Pet Grooming Insights - How We Remove Ear Hair

A veteran pet groomer demonstrates one way of pulling ear hair from inside the ear of a toy poodle.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• pet
• grooming
• care
• dog
• ear
• poodles
• bichon
• terriers

[lynbabysusu]

my dog doesnt have ear hair that deep in the ears,and I never pluck them before,is there a reason u guys do so?

[GroomClassroom]

Some dogs grow ear hair that will block the air flow into the ear canal. This allows moisture to accumulate deep inside the ear and provides an enviornment supportive of bacterial and fungal infection.  The purpose of removing the excess hair is to allow air to get in and moisture and wax to get out. Not all dogs need to have this done, however. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[GroomClassroom]

Interesting, I never thought of ear powder as "gross". You don't HAVE to use ear powder, it just helps if you are plucking hair out by hand. Powder is simply a tool, it contains resin for better gripping. An alternative method is to use hemostats to grasp the hairs.

[katjafee]

THX

[GroomClassroom]

@katjafee, you are welcome! This was a particularly good dog. I chose this video to demonstrate that ear plucking does not have to be tortuous . Unfortunately, some animals respond to "ticklish" as though it is painful. It is hard to tell what a resistive dog is feeling - is it torture or is it ticklish? Dogs can't tell us on a scale of 1-10. Sometimes they overreact. Then WE overreact, feeling sorry and guilty when it was maybe just ticklish. Maybe we need to rethink this..

[Brenda0312F]

OUCH! Of course it hurts. They have nerves just like WE DO!

[spanielmom93]

I agree. I hate those hemostats and think they should be banned from grooming altogether. I have seen groomers latch on th the actual skin of the ear on accident and leave big red welps. :(

[spanielmom93]

@comedycartoons I never said i was against plucking... just hemostats. Not necessary. I am a groomer of almost 10 years and I NEVER need to use them. Get some R-7 ear powder and clip your nails short and pluck away. ;) easy as that.

[comedycartoons]

@spanielmom93 If you don't pluck the hair in the ears of some breeds (mine is this way), they will eventually get an ear infection. Saying hemostats should be banned is like saying rubbing alcohol should be banned from your doctor's office. Just because it hurts a little doesn't mean getting an infection is a better alternative.

[comedycartoons]

@lynbabysusu If I don't pluck the hair in my dog's ears, he inevitably gets an ear infection.

[Epurope]

does it hurt my dog has some ear hair but im not sure where to pluck it at i cnan't see in his ear quite as well as you do :/

[NayLouise24]

We have just bought a 4mth old Black Russian Terrier... How long till i have to start doing this? And how often?

Can i use Baby Powder?

Thanks!

[NayLouise24]

We have just bought a 4mth old Black Russian Terrier... How long till i have to start doing this? And how often?

Can i use Baby Powder?

Thanks!

[deidra82able]

My vet told me to do that with my toy poodle, but how do you know if it hurting them? Im scared to do it!

[terrorlord15]

@spanielmom93 dont blame the hemostats blame the vet that cant use them.

[lordsberg]

@spanielmom93

...but she used them perfectly in the video! Besides How could they be banned? Thats just unreasonable! lol

[lordsberg]

What a GREAT Video!!! It helped me sooo much! King Phattie's ear hair was still a bit more confusing than the one in the video, but for the most part, we got the job done. (-: Please check out our new music video Tic Tok the Puppy Dont Stop!

And Thanx again! God Bless You!!!