had problems with his... and I had to express them. I say it smells like concentrated doggie doo... imagine it being bad...then double it. WHEW!!!


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Great video Chagall's mom!!
I have Dr. Karen Becker DVM added to my Facebook and always read her educating posts! 


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## Nelsipete (Mar 17, 2014)

I used to use Nair on my legs leaving them soft and smooth. Hair was slow to regrow, so I thought it would be great for my husband's beard. Ouch, major discomfort! After that experience I'd never try it on my dog.


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