# Ear care



## garrettsmom (May 15, 2006)

After all the reading I've done on grooming Maltese, I was prepared to care for Winnies ears with my ear podwer, hemostats and mineral oil. My vet surprised me yesterday by stating "don't pluck her ears unless there's a 'forest' in there." He went on to say that the best management of ears is to swab them with rubbing alcohol. Most of the ear washes out there are water based and can make an ear more prone to infection due to the retained moisture. Alcohol will do the best job of keeping the ear dry and infection free. Of course if the ear looks inflamed or reddened, do NOT used rubbing alcohol as your dog will go throught the roof. I thought this was interesting. Does anyone else out there not 'pluck" from the ear canal and use rubbing alcohol to clean?


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## my baby (Aug 22, 2006)

My motto is do do very little to snoops ears. I dont pluck them or clean them and that has worked great for us and the ears seem to clean themselves and I make sure I dont get water down them when I wash him (which is weekly). I started off wiping them daily with sterilised water with cotton swabs and then he kept getting infections, and I think what was happening (like your vet said) they were getting damp and and not drying properly and he kept having loads of problems. Now I leave his ears well alone and we have not had a single problem since!!!


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## anouk (Nov 3, 2006)

My vet told me the same about not plucking the ears because she says it causes microtraumas that eventually can lead to a serious infection and about the alcohol, no, sounds new to me.
I still use old-fashioned ear washes but only if Lizzie stinks and as maintenance I clean her outer ears with cotton and ear cleaning solution.


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## NC's Mom (Oct 23, 2004)

The hair in Sir N's ears grow like weeds in fertilizer. I HAVE to pluck...at least twice a month. I try to do more often, but he hates it. I actually have to use tweezers because if I wait for the hair to grow long enough to grab it with my fingers, then he ends up with massive ear infections. Using tweezers keeps the lawn down to a manageable level and he is ear infection free. Little C doesn't have hair growing way down in the ear canal like Sir N does. So, with her, I use my fingers to pluck what is blocking my view from trying to see down her ear canal to check and see that it's healthy. I wouldn't even do that except she gets so jealous if she doesn't get the same treatment as Sir N. Weird dog. With both dogs, I clean their ears regularly with dry q-tips. Sometimes Little C goes through a mega-wax period and then we use an ear wash until it's cleared up. Otherwise, her ears are really quite clean...the q-tip comes out moist, but barely even yellowish. Sir N, on the other hand...blech. Constantly digging up brown artifacts from his ears, especially when I've been lax with the ear hair pulling. He is like his mom (me) in that he has a lot of ear wax and apparently sucks dust and dirt right out of the air and into the ears to stick to the wax. We go through a lot of q-tips in this house.







What's really cute though is how much they both love to have their ears cleaned. Anytime they see a q-tip, they come running and plop their little furry butts down in front of me and tilt their heads slightly to the side and wait.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I have never used a water based ear cleaner. I make a half and half mixture of alcohol and white vinegar and always put a few drops in each ear after I bathe Lady.

Lady had a problem with ear infections when I first got her and my vet told me to keep her ear canals free of hair. I don't use hemostats, though. I could see where that would cause an irritation. My vet told me just to use my fingers and pull the hair in the canal itself. The hair that is supposed to come out comes out really easily. I put a little ear powder in first. I don't have to do this very often, only every few months or so.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Ollie had a lot of wax when he was first with us at 12 weeks old. I had to take him to the vet to find out what was up. Hardly none these days. But back then I got him accustomed to having me clean out his ears daily with an ear cleaner that I bought from the vet--it was only $8 for a 12 oz bottle and it lasts forever. I believe it is alcohol based and has aloe as well. I know you're not supposed to, but I used to use a q-tip ONLY on the outter part that has all the little crevices. Then I'd insert a cotton ball w/ the cleaner a little further down in his ears and wipe them out. The vet showed me how. Anyway, I only clean them now after his baths. He LOVES having his ears cleaned, lol--he really does! I suggest any new malt owner to handle their dog's ears often so that if the time ever comes when they have an infection or something they are used to being prodded there.


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## dr.jaimie (Mar 23, 2004)

i dont pluck unless its the bulk of hair causing retained moisture. i use ear cleaner after a bath which has alcohol in it for drying.



the dermatologist i studied under said not to pluck..if it aint broke dont fix it!


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

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> the dermatologist i studied under said not to pluck..if it aint broke dont fix it![/B]



Here, Here. That's my motto also!


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## Littlemans Mom (Apr 6, 2005)

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Sounds just like Indy's Vet







I do not pluck his ears and it was the Vet that said there was no need to unless it was a problem in the future. I use an ear cleaner after his bath with an alcohol base not water and sometimes I put in some powder during the week if I feel like it







. Indy has always gotten an A-OK from the Vet on his ears, he even asked me what I was using because Indy's ears looked so good







That's my Littleman


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## Deanna (Jan 14, 2005)

Wilson has no 0 hair in his ears. It's weird. I was expecting it to grow long and crazy like the hair on the outside. I asked the groomer if she plucked it- and she said she always checks, but there is never any hair in there!







So all we do is put cotton balls in his ears when I give him a bath to keep the water out, and if he is really dirty I take a damp wash cloth and just wipe the underside of his ear- but never go into the ear canal. He had an ear infection when we rescued him, but he has never had any problems with his ears since then.


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## THE GiZ&THE CHAR (Dec 14, 2006)

I usually let the groomers do the plucking each month. They get groomed at their vet. After their weekly/bi-weekly bathes, I use a q-tip to absorb any water that might of gotten in... they're extremely good with this... they don't move while I do it. Then I moisten a new q-tip with ear cleaning solution, it contains natural crap.. tea tree oil and stuff but I gotta make sure. All I know is that I hate the way it smells! And I move that around in there then I get another q-tip, asborb whatever cleanser is left and apply the drying lotion with my finger and all done! I think Gizmo actually enjoys it. It's like a nice little ear massage and he loves massages!







But he's ears are always clean and he barely has any hair to begin with in there. Now Charlie, one of his ears is waxer than the other and he grows hair in there like crazy. If I feel like he's uncomforable, I might pluck some out for him because I'm an ear cleansing freak (I use a q-tip after EVERY shower on my own ears) and I feel like he might feel clogged up? lol. And I find there's hidden hairs in there all waxy, dryed.. but it's pretty good overall.


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## garrettsmom (May 15, 2006)

> i dont pluck unless its the bulk of hair causing retained moisture. i use ear cleaner after a bath which has alcohol in it for drying.
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> the dermatologist i studied under said not to pluck..if it aint broke dont fix it![/B]


My Vet actually said that the more you pluck, the more you stimulate hair growth.....so don't pluck.


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## saltymalty (Sep 14, 2004)

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I wonder if that's true for the hairs on my chin too! 

I don't pluck my pup's ears either.


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## Elly B. (Oct 27, 2006)

My vet told me to pull the ear hair and I do. No problems with his ears at one year. Nick doesn't mind. He's never had any tenderness or swelling in there, even immediately after pulling.

My vet also told me to rubberband his ears loosely ontop of his head for at least half an hour at least once a week to make sure they get to breathe and dry out. He looks silly, I use one of those big soft hairbands and he doesn't seem to mind that either.

I don't use ear washes or put anything in them at all. I put dry cottonballs in during his bath when I wash his head. He does mind that but I tell him 'too bad' and he puts up with it.


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## 3Maltmom (May 23, 2005)

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## Kara (Apr 29, 2007)

I hardly ever pluck Millys, only if there are heaps in there.


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