# anyone know how to unpluck ear hair?



## The B's mum (Apr 29, 2004)

mine need doing but i have no idea  how to go about it and do not hurt









the litlle ones h34r:


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## puppy*luv (Apr 8, 2004)

I heard that you can have your groomer do it when you take your dogs. Or get some baking soda or earpowder, sprinkle some on your fingers then pull the hairs out. Just make sure its not on the ear itself. They are not suppose to feel it much. Thats what i've read about...


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## kit001 (Jul 6, 2003)

I do all of Morgan & Bailey's grooming myself and have to do both of their ears. I simply purchased some ear powder at my local Petco, a pair of tweezers, and lay their head to one side on my lap and pull the hair out of the canal. They both fought me the first time as they did at the vets when they showed me how to do it, but after the first time, they are fine with it. My vet uses tweezers that look like scissors and sort of "twirls" the hair a little around them after grasping it and pulls. When you are done with each ear make sure to praise them on how good they were and give them a treat. With time you should find it easier. Good luck







BTW, this is something you need to keep an eye on as it can cause ear infections and things. My mohter has a shitzu (mispelled?), and she gets nervous doing it, so she avoids it, the dog has already had two ear infections and the vet told her the cause was a buildup in the ears. So now she takes him to them to have them do it.


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## Guest (May 15, 2004)

Hello kit001
I will be getting my puppy in a few weeks...I already have the ear powder and I understand how the hair is suppose to be pulled, but how often do you have to pluck the earhair?
Thanks, Jami


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## kit001 (Jul 6, 2003)

It depends on how fast it grows. I usually have to do Morgan's ears about once every month and a half or two months or so, I think. On bath day we will go through a whole grooming thing...trimming nails, tweezing hair, shaving paw pads, all of it. I usually do this once a month with the except for the tweezing, that usually gets done just the once every month and a half or two months or so.


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## puppy*luv (Apr 8, 2004)

Is it hard to trim the nails? You have to cut at a slight angle but becareful of the quick? The thought makes me nervous. And how do you trim the hair between the pads and how often?


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## kit001 (Jul 6, 2003)

Well, I have three dogs and one I have had now for about 10 years, so I am pretty used to doing it, so for me, no, it isn't a hard thing to do. I remember when I first started trimming nails, I was shakey and nervous for fear of clipping too much. I just bought a good pair of pet nail clippers and simply snip the tips, and then I take regualr metal nail file to them to take the rough edge off after. I do them on a regular basis so as not to let them get carried away and then have to figure out how low to go. If you start doing them when they grow and just snip the tips, then you will be fine. Check with your vet is my best suggestion. He/She will set you in the right direction. Mine told me better to take a little and do them more often than to cut too much at once and go too low. This can also cause a fear in the dog of having his nails done too. Guess the old sayng of less is more stands true lol


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## Maxismom (Mar 24, 2004)

oh no not me Maxi goes beserk i get him groomed every 3 weeks i let them do it no thank you on the ear hair plucking


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## kit001 (Jul 6, 2003)

Well, that's best for you from the sounds ouf it! lol







But I have THREE dogs and between the cost of paying somone else to do their grooming, (something I could learn to do myself), and the fact that is it is QUALITY time I am spending with them pampering them and so forth, for me, I wouldn't have it any other way and personally I don't think they would have it any other way either. Morgan loves his time being groomed and that I am singling him out and giving him my undivided attention, so I guess you can say we are both benefitting from it. (My Yorkie is still too young to appreciate, he just wants to play the whole lol The larger dog, my Springer, very easy to tend to, not a lot involved)


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## kit001 (Jul 6, 2003)

Well, I have never had to express his anal gland, (thank goodness!), this i dotn' think I could do...I 'd be running to my vet for that one! lol 

But plucking their ears isnt' that bad once you get the hang of it, promise! They showed me the first time at the vets how to do it, I shook like a ------but once I did it once or twice, I was fine. No biggie, it really isn't. lol :lol:


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i bought the ear powder. whats that for? i pluck their ears w/o the powder and they seem to like it. sprite lays her head down and keeps her head flat while i do it to her---and then she tries to lick my fingers! lol.


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## Winston's Mommy (Mar 21, 2004)

I do not pluck the inner ear hair. My vet said that at a meeting he was at recently, they suggested not plucking it. The hair could be protective. I would suggest leaving it unless your baby is constantly have ear infections.

Always use swimmer's ear drops after bathing though....

Seriously just give not plucking a try first. Why do something that is not neccessary?


