# Does ear hair grow more slowly?



## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

No ear doesn't grow slow just seems like it

here is Flower in mid June







and just last week


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

Only 6 months and they are looking full again!

Hmmm. Maybe I am getting less scared!


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

I have shaved Flower's ears down several times since I got her, so not scary. I am planning to grow her ears out again to their long lovely length.


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## Michelle (Nov 16, 2009)

Atticus's grew out pretty fast! I had his shaved for years but grew them back out just to change things up a bit. 

I keep Yuki's short, I can't even imagine him with long ears! They do grow pretty fast though, I shaved them with a 5 a couple weeks ago and they are already pretty fuzzy again. 

I say go for it! He will look awesome.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

I keep Iris in short ears....have since she was a teenager of about 1 1/2 yo. She was chewing on her ear hair and it was always soggy, not pretty. Once we went short I liked it that way. Also, she gets good ventilation in her ears....not one ear infection in 13 years. She gets a LOT OF COMPLIMENTS on her short ears.

If you don't like him in short ears, it will grow back!

Here is Iris with short ears.


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## AngelAviary (Aug 12, 2014)

My groomer told me the ears/topknot/neck and the hair below the hocks grow the slowest. So when we altered Stella cut we did not touch those areas. Im a huge fan of the long hair so try to preserve all I can. I do think boy Standards look smashing in short ears so you might just love it. I could not do it myself but I love the long!


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## StormeeK (Aug 3, 2015)

I also had been wanting to try the short ears on Dewey. I knew if I didn't try it I would just keep thinking about it. So last weekend I shaved them short after getting acouple of tips from Michelle. Her beautiful picture of Yuki and Atticus inspired me to at least try it. I'm glad she said she used a 5 blade because I most likely would have used 10 and it would have been too shaved for my first try. There are some beautiful/handome dogs on here with short ears and I have always admired them. They look so sporty.

Am I glad I did it? yes Do I miss the long ears? yes Will I most likely grow them back out now? yes I think if I had two poodles I would have one short and one long.

I am not experienced in grooming at all ( a year and a half only ) and did have some trouble balancing out the head and body proportions. I did cut his topknot too short - I usually just trim a little bit so don't know what happened there. I am hesitant and a little embarrassed to show pictures but I'm going to anyway. Here is before & after:


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

StormeeK said:


> I am not experienced in grooming at all ( a year and a half only ) and did have some trouble balancing out the head and body proportions. I did cut his topknot too short - I usually just trim a little bit so don't know what happened there. I am hesitant and a little embarrassed to show pictures but I'm going to anyway. Here is before & after:


Oh! StormeeK!
I think you did a nice job. I would really love it if you would share more photos of Deweys new ears. 

I think the head is the hardest part to trim on a poodle. Scissoring to make it look nice and balanced is an art, and I can only wish to be decent at it some day!

Thank you for sharing - I am still on the fence.... I am wishy washy by nature, so this is hard for me!


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## Michelle (Nov 16, 2009)

If you're nervous about it you can always leave them on the longer, short side (does that even make sense? lol).

Here are Yuki's grown out for about 3-4 months after being shaved with a #5 blade. You could always start with this length first then go shorter later on! I'm guessing these are about the length of an "A" attachment comb. I did Yuki's with a "0" attachment comb for a long time, it wasn't until this past summer I started shaving them with a #5.



This is freshly shaved with a #5



And this is about a months growth, you can see a difference already! They would look fluffier if he had a bath...he is definitely due!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

I have always wanted to try a tassel ear on my girls, but I am afraid that if. I don't like it, it would look really terrible for a very long time while it grew out!


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

Michelle said:


> If you're nervous about it you can always leave them on the longer, short side (does that even make sense? lol).
> 
> *Here are Yuki's* grown out for about 3-4 months after being shaved with a #5 blade. You could always start with this length first then go shorter later on! I'm guessing these are about the length of an "A" attachment comb. I did Yuki's with a "0" attachment comb for a long time, it wasn't until this past summer I started shaving them with a #5.
> 
> ...


