# Do you pull the hair out inside the ear??



## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Yes, it depends on the individual dog. Just because it hurts your dog though doesn't mean it shouldn't have it done. I do mine every 6 weeks or so. Although I groom my dogs more often then that, I like to have long hair to pull out a bit at a time to make sure I can get the hair deep in the ear canal. I NEVER clean the ears at the same time I pluck them, that's just asking for irriation. I'll leave the ear powder in the ear to keep it dry and clean them a few days later to allow the pores to close.

Vienna get's waxy ears, Vegas never does.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I do - but some don't! See here http://www.poodleforum.com/9-poodle-grooming/11035-pluck-ears-not-pluck-ears.html for a recent discussion. If you do it once a week or so, and only pull tiny pinches at a time, it does not hurt - some groomers have been taught to yank the whole lot out at once, which must be very painful!


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## Hank (Feb 8, 2011)

thanks for the responses. I tried to do a search so I didn't have to start another thread but I must have missed that one. thanks again...


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

Yes if i pluck i pluck the hairs in the ear- what i can grab with my own fingers or a pair of tweasers. i just pluck a few hairs at a time. a few times a month


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## Bella's Momma (Jul 26, 2009)

The groomer does it. We can't bring ourselves to do it, though we clean them out when we bathe her.


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

My friend uses hemostats to get small bits of hair out. However, she can't find any that she really likes. We neither of us really like the locking ones because they hurt your fingers to unlock, and the non-locking ones that she has just don't close properly and so they can't pull small pieces of hair out because the gap is too big.

I never thought of using tweezers. What do others use? I don't think I would like to use fingers because I might get hold of a too big piece of hair.


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## ItzaClip (Dec 1, 2010)

as a professional groomer I use powder for grip and tweezers with finger holes, this i sbetter for grabbinga few hairs. Depending on dog(deep rooted/sensitive) i will not always pull hair or all hairs. in fact just cleaning and trimming my reactive dogs ahas hugely helped thier issues with handling the ears/head area(i dont blame them) and we have also tried not pulling hair(just cleaning and trimming) on dogs with constant infections in case it is continueing because we are leaving the hair folicle open. this also makes them happier. I have groomed quite a few clienst that came with never having htier ear hair pulle and they do just fine, it doesnt look as neat,but i say if it works don't mess with it.


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## fracturedcircle (Aug 19, 2010)

ItzaClip said:


> I have groomed quite a few clienst that came with never having htier ear hair pulle and they do just fine, it doesnt look as neat,but i say if it works don't mess with it.


I am happy to read this because, I confess, we don't pull--just thoroughly (but gently, of course) clean the ears with a solution. the ears are in great shape so far.


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

Lucy in the past has been prone to skin infections. I had some ointment from the vet's the last time she had a rash and as she was scratching her ears and they looked a little red, I put a small amount in (not right down inside her ears - just where it was a bit red) and it seems to have gone now.

Do you think I should leave her ears alone or pull small amounts of hair.

Do these look like the right thing - scissorstweez or something?

http://www.essentialdayspa.com/tweezerman-scissortweeze-p_7658.htm


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## ItzaClip (Dec 1, 2010)

they are close enough though i dont buy the tweezer man brand, just the cheap ones at drugstore, those will probebly grip better. always check the edges and file them rounder if needed.


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## ItzaClip (Dec 1, 2010)

Purley said:


> Lucy in the past has been prone to skin infections. I had some ointment from the vet's the last time she had a rash and as she was scratching her ears and they looked a little red, I put a small amount in (not right down inside her ears - just where it was a bit red) and it seems to have gone now.
> 
> Do you think I should leave her ears alone or pull small amounts of hair.
> 
> ...


the skin infection is probably due to dietary, or other irritation, look for reddness in skin in groin area, pads feet, does she lick anywhere?
also watch for a patturn, ie you use a certain ear cleaner and she gets a rash, or after her bath she gets irritated. make sure you plug ears with cotton when bathing. if scratching that tells me that she might have excess heat and dampness in body. be aware that if the ointment has a steroid in it it is addressing the symptoms and not the cause of the symptom, such as being sensitive to "hot" meats and certain grains. take pic of ear,then i can tell you better. 
as for plucking, i really dont like introducing at an old age, if roots are shallow(hair comes out easy) and dog is not too sensitive(do a few hairs/rub ear praise) then spread it out and then after that maintain. you dont have to pluck every single hair. if you notice a lot of ear shaking and scratching and rubbing each time you do it, change your patturn, dont clean after pulling, dont pull as much, try just cleaning and trimming hairs...etc


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

i do a bit. today when i was grooming temperance, i put some ear powder in there and pulled some hair out. i didn't over do it. just enough to make them a bit neater. i do it about once every 6-8 weeks. don't use hemostats, just want i can get with my fingers. it pulls right out w/ the ear powder.


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## Ann Mc Keon (Feb 9, 2011)

These are a nice size, 3 inch for ears on ebay 3 Inch Forcepts Curved Stainless Steel NEW Retail - eBay (item 220719116860 end time Mar-04-11 13:15:07 PST) I dont mind the locking action, sometimes its great when you have a long hair that does not want to come out, just be really careful not to catch the ear and only the hair on the inside is to come out not on the outer part of the ear


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## lilosbornefarm (Apr 19, 2011)

*1st time plucking puppy ears...*

So Tiny is almost 11 weeks old and I ALWAYS mess w/ her ears when she is laying down,etc. I did use powder and start plucking the hair out and OH MY, drama queen, yelping and wanting to mouth me! I only used my fingers, I have hemostats but was afraid w/ her flailing I would get something i wasn't supposed to. One of her ears had more hair than the other and of course that was the ear that smelled "waxier". She was just at the vet and her ears were good but she had lots of hair. Is it ok to pluck out just as far as I can reach with my fingers? which in a puppy ear with my fingers isn't too far? I hope I'm doing the right thing.....


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## caboodles (Jan 7, 2011)

I think you're very much on the right track!! Pluck the hairs you can see .. and with your fingers, it's always safe!

ALSO.. getting her used to this from the young age. I don't think any dog really liked their first plucking experience, but I know mine have learned to tolerate it. I truly believe that they just trust me, .. and know that I'm not intentionally trying to hurt them, but doing it for their health and wellness, just like clipping their nails and brushing them.

I think one of the best things you can do is not react when she yelps. (that sounds kind of cold.. but really it's not!).. What I mean is, if she yelps.. and you react into a panic "OMG I hurt her!!" she's going to associate that ear plucking = negative, pain and you don't know what you're doing. However, if you carry on, remain CALM at all times during the plucking.. she's literally going to sense that you mean no harm, only health!


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## lavillerose (Feb 16, 2011)

The first time is always a bit dramatic. You can't really blame them—it hurts! I have had puppies freak out for the first time and gradually calm down later on as they get used to it. Some are screamers, too! Personally, I don't always pull it all out that time either, unless they are calm enough to let me.

I also almost never use hemostats, I just find them too easy to pinch something and hurt the puppy more. Just fingers and powder. If you don't get all of it in one plucking, it's okay.

I once had a schnauzer grooming client, Heidi, whose owner was recommended to sedate her dog for grooming, just to get the ears plucked. I found this completely ridiculous, considering 1) she screamed and threw a fit anyway, sedated or not, and 2) the medical risks, so I just told her to save her money, quit giving her the downers and worked with the dog. It took about a year, but we went from a flailing screaming Heidi and two people helping, to a Heidi that sat very calmly for her plucking with no sedation necessary. It just takes time, praise, patience and in Heidi's case, cookies.


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