# knotted ears and grooming



## sschoe2 (Mar 16, 2011)

My Sari has some bad knotting/matting on the fringes of her ear flaps. The Petsmart groomer refused to do her. I tried dematting solution and a dematting rake and also just coming it. It had little effect. The hair on the outside is fine but on the inside all along the borders are like a solid clump. 

I am worried she will get a hematoma if they shave it. What is the best recourse?


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## caboodles (Jan 7, 2011)

PATIENCE. 

All mats can come out... it just takes extra time and effort to get it done. But it CAN be done. Just take it little sections at a time.. and don't go from the roots. Try getting the end mats out first and slowly work your way down to the roots. If she is impatient and not liking all the attention on her ears, do little bits at a time (or each day) and give her lots of breaks. Shaving and cutting should only be used as a LAST resort in my opinion.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

The best resource is preventing them from happening in the first place..


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## sschoe2 (Mar 16, 2011)

She tends to dip her ears into the water when she drinks. That is probably how it happened.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

What did the groomer recommend? Were there more mats then the ears? I would think the groomer would have shaved them for you....unless its matted that close to the skin

All dogs will get wet drinking or playing in water - you really, really should not let it keep drying like that.....mats set in so quickly. You may want to keep the ears short in the future.


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## Apres Argent (Aug 9, 2010)

You may have to shave the ear......
Try a 5 blade, start on the inside of the ear leather. I have never had a problem shaving ears for a German clip. If she shakes her head she can cause a problem, just put a tube of fabric on her like a snood to prevent a issue until she gets used her newly shaved ears.


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## Princess Dollie (Jan 15, 2011)

Fluffyspoos said:


> The best resource is preventing them from happening in the first place..


Agree. I have a habit of running my fingers through Dollie's topknot, ear, and pom hair every single time I pet her which is...well like continuously. I work on separating the hairs and trying to find small mats before they develop into big ones.


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## cliffdweller (Jan 31, 2011)

As Caboodles said : 


> PATIENCE. ...


 
This is good advice. I've had to do this twice with Rain. Once after I brought her home -- she had major, _major_ mats in the area you described, made worse by what I was using to treat the ear infections she had. Then again, though not as bad as the first time, after wearing a cone for 10 days following her eye injury, her ears were full of mats caused by the hair rubbing against the cone (e-collar). It's a very slow process to get these out without hurting the dog, but it can be done. I used a good metal comb, very gently and a little at a time.


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## littlestitches (Dec 28, 2009)

Do the poodles complain as much as children do when you are brushing their hair? My daughter acts as if i am ripping her hair out by the root if I even touch a tangle.......

Paula


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

If the mats are right at the border where edge of ear meets hair then that is a scary place to be. I doubt you are at risk of a hematoma unless she hasn't had her ears done in 6 months to a year then you could run the risk.

Otherwise if an owner wanted long ears but there was tight matting then I lift up all the long hair on the OUTSIDE of the leather. Then I clip with a #10-#40 all the inside ear hair working to the matted sections on the ends of the leather. Once the mat is shaved off the leather then I use a Silicone spray, scissor's to break up the mat a little section at a time & work the mats on out. Even though the ear has been shaved to the ear lether the long outside ear hair will cover up the section. Might be slightly thinner in that area but mats will be off the leather.

On the other hand you can be bold & go with a shaved ear inside & out & go from there.


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

Oh, the joys of long poodle ear hair! I might not get to the rest of him, but ever since the one time Beau developed some bad mats in his thick, fluffy ear hair -- and I got reprimanded and "fined" $5 by our groomer -- I've been diligent about combing out his ears every day. In fact, I think I grab the comb and do it right now . . . .


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

As a general rule from a groomer, brush daily, or every other day, what you want to keep the most. Example; topknot, ears, tail pom. If you don't think you have enough time to brush your whole dog, have the body shaved short and keep the ears, topknot, and tail rounded and styled to keep that poodle look. If the body gets matted, that's okay, it wasn't priority (but remember, mats CAN cause skin issues) because you can just shave it off.


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## FunkyPuppy (Jan 27, 2011)

As an ex PetSmart groomer myself, i'll say this:

- generally, petsmart groomers are NOT well-educated in detangling products (or even the shampoos and conditioners they use) and are not ALLOWED to use non-approved products to demat. They dont even allow the use of non-diluted conditioner to demat. Even products sold from petsmart's shelves are verboten in the salon!!!

- no good groomer will willingly inflict pain on a dog (ESPECIALLY a puppy) to satisfy an owner's vanity. I usually refuse to demat very young pups unless the puppy is extremely tolerant to brushing (most aren't). Remember, groomers at petsmart work in front of a big window... even the most gentle dematting procedure can cause a puppy to scream and flail around and carry on, which makes the salon look like a mean, brutal place.

- you aren't a bad mom because your dog's ears got matted. You likely didn't know any better. However, a dog's first experience with a new groomer should NOT involve a bunch of tugging and pulling (even gentle dematting involves some discomfort).


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## PhaedraAllen (Feb 22, 2011)

I wholly agree about the snood. Jasper used to also come up from the food and water bowl with half of his ears sopping wet and caked in food. And I don't know about anyone else but he then proceeds to do the zoomies and whipe his face all along the front of the couch as he whizzes by. So, we started using a snood when he ate.

You can fashion a snood super easy by cutting off the sleeve from an old tee-shirt. Pop that on when its time to eat and remove when done. We have had the cleanest ears since then. Now to just get him to learn how to wipe his mouth on a towel instead of the front of the couch. ;o)

Good luck!


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## Fond of Poodles (Feb 1, 2011)

Wow, you've gotten lots of good advice...what did you decide to do? Shaved ears aren't the end of the world for a pet, particularly a puppy. It's hair and it grows back, .

I'd err on the side of "no pain" as well though, puppies need positive grooming experiences, and those ear mats can hurt to remove.


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## 3dogs (Nov 3, 2010)

Also if your Poodle has long ears try a "Spaniel" bowl. These bowls have a smaller opening at the top & a wider base. Therefore the ears flop to the outside of the bowl instead of in the bowl.

Hope the ears are going well.


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## Rayah-QualitySPs (Aug 31, 2010)

littlestitches said:


> Do the poodles complain as much as children do when you are brushing their hair? My daughter acts as if i am ripping her hair out by the root if I even touch a tangle.......
> 
> Paula


HaHa. My children were both like this and yet my dogs never complain about gooming!


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## 2719 (Feb 8, 2011)

PhaedraAllen said:


> I wholly agree about the snood. Jasper used to also come up from the food and water bowl with half of his ears sopping wet and caked in food. And I don't know about anyone else but he then proceeds to do the zoomies and whipe his face all along the front of the couch as he whizzes by. So, we started using a snood when he ate.
> 
> You can fashion a snood super easy by cutting off the sleeve from an old tee-shirt. Pop that on when its time to eat and remove when done. We have had the cleanest ears since then. Now to just get him to learn how to wipe his mouth on a towel instead of the front of the couch. ;o)
> 
> Good luck!



Or if the ears are long enough you can just use hair scrunchies and tie them up behind the head like a pony tail. This is what we use when we feed ours.

The matts that form behind the ear at the back near the neck can sometimes form if you do not properly brush and then comb through the entire ear (front and back). It is easy to think you have thoroughly brushed the ear hair through and then....OMG next time there is a matt because you have been missing a whole section of ear! Hopefully once you have solved the current matting problem you can start fresh by brushing and combing regularly...I find that it doesn't take too long if you do it regularly..and it does not give time for matts to form.

Hope everything works out.


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## bura4 (Jul 25, 2010)

When my boy's hair used to matt like that I used to bathe the matted area, soak it in human conditioner (a lot if it) and then, dry it - the air pushes the matts off the skin and the slickiness from the conditioner makes it easier to brush them out with a slicker...


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## zoey11 (Oct 26, 2010)

That EXACT same thing happened to my Toy - I just had to cut out all the mats...her ears were really short, but now I learned my lesson and brush her ears every other day and I prevent mats, and her ears can grow out beautiful and long!


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## sschoe2 (Mar 16, 2011)

Well it all turned out ok in the end. The Petsmart groomer just made us hysterical telling us she'd have to shave her to the skin and she'd get hematomas and have to go to the vet.

We went to another groomer and she just took it slow and made the ears a bit short but fine. We won't be taking her to Petsmart again.


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## ThinkingPoodle (Jun 28, 2011)

3dogs said:


> Also if your Poodle has long ears try a "Spaniel" bowl. These bowls have a smaller opening at the top & a wider base. Therefore the ears flop to the outside of the bowl instead of in the bowl.


THIS is great advise to keep those ears dry and help prevent the matting. My manager has bred and shown Cockers and Springers for years, she keeps dry ears with these bowls or with narrow opening hanging buckets.


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

I so want some Snoods! 
Right now I just use my own hair scrunchies and clips (but they shake them out sometimes). 

I agree-you're not a bad Mommy because your pood's ears got matted. Use it as a learning experience though and keep on top of her flowing locks! 

I have an evening ritual and my poods love it (the attention)! We go down to the grooming room and they each get a turn on the table. I wipe down their face/eyes, brush them out--paying close attention to the ears, tail pom and "arm pits," and last but not least I brush their teeth and rinse with the Virbac dental rinse. This is also my time to check for ticks and pine needles/etc. stuck in paws.  They really _love _the attention and they all whine until they get their turn (I have three). 

I want a Snood from here: Snoods ? poodleit

Are there any other preferred venders?


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## Pampered Pooch (Jul 12, 2011)

I would have used the same technique as 3Dogs & completely agreed with FunkyPuppy. The dogs overall well being is 1st priority, and if ears are terribly matted, shaving them down should be considered (unless maybe they weren't that matted, which they probably weren't if another groomer didn't have a problem). A groomer will normally let you know how bad it is. The ear leathers are sensitive and often brush burn can occur if pretty severe, even when trying to be really careful & using products to help. A good way I like to think of it is, what if my hair was badly matted & I hadn't brushed it in a good while. I wouldn't want a hairdresser to spend hours working on it, pulling & tugging, giving me a headache and causing me to be sore. I would just try to prevent it in the future. I have rarely had to shave a poodles ears and it would be a last resort for me. Somtimes it happens though, sometimes it feels like it happens even over night, but we learn from it. If you feel that the ears are prone to matting, or any area on the body I would recommend spraying with a conditioning spray a few times a week when your brush such as Lamberts Pro-Groom. Use a good slicker brush if there are a few tangles, I always recommend Millers Forge designer series slicker brush because it is extra soft and extra gentle, along with a medium/coarse metal comb. Good luck!


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