Michelle
The "problem" is.... Yuki is just SO dang gorgeous, with his beautiful color variations in ears, that I think it is an unfair comparison to my plain 'ol black Axel, haha!

Nonetheless, I am being encouraged by these additional photos. Maybe the key would be, as you suggest, to use a comb at first, and not take off the whole thing. 

LOVE your Yuki....


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## Muggles (Mar 14, 2015)

I think go for it! At least try a mid length or so to ease your way into it - that way if you don't like it, it'll be less that needs to grow back! But I think short ears will suit him perfectly 

(And agree about Yuki - he's too perfectly handsome for his own good!)


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

I agree with Muggles - I hope you decide to go for it! I think Axel would look stunning with short ears -- and the pictures on this thread of other black SPOOs with short ears shows that "plain old black" actually gains some texture and shading with the short ears!

P.S. Another fan of gorgeous Yuki here!  <3


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

No. Ear hair does not grow slower than the rest of the hair on the dog. The ears are simply kept much, much longer than the coat is kept on the rest of the body so it takes many times longer to get back to where it had been when it was long.


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## snmim (Sep 7, 2015)

I personally love a male poodle with shaved ears, Axel would look great in it. Some day I'll try it out on Mira once I'm tired of her look. If you want more information on how long they take to grow back you should check out this thread: http://www.poodleforum.com/9-poodle-grooming/9584-german-trim.html It basically documents Flyingduster's dog's ear hair growth once shaved with a 10 blade.


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## StormeeK (Aug 3, 2015)

I think a big problem here is that Axel has such beautiful ( handsome ) ears! I 've always thought he looks like royalty in his signature pic. I think that just makes it harder to make a change. 

I am adding a couple of Dewey short ear pictures - just remember .. novice groomer and dog in the rain for at least 4 hours this weekend ( SE Texas weather was 80 F and hard rain ) and air drying. This poodle LOVES the rain! So this is probably the worst he could look if you went to the short ears!


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

StormeeK said:


> I think a big problem here is that Axel has such beautiful ( handsome ) ears! I 've always thought he looks like royalty in his signature pic. I think that just makes it harder to make a change.
> 
> I am adding a couple of Dewey short ear pictures - just remember .. novice groomer and dog in the rain for at least 4 hours this weekend ( SE Texas weather was 80 F and hard rain ) and air drying. This poodle LOVES the rain! So this is probably the worst he could look if you went to the short ears!


I like Dewey's look! Thank you for posting more photos. 

Do you think his ears are cleaner now? Or do they still drag in his water bowl etc? I am imagining that Axel would have less issues with sopping wet ears every time he drinks. There's also the issue if he goes to smell something yucky while on a walk outside. Maybe his ears would be less likely to drag in the yucky stuff...


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## StormeeK (Aug 3, 2015)

His ears are definitely easier to take care of and cleaner. Our problem is that he runs outside several times a day on a 5 acre yard and comes in with burrs in his ears. There are certain times a year that I have to brush the ears and legs each time he comes in. I then get a pile of debris. Even then he would develop small mats around the edges of his ears. This was another reason I cut them - it was very frustrating for both of us. After getting wet in the rain or bath they are so much easier to dry. I feel like there is more air flow also inside the ear. With the shorter ear hair now I can see that he may be becoming blue instead of staying black! Muzzle , ears and lower legs look blue. When I got him I had no idea this was a possibility.


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

Mithy said:


> I personally love a male poodle with shaved ears, Axel would look great in it. Some day I'll try it out on Mira once I'm tired of her look. If you want more information on how long they take to grow back you should *check out this thread*: http://www.poodleforum.com/9-poodle-grooming/9584-german-trim.html It basically documents Flyingduster's dog's ear hair growth once shaved with a 10 blade.


Thank you Mithy!!! Appreciate it.

This old thread has a lot of info/photos.


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