EAR Hair Question
 

at the groomer this morning we noticed that Gatsby's hair on the back of his ears is not growing the hair in front is but not on the back his ears have not gone bald but the hair is not growing and the edges of his ears have no hair at all the hair in his ears is still growing. dose any one know why or how i can fix it
Gatsby's hair dose not grow fast at all so at first i didn't think of it but now im getting worried. his ears do not smell bad, so i dont think its infection of some kind

I can't really tell from the description you gave, so I'll just give you this web site link and let you decide if it could match your situation or not. OK?:)

Alex's Yorkie Care Frequently Asked Questions. Page 3.

Thank you, it sounds almost just like what is going on but his skin is dry there is no slim i think ill do more research on the leather ear
thank you again know i know wear to look

I hope you find an answer and will be able to treat it if it does need treating. I knew of no other condition that I could think of so I thought I would offer that as a possibility. Good luck to you! Dermatologist time?

thear is not a dermatologist for dogs in my area i would have to drive 3 1/2 hours away if i have to i will but lets call that last resort i did a yorkietalk search and discovered that it may not seem slimy but stuff still comes off. im going to try alcohol and lotrimin and hope that helps
again thanks so much for telling me about it i had no clue befoure

Okay i have a problem, I called my vet and she told me that leather ear was not a condition and it was what some people call a collection of symptoms that affect hair growth. she would not give me anything for it in fact she would not even make a appointment to look at his ears. ill try to wipe down his ears in alcohol and tea tree oil and see if this helps

Well, she was helpful, wasn't she?:D

I also found this: Pure silk yorkies will get leather ear, soft coated yorkies do not. Leather ear does affect silky coated Yorkies. It can be caused from colder weather and high humidity and can be responsible for hair loss on the ears, hocks, and the end of the tail and leaves a slimy black substance in those places. Some people think it is a fungus and some think it is a "rabbit mite". What I use to help this problem is #1 All Systems Tea Tree Oil. You can buy it from The Show Dog Store. The #1 Systems Tea Tree Oil Tea Tree Oil is a spray natural product which is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, antiseptic, analgesic. Great for insect bites, hot-spots, fungus infections, cures all type of sores. It contains a natural solvent which allows it to be absorbed into the skin along with its healing properties.

Here's another solution suggested:

My yorkies ears are covered in black stuff, what can I do?

The black coating is referred to as Leather Ear, or Winter Ear, and it is thought to be a fungus. What I have found useful in clearing it up is washing the ears daily with head and shoulders shampoo and letting it set on the ears for about 5 minutes, then rinsing if off. Within a few days the black can be peeled off the ear. Another remedy that is supposed to be good is to use alcohol to wipe the ear down and coat with Lotrimin 1%, doing this daily until the condition is gone.
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thanks again i went out last night and got some tea tree oil and im hopeing this will help thanks again

I'd like to know how this works out!:)

ill pm you when i know if it is working but the tea tree oil is supposed to be great for both mites and fungus (i am taking him to the vet on Monday to check for mites but i did not see any) i did not want to use the lotrimin because it can be dangerous for ingestion and i have other dogs

as a general ear cleaner i found that equal parts water,alcohol and vinegar is supposed to work great

I did not know that about Lotrimin, but then I've never used it!lol Anyway, that's interesting to know about the general ear cleaner. Thanks for the info.

your welcome