Ear question
 

Does anyone have any suggestions about making it easier on a Yorkie pup to trim their ears? I really want Bentley's ears to stand. One was upright when he first came home but it has since flopped like its partner. Guessing it is from teething.

I bought a great Whal trimmer from Amazon for a fantastic price. It's not loud. Nice little hum. I decided since we were visiting the grand-humans today I would have my mom help me. Bentley would have nothing to do with it at all. I started the trimmer with him outside the room and had my mom then bring him in so he was not shocked by the little snap all trimmers make when started. But no way. We tried different ways. Standing on the counter with holding secure but not tight. On shoulder. Mom holding, me holding. But could not even get close. And yes I choose a time of day when he was his sleepy and zen self.

I so desperately want his ears to stand and I'm afraid if I can't get those ears trimmed we will have issues.

Thanks for any suggestions. Also if I'm way off base about needing to trim them let me know too. I'm just really close to getting a hold of one of the local groomers to just trim his ears.

Did you manage to get any shaved off?

When I first started buzzing the tops of ZoE's ears, I didn't care how they looked, I just wanted her to be used to it. (Same principal used when I started clipping her nