# Plucked Puppy Ear Question



## AgilityIG (Feb 8, 2009)

Most likely he is shaking his head and scratching due to the recent plucking. It's probably an odd feeling being without that hair all of a sudden. This is not an emergency situation. If he is still shaking/scratching on Monday, give your vet a call and see if they want to see him or just prescribe something since they saw him so recently. Explain that his ears were plucked recently by the groomer.

I would not let the groomer pluck his ears bald all at once. Plucking a few hairs here and there is not a big deal, but all at once can cause irritation.

Personally, I don't pluck ears on a regular basis. I clean ears with a 50/50 mix of alcohol and white vinegar when I groom (every 2-3 weeks). I shave the inside of Vinnie's ears to keep things tidy. If there is a wick of hair, I will pluck that out. I do not clean and pluck on the same day though as the cleaner (any kind) can cause irritation on freshly plucked ears. 

Hope your boy feels better soon!!


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## FrouFrouFan (Jan 13, 2011)

I would take him back to the vet. I'll bet the vet was focused on the vaccine part of the exam and ear infections can bloom very quickly, and it sounds like his symptoms have worsened since the vet saw him. It can probably wait until Monday, but I think ear infections can be severely painful, so if he acts very painful, I might take him in tomorrow. We often see ear infections that seem to come on very suddenly after a trip to the groomer. The bath, the plucking, the cleaners they use may all conspire to more of an infection from a subclinical one. Maybe ask if she can do a cytology, if she still doesn't see anything. Ear infections are among the top reasons people bring their pets in and usually they are cured with a rinse and ointment, but can recur if due to a secondary codition like hairy canals (oh, poodles...) or allergies. Good luck getting him better!


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## FrouFrouFan (Jan 13, 2011)

*Quick qualification....*

'Painful' to me means acting down, head tilt and not interested in food. If he's still his normal self, it definitely is not an emergency. I reread my post and didn't want to scare you...http://www.poodleforum.com/images/smiles/act-up.png


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I did not think the groomer was going to pluck his ears - she did not the first time. I wish I would have realized because if they needed to be plucked I would not want it all done at one time - that had to hurt. The vet checked his ears very carefully and cleaned them herself. I am actually pretty impressed on how thorough she was. It was not a quick in and out visit. I will play it by ear (ha, ha) and see how he feels. I am probably overprotective. He is eating fine and running around so can't be in too much pain and his ear does not smell at all and it is not red or moist now. He still is shaking his head. AgilityIG - I am not going to clean his ears now but thank you for the recipe. Do you swab his hears with guaze?


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

After Nickel has settled down, I started this routine: I put my finger in his ears while we were watching TV/chilling. I then started pulling out the hair with my fingers gently. I then used those ear wipes to start wiping the outer ears. His groomer is very nice. He slowly started the plucking process. Now Nickel is used to it. But I remember the first time when he came back with his ears plucked, he did rub his ears to the carpet for the whole afternoon. 

Now weekly I soak a cotton ball with 50/50 white vinegar and water, put in his ear, massage, and wipe with dry cotton pads. His ears smell nice and clean. I pluck his ears in between of grooming sessions (6-7 wks) and every time I ask his groomer how his ears look and he said they're perfect.

You might want to check this out: Poco A Poco Toy Poodle Ear Care
She's a very experienced and reputable toy poodle breeder and groomer. VIP has link to this specific page too.

Hope this helps.


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## AgilityIG (Feb 8, 2009)

CT Girl said:


> AgilityIG - I am not going to clean his ears now but thank you for the recipe. Do you swab his hears with guaze?


I use cotton balls to clean Vinnie's ears. Usually I will soak the cotton ball in the vinegar/alcohol mix and clean with that. Sometimes I will fill the ear canal with the cleaner and massage the base of his ear to loosen up any debris.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Thank you for the ear care tips. I now think that it was the plucking. He is not shaking his head as often and when he scratches his ears he he only yelped this morning and he just let me stick my finger in his ears and rub. My vet told me his ears are very hairy inside even for a poodle so it was a lot to have pulled all at once. I think I will try pulling a few hairs at a time. Is this done with just your fingers? I think I will try the protocoll from Poco A Poco but I like AgilityIG's variation of alcohol and white vinegar instead of vinegar and water because it will dry off quicker. Thank you all for the advice. It is hard to see your puppy squealing in pain when it is the weekend and you are not really sure he needs the vet. Hopefully with these ear maintenance tips I can avoid an actual ear infection. Thank you all for your help.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

I tried the vinegar and alcohol mixture but Nickel is REALLY sensitive to alcohol. His ears turn burning hot and red with anything alcohol touching them. Hopefully Swizzle is not as sensitive as my boy.

Good luck and I hope Swizzle will feel better soon.


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## FozziesMom (Jun 23, 2010)

When I got Fozzie, he had an enormous amount of hair in his ears. That is of course a huge risk for them. So when he was "under" for neutering I had them pull it all. Now the groomer plucks him each time and voila. I don't do much with the ears in between grooms, just monitor. The ideas suggested here seem very safe should you have problems

(it's Fozzie's eyes i have to work on every day, lots of gunk and stuff there)


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