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## kit001 (Jul 6, 2003)

Well, not to argue the point, I didn't know anything about plucking it until my vet did it for me and then showed me how to do it. This last March when Morgan went in for his annual check up, that was one of the first things they checked. So I guess every vet has his own opinion on it. I will go with what I was told, as so far, I have had no trouble with ear infections and such. My mother's shitzu was not getting his done on a regular basis and he had constant ear infections. Once the vet got the last ear infection cleared up he did them for my mother and told her that if she couldnt' do it herself, he highly suggested she take him to a groomer to have them do it or to bring him back in every now and then and they would do it for her. So I go with my experiences unitl my vet tells me differently. Not because I dont' believe you, but simply bacause he hasn't steered me in the wrong direction yet.


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

winstons mommy--i tried that for a while--but mine get ear infections if i dont. ugh! i wish there was an easier way. I have to use my fingers because they wont let me stick anything near their ears. i saw something in a grooming magazine made to pluck the hair out of their ears. but they get freaked out even with a cotton ball! lol. winstons totally lucky that he doesnt have a problem. ellie has had 3 ear infections that every 2-3 weeks i clean out her ears. and she gives me that "i hate you look"!! lol.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)

:wacko:


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i dont think maltese were ever 'wild' dogs. you know? like they got dogs and bred them together to make maltese and since then they were dogs for royalty. <--i think thats basically what the book about malts said. 

i dont get way down in there, but i'll pull out the hairs that are coming from inside--and its like an inch long! and all i could see was maybe 1/4 inch of it. and i see some wax and dirt coming out also. i dont touch the hair thats on the inner ear flap though. i sometimes cut it with scissors, but i think the groomer would just shave that hair. 

i watch animal precinct, and they show dogs that have hair coming out of their ears or that they naturally have long hair---and if they arent taken care of, they get super bad mats and their ears get a chronic ear infection. it looks really nasty. 

i guess because sprite and ellie are used to having the hair there taken out--that when they have the hair there...they scratch at their ears more. with gruffi i dont do anything. i tried cleaning his ears once with solution---he freaked out!! i asked the vet about it and he said that it looks like i'll never have to clean his ears. its crazy to have total opposites, you know? i have to groom ellie and sprite every 2 weeks. but with him i dont do anything unless i want to brush him a little.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)

:new_Eyecrazy:


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i asked my sis if she remembers reading the black ears thing---she thinks she did. i dont have that great of a memory either! lol. no one in my family does. i know that with my brother--its that he doesnt really want to remember anything. so its really neat because i can tell him a story about what happened to me like 5 times---and he'll be interested and suprised every time!!! 

while i was writing this, my sister did some searching on the internet. 

http://www.okpetgazette.com/right.html

maltese are the oldest of european toy breeds. dating back to around 500 b.c. 

I think she's still searching about the black ears....


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## kit001 (Jul 6, 2003)

My vet said the reason why you have to remove the hair from the CANAL not the flap, is becuase wax buildup and dirt. This is what causes the ear infections.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

thats so funny. you're just like one of my friends. i had told her everything (like drama stuff happening to my family) i stopped talking to her for 5 yrs or something, i started talking to her and she starts telling me stuff about what happened in my family. i was like "oh my god, i totally forgot about that' and then i got angry again! LOL. I cant remember anything. you're lucky!


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)

<_<


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

I know this topic is old now, but the vet tech did the hair in Brinkley's ears last week. Got quite alot out of one ear, and very little out of the other b/c he wouldn't let her do the second...anyway...his ear got really sore for a few days. It was pitiful. I watched her do it. She got it out of the same place I thought it was supposed to come from. But his ear got really sore. I put some ear cleaner in it for a few days...it said it was supposed to help heal ear tissue too. Anyway, it took three days, but his ear quit hurting. I am wondering about taking it out too...the necessity of it. IF we keep their ears clean and use swim ear after baths, I wonder if ear infections would be a problem leaving the hair? It seems as if God put it there for a reason...? But who knows? Just wondering.


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

maybe the vet tech was rough or something. i dont know. sprite actually lays there and after i do it---she wants to smell my fingers (sounds disgusting, i know. lol). some people leave the hair there....but i think its convenient to take out the hair so that you dont have to worry about cleaning it every week or something----i take out the hair every 3 weeks now. just because it seems like they dont have as much hair as they used to. 

ultimately, do whats comfortable for you and your baby.







if he gets an ear infection or if theres a lot of wax---consider taking the hair out yourself. get the ones that look like they're coming from deep in there.







and wait a few days for the ear cleaner--it has alcohol, that might make it hurt a little.


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