# How much hair do you remove from ears?



## caboodles (Jan 7, 2011)

I try to pluck my poodles' ears about every three weeks, so that I'm only removing minor amounts of hair at a time and they don't get too agitated with the process.. I personally find it's an easier way to control and manage the hair there...

If I'm going "deep" into the ear, I prefer to use just regular tweezers. I find they are able to grasp the hair a lot better and easier for me to make sure I grab the hair, and nothing else. But I think as long as you remove the majority of the ear canal hair, and take awake excess moisture and wax, the ears should be pretty good. As long as the deep hair isn't COMPLETELY blocking the ear canal, because that it where you can get bacterial problems because the air is unable to circulate there!

Maybe you could even try to get a little bit of deep hair once a week? That way, eventually it will be significantly less and won't be TOO bothered by it all?

Lastly, you could always take him to a professional groomer or your vet if you feel it is in serious need of some attention!


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## PhaedraAllen (Feb 22, 2011)

mmm...good question and one I have asked myself before.

When I take him to a prof. groomer, they will grab on with those hemostats and I hear a bit of a crunch. Jasper wimpers and the groomer will twist and get out a HUGE gob of hair. However, I don't like to do that when I pull the hair as it obviously hurts him and I just am not comfortable with not pulling what I can't see.

And what is that crunch anyway. I would think it's a piece of his ear inside but the groomers (with an "s") never say anything and I hear that crunch with every groomer who does it. But I'm just too unsure. I pluck the stuff I can see and that's it. Enough so that I can point a flashlight down there and see the turn in his ear canal to make sure that it is open to air.

The vet says that he has a ton of hair and quite a bit deep down in his canal. I just let the groomer or vet pull anything that is deeper than I am comfortable accessing.

I pluck his ear hair every 2-3 weeks and he gets the professional groomer or vet pluck about 2-3 times a year.

Good luck....he's a cutie pie for sure.


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## lavillerose (Feb 16, 2011)

That "crunch" you are hearing is the locking mechanism on the hemostats that makes them close tight. It isn't something in your dog's ear! Buy.com - Curved Forceps Fishing Locking Hemostat Tool 8" See the little protrusions next to the fingerholes? Those two things lock together as the hemostat closes. To reopen, you just give the grip a slight twist.

However I'm a groomer, and I hardly ever use hemostats. I prefer to use powder and my fingers, and the vast majority of the time on dogs of all sizes, I can get most if not all of the hair out this way. The only time I will use hemostats is on rare cases where the hair is extremely greasy or filthy with wax, and in those cases, they need to see a vet anyway.


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## Fiveoclockdog (Sep 16, 2010)

I am a groomer and I do a lot of plucking but I won't pluck ears completely on dogs that don't come in for regular grooming. My concern is inflamation and the spread of existing bacteria, fungus, etc... I make sure the ear is thoroughly clean and dry, and will pluck enough to open up the ear canal. On dogs that I see frequently (every four weeks), I do a complete pluck. My own Spoo puppy is bathed, combed out, FFT, and plucked every Saturday. He doesn't even notice


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

I have to admit to some laziness here ...

When mine was a pup, his ears were very manky and we fought ear infections regularly. I was advised by the vet to pluck as much as possible.

When I switched his food (from a high quality to a premium kibble & tinned), the ear infections went away completely. Not very scientific, could have been down to other factors, but since then I've been way lazy about plucking his ears. I pluck a bit, the groomer plucks a bit, but he still has pretty hairy ears and hasn't had any problems.

I'm slightly skeptical of the ear hair = ear infections link. My horse has very hairy ears and the hair is actually protective; horses with the hair clipped away from the inside of the ear suffer a lot.

Again, not scientific, different species, but it supports my lazy approach, so I'm sticking with it :smile:.


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## Fiveoclockdog (Sep 16, 2010)

I don't think of it as a hair=infection link... I think of it as a filthy, wax plugged ear=infections link. I've had poodle owners tell me they wipe out their dog's ears regularly, then during the groom, I'll remove a sticky, stank, wax plug the size of a gum ball from the ear canal. I'm suprised their dogs can hear them!
With regard to food, it does make a difference. I tend to head in the opposite direction though. I usually suggest an elimination diet with GO! Salmon and Oatmeal. My clients report great results and I can see the results for myself by the next groom.


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## EmilyK (Mar 26, 2011)

I was just coming in here to ask something similar! My new pup's ears seem really hairy but the breeder mentioned that he didn't have much hair in there yet so I'm assuming I'm not looking at the right hair. Am I just supposed to worry about the hair down in the ear canal? What about all the hair closer to the surface? I can't imagine trying to pull all that! Where do you normally start pulling it from?


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## Fiveoclockdog (Sep 16, 2010)

With a puppy, you'll see some soft hair around the opening of the ear canal and sometime a little bit down in the canal. If you begin early and make it part of the weekly grooming routine, the experience won't be traumatic for your puppy or you. After I've cleaned and dried the ear, I simply dust my fingers and pluck away the hair. By doing this often, I make it a quick and painless experience that neither of us comes to dread


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## FozziesMom (Jun 23, 2010)

I think I've mentioned this before but since we're on the subject again...

Fozz had enormous amounts of hair in his ears. (the vet said she'd never seen so much--and coincidentally he also has ectopic cilias--hair growing inside his eyes!) When he was being put under for neutering I had the vet pluck it all so he wouldn't have to endure it while being conscious. I now have my groomer pluck it all every six weeks. Never had a problem since.


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## cerulia (Jan 7, 2010)

*confused on plucking issue...*

I've heard "never pluck, just make sure they're clean" and I've heard "pluck it all!" I use Epi-Otic once a week during bath time right now. And I trim a good amount from the outer parts of the ear canal. I also constantly pull the hair out of the way of the ear canal but I don't often yank it out. I've heard that the act of yanking it out can cause problems too....

very confusing without some hard evidence one way or the other!


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## Savannah (Jan 15, 2010)

Most dogs' ear hair plucks very easily, and with almost no pain to the dog, but Flash's are harder to pluck, and it clearly hurts him. Sometimes the follicles even bleed.
One thing I've found that helps is to put ear powder in his ears the day prior to plucking, then powder & pluck the next day. It seems to work much better for him, with less pain. 

The amount of plucking required depends highly on your dog. If he's accumulating wax, dirt, or moisture in his ears, he'll require more frequent plucking to prevent ear infections. If his ears are always clean & healthy, then there's no reason to put him through the stress of plucking. Regular cleaning & powdering of the ears is definitely recommended, whether or not you choose to pluck.


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## Mister (Sep 10, 2008)

I pluck it all including as far down in the ear canal as possible. I wasnt going as deep and found a nasty glob of ear wax/dirt one time and since then i do it deeper. Mister actually loves having his ears plucked. I think it feels good to get the stuff out.


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