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Originally Posted by Nico29  There was a thread about this several months ago. It seemed like most people plucked but there were several that did not. We had his ears plucked by the groom from when he was about 5 or 6 months until he was around a year. He itched his ears a lot (although I can't really tell if he was itching his paws and using his ears to do it) --went to the vet who said his ears were fine. I asked him what he thought and he said that while many people think that plucking is better, when you pluck you open tiny little holes which are more likely to become infected. We stopped plucking for about 2 months and his ears were still itchy. So I told the groomer to pluck every other time...so around every 8 weeks. He was still itching. Back to the vet and he said nothing wrong. I'm so confused....his hair grows really fast. I really don't know if we should stop all together or keep doing it every eight weeks.  |
You're right there are two schools of thought. Your vet is correct you do open up little holes that can cause infection, but that is why you pluck just before a bath, bathe and follow up with a good ear cleaning solution with a drying agent. One that doesn't upset the natural balance of the ear. This will assist in hindering infection. On the other side of not plucking, if you don't dry out the ear canal thorougly you are risking ear infection also.
But, after experiencing a horrible infection with one of my first yorkies, by not plucking. I'm one that truely believes in the process. I'm a breeder/exhibitor and a groomer.....since that first horrible infection, I've not had a infection since. I've had new clients that have brought their pups for their first grooming and low and behold.....yeast infections. I pluck the ear hairs, flush the ears out with good cleaning solution and drying agent. When they pick their pups up, I immediately tell them to get their dog to the vet fast for treatment.