# petsmart nail grooming/possible ear plucking rant



## sparkyjoe (Oct 26, 2011)

I don't like pushy people either. Particularly when they give that "I *obviously* know more than you!" attitude. 

I agree you should look elsewhere.

Good Luck!


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## loves (Jul 2, 2013)

Too bad you aren't near me. Most nail trims I will check ears, and also trim hair on bottom of feet. Hey, nails take about 5 minutes, the rest another 5.... I don't worry about working 20 min for $10. Just one of those little extras from a small one groomer shop.


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## Spicoli's Mom (Jan 25, 2014)

There are too many good groomers who are willing to listen to a clients needs to put up with those who don't.


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## hilshaven (Sep 20, 2012)

I don't blame you for being put off with their pushy attitude. However i have a hairy ear story to share. Last summer Winston kept shaking his head and i tried to see what was wrong. He had tons of waxy,brown gunk in his ears. after trying to clean them myself with limited success, i took him to the vet. She had never seen such hairy ears and deep down inside! well $400 later for ear flush, plucking with numbing meds, an ear culture, then a goopy medicine applied to his ears that had to stay in for 2 weeks, I have learned the importance to clean and pluck regularly. i have an ear wash that i try to use on him every week or so. I try to pull out the hair with my fingers as i see it.

That said, find someone you are comfortable with if you feel the need to have pups ears plucked. hopefully they will not have the issues Winstons did!


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## PoodlePaws (May 28, 2013)

When my girls get groomed, I say no ear plucking and NO expressing anal glands. Every time ears get plucked, they get ear infections. 


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

Hildshaven: ouch that sounds painful! I know I'm just afraid of ear infections if they do pluck Poodle paws: is there anythin you do for the ear in regards to the hair ? Do you trim whatever showing with Scisscors? I'm so on the fence like equally down the line about it and it's so hard to decide 


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## Stephanie_Smith_1992 (Feb 18, 2014)

I know lots of groomers that dont clean there ear plucking instruments after each dog, spreading possible infection and mites, causing infection to your dog. As i groomer i know the risks. You should only go to someone you feel comfortable with and is willing to listen to your concerns. i wouldn't go back to someone like that either, she shouldn't have been so pushy.


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## hilshaven (Sep 20, 2012)

Reginaanna, Winston's ears were so bad they had to pack them with a goopy antibiotic...1syringe full per ear. It almost looked like bees wax. It wasn't fun and I don't want my spoo to go through that again!


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Misha's ears seem to get worse when plucked too much. I keep the hair around the opening trimmed and lightly pluck the finest hair. Her ears seem to have improved.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

PoodlePaws said:


> When my girls get groomed, I say no ear plucking and NO expressing anal glands. Every time ears get plucked, they get ear infections.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I dont know what it is, but it's driving me crazy!!! Every time my poodles go get groomed they get ear infections the next day!!!! No more!! No more!! :-( I'm just going to do it all myself !
I'm so upset, because I have no idea what causes it, I have said:, pluck, don't pluck, clean ears, don't clean ears...
It must be that they let water in...
Either way... I'm done! :-( it breaks my heart to see them in pain 


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

I feel your pain. I am still unsure what to do with the ears. I got Carley at 7 years old, she came to me with lots of notes on how to pluck her ears, what to use after each bath and plucking ect. I was told she got ear infection when you neglect her ears so I had to promise to stay on top of it... anyway, I read so much about it I decided not to pluck. She did end up with an ear infection after a year. I now barely pluck only what I can get with my fingers and not much of that. Another year goes by and all is fine...Then I take her to a groomer , told not to do more than what I was doing , just a few with fingers only. She did more... Carley got another infection ! The groomer was all over me about how bad they were needing to be plucked, I said , were they okay? She said yes, I was lucky they were fine. I found it odd they were not fine after the plucking...


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

I'm thinking i may just get them plucked a little.. only the necessary ones. becuase my black poodle really has a ton.. maybe ill do a little at a time.. and see how his ear reactes because i just dont want him to get an ear infection and every dog is different so we will see how it goes. im not ready to get him groomed yet.. not until at least may so we will see then. until then i continue to trim him a little bit myself and of course brush his teeth!


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Regianna, just please make sure your puppy is exposed OFTEN to the clippers. There is nothing worse than trying to groom a 6-7 month old puppy who has never been groomed. It is terrifying for them. It is so much easier to start when they are small and do it often to get them used to it. They are poodles and will be exposed to grooming often and for their whole lives. There are some dogs we got in the never got used to it and each time they came in it was horrible for the dog and for the groomer. I am glad you are aware of the whole ear plucking issue and can make an educated decision


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

n2mischief: how would i go about doing that if im not ready for him to be shaved? just take him to get a trim? i mean his face could use some cleaning and maybe the paws.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Lou said:


> I dont know what it is, but it's driving me crazy!!! Every time my poodles go get groomed they get ear infections the next day!!!! No more!! No more!! :-( I'm just going to do it all myself !
> I'm so upset, because I have no idea what causes it, I have said:, pluck, don't pluck, clean ears, don't clean ears...
> It must be that they let water in...
> Either way... I'm done! :-( it breaks my heart to see them in pain
> ...


By the way just wanted to share that after 4 different courses of medicine from the vet Apollo's ears would not get better at all, so I tried this product ZYMOX - people love it online, there's 1200 5-star reviews on Amazon etc... I can't guarantee anything but...
It worked for my poodles !!!!! But it's a steroid so I don't want to use it often.
(Steroid prolonged use is bad news) I'll Just use the 7 days (or 14days if severe) and hopefully never have to use it again! (Not taking them back to the groomers, will groom them myself! And I'll be 100% sure that no water will go in their ear and cut the hair and not pluck for long while and see what happens. And use the zymox CLEANER too, often.

Please please I hope it works  

Good luck to u all


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Lou said:


> By the way just wanted to share that after 4 different courses of medicine from the vet Apollo's ears would not get better at all, so I tried this product ZYMOX - people love it online, there's 1200 5-star reviews on Amazon etc... I can't guarantee anything but...
> It worked for my poodles !!!!! But it's a steroid so I don't want to use it often.
> (Steroid prolonged use is bad news) I'll Just use the 7 days (or 14days if severe) and hopefully never have to use it again! (Not taking them back to the groomers, will groom them myself! And I'll be 100% sure that no water will go in their ear and cut the hair and not pluck for long while and see what happens. And use the zymox CLEANER too, often.
> 
> ...


==========================
Oops, attachment didn't go 

Here is what I bought. AGAIN I AM NOT A VET, THIS IS ONLY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OK?

The top one is the medicine -
for the bad infection, black stinky greasy-sticky stuff coming out of their ears and all that 

The 2nd one is the cleanser- I have not tried the cleanser before but since the medicine worked I'm going to try this too. To avoid ear infections happening again 










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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Have his paw pads shaved (the hair on the underside of his paws). His sanitary done, the corners of his eyes scooped and some scissoring. If you ever want to have a clean face and feet on him, I would do it now.


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## Michelle (Nov 16, 2009)

Atticus is a tpoo and I keep up with his. He doesn't get very much and I just pluck it out as we watch tv. So it is never a lot being pulled at once. He has never had an ear infection in his life. It is not always painful if your worried about that. Quite a few dogs seem to actually enjoy it (kind of like an itch they cant scratch), while others don't mind and of course there are some that HATE it.

Every dog is different and what works for one dog might not work for the next. You just have to see what works for your pup 

And I second getting your pup used to the groomer at a young age, it will make think a whole lot easier for the groomer in the future!


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## poodlecrazy51 (Dec 31, 2012)

PoodlePaws said:


> When my girls get groomed, I say no ear plucking and NO expressing anal glands. Every time ears get plucked, they get ear infections.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


My vet just told me, when checking our puppy, that there are findings that indicate the hairs in dogs' ears need to be there..or maybe the finding was, that plucking causes more harm than good. Either way, I am not plucking the puppy's ears. Joon, at 6 yrs old, hates me plucking them. I do carefully take round pointed scissors and carefully cut out a bit of the hair. But leave most of it.
I also was told, that ear gunk is not mites, it is just gunk, from feeding too much or the wrong kind of carbohydrates....like corn and wheat. 

My 6 yo spoo has had bouts with clogged anal glands, and anal leakage on 
me, my hubby, our sofa, etc. So I do have her vet check them and empty them, at her annual. And I do a little bit of emptying when I bathe her, about every other time. Just to prevent any clogging, or overproductive sharing of anal fluid on us...ew

please tell me what the reason for not emptying the anal glands?


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## poodlecrazy51 (Dec 31, 2012)

Lou said:


> I dont know what it is, but it's driving me crazy!!! Every time my poodles go get groomed they get ear infections the next day!!!! No more!! No more!! :-( I'm just going to do it all myself !
> I'm so upset, because I have no idea what causes it, I have said:, pluck, don't pluck, clean ears, don't clean ears...
> It must be that they let water in...
> Either way... I'm done! :-( it breaks my heart to see them in pain
> ...


I wonder if a dog gets ear infections after plucking because, I think it "tears" the skin a bit in places. If I am not careful, I can see red areas, so I am pretty sure it must hurt my spoo. ....So I don't pluck anymore. I use blunt scissors. I don't take my spoos to a groomer. I am very careful about keeping water out of their ears. But I have a feeling, groomers not disinfecting hemostats thingys between dogs, could cause the spread of infection.
does anyone know what causes these ear infections?

is it allergies to grains, like corn and wheat, in dog foods?

is it irritated and broken skin from pulling the hair out at the roots?

is it dirty hemostats?

is it water in their ears?
(our dogs swim with us in our pool and never get ear infections)...


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

I never pluck my dogs ears, never worry about water getting in their ears. The only ear infection they have had was from me plucking their ears. 2 days later both had an infection.


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## Vanilla-Yazoo (Jun 2, 2013)

I do wonder too if bad ears are diet related, or down to the dogs chemical make up,
my family's two springer spaniels, same litter, age, both girls, both fed the same diet, and walked the same, one is over weight the other isnt and the slender (bonnie) one is always getting bad ears, normally one side is really bad the other isnt so bad, but the other's ears (penny)is never a problem.

they have never been to a professional groomer, and never had their ears plucked, we are careful not to get water inside the ears but give the long spaniel dangle ears a quick wash.

I am planing on not plucking Billy's ears, but if it was getting long in the ear tunnel I will shorten with scissors as long as he is calm. I am thinking of giving him the tassel ears, it might help the air get around the ears more?

I wouldn't be happy going back to someone who was so insistent like that if you have strictly asked them not to do ears, or glands.


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## Rhett'smom (Sep 23, 2012)

Well wading into a " wet" subject on ears. My experience with Rhett the poodle with gorilla hair in his ears... The vet, the groomer and I decided to pluck his ears. He has more hair in each ear than 4 dogs. His ear leather are kept light as they can without looking funny. Every week he gets the zymox treatment. This was after a few months of horrid ear problems. Now we have a system that works. No problems at all. The toy has never had any problems. You have to what works for your individual dog. 


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## loves (Jul 2, 2013)

Just take him for feet, face and sanitary. But if you don't want a clean face be sure to tell them. Often a puppy's first groom is just a trim, as long as they are not matted. But his nails need to be kept short, the bottoms of his feet should not be covered with hair, and his face needs trimming of some kind, plus the inside of his ears and sanitary areas. The rest just brush and fluff. Very easy. 

But if you wait till he is 4 mos., 6 mos. old or more and take him in, unless you have been very diligent about brushing and combing him, then you will start the cycle of shave downs. Many people do that. They don't want the dog short, so they don't get him groomed, then he goes to groomer and is matted to the skin, they are stripped down, owner complains that all the groomer does is shave down dogs and waits again another 4-6 months, and guess what, dog is matted, shaved, and owner complains about groomers. Many don't see the connection, unfortunately.


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## reginaanna217 (Jan 16, 2014)

loves: he is a messy pup so he gets bathed once a week and brushed every other day. he is not too fluffy only because i went snip crazy with scissors about three weeks ago. i refuse to have a matted dog im extremely consistant with brushing him even though its not easy brushing him becuase he thinks the brush is a toy! lol


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## -Lilith- (Nov 21, 2012)

As a groomer I went to a seminar 2 years ago done by a vet. She said pluck ears when necessary. She mentioned it this way.... Have you ever plucked your eyebrows? They get red and inflamed right? Think about if it was in a damn dark ear canal that already has a possible infection. BAM the infection is now noticeable. 
Also getting water in the ear DOES NOT cause an ear infection. 


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## Stephanie_Smith_1992 (Feb 18, 2014)

-Lilith- said:


> As a groomer I went to a seminar 2 years ago done by a vet. She said pluck ears when necessary. She mentioned it this way.... Have you ever plucked your eyebrows? They get red and inflamed right? Think about if it was in a damn dark ear canal that already has a possible infection. BAM the infection is now noticeable.
> Also getting water in the ear DOES NOT cause an ear infection.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


i agree with this, and i also agree getting water in there dont cause an ear infection. my vet gave me a water solution to flush the ear out with, if water was harmful why would they give me that. also poodles are water dogs, they swim, splash, dive in water, they are always getting water in there ears doing that.


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## PoodlePaws (May 28, 2013)

Lou said:


> I dont know what it is, but it's driving me crazy!!! Every time my poodles go get groomed they get ear infections the next day!!!! No more!! No more!! :-( I'm just going to do it all myself !
> I'm so upset, because I have no idea what causes it, I have said:, pluck, don't pluck, clean ears, don't clean ears...
> It must be that they let water in...
> Either way... I'm done! :-( it breaks my heart to see them in pain
> ...


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Rhett'smom said:


> Well wading into a " wet" subject on ears. My experience with Rhett the poodle with gorilla hair in his ears... The vet, the groomer and I decided to pluck his ears. He has more hair in each ear than 4 dogs. His ear leather are kept light as they can without looking funny. Every week he gets the zymox treatment. This was after a few months of horrid ear problems. Now we have a system that works. No problems at all. The toy has never had any problems. You have to what works for your individual dog.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


There's a zymox that has steroid (the ear infection treatment) and the other zymox that does not (the cleaner doesn't)
In my opinion prolonged use of steroids are bad news... Even for humans! I've read about it before, but don't remember exactly how it is harmful at the moment, but I remember being quite shocked, so 
I would not use the one with the 1% steroid in it often, only when there is an infection. (Sorry if this sounds confusing, it's late and I'm so sleepy and I forgot the name of the steroid thing  )



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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

Lou said:


> (Sorry if this sounds confusing, it's late and I'm so sleepy and I forgot the name of the steroid thing  )
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Hydrocortisone 

There is a Zymox drop other than the cleaner that doesn't have it.

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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

poolann said:


> Hydrocortisone
> 
> There is a Zymox drop other than the cleaner that doesn't have it.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


There!!! Yes! Thank you.
I was in bed, in the dark, under blankets, and the bottle seemed so far away downstairs Hahahaha! 

Cool to know there are other zymox that doesn't have Hydrocortisone, I am thinking about using it to clean my babies ears on a regular basis with it too, after the infection is gone 


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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

The Zymox without does not have HCL on the label.

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## poodlecrazy51 (Dec 31, 2012)

Lou said:


> There's a zymox that has steroid (the ear infection treatment) and the other zymox that does not (the cleaner doesn't)
> In my opinion prolonged use of steroids are bad news... Even for humans! I've read about it before, but don't remember exactly how it is harmful at the moment, but I remember being quite shocked, so
> I would not use the one with the 1% steroid in it often, only when there is an infection. (Sorry if this sounds confusing, it's late and I'm so sleepy and I forgot the name of the steroid thing  )
> 
> ...


didn't I read somewhere on PF that using prednisone, or maybe it is steroids in general, if dosing too high or not careful when taking them off can flare up one of the poodle diseases we all dread and good breeders test for? Sorry, I think my brain is on R and R, or unplugged or low battery...I cant remember the exact information.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Guess who is at the Pasadena Groom and Kennel Expo!!! Yup Zymox.







Thought I would share and see if there are any questions you would like me to ask them? They are very friendly and helpful and full of information. 


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## hunny518 (Jun 5, 2012)

Good call! As a groomer I respect a clients wishes no matter what my opinion is, unless I know it is harmful to the animal, and then I will express my concern (like shaving a double coated dog, such as a Pomeranian or lab. Shaving their coats can be potentionally harmful to their skin and coat. ) anyways. If a client wants me to trim ear hair instead of plucking then I happily accommodate. If I feel that that particular dog would benefit with plucking over trimming, I may suggest they discuss it with their vet, but in the meantime I will do as they ask  its usually the pushy groomers with the "know it all attitude" are the ones who will cause injuries to your dog, so good for you for walking away and looking into a groomer who will respect your concerns

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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> Guess who is at the Pasadena Groom and Kennel Expo!!! Yup Zymox.
> View attachment 131434
> 
> Thought I would share and see if there are any questions you would like me to ask them? They are very friendly and helpful and full of information.
> ...


That is Awesome!!! Thanks dear!!!
I'd ask about prolonged use (even though I would NOT do that, because I'm afraid of steroids from all I have read) but I'd like to know what they say about that.
And anything else you find out please share!!!!!  thanks so much!!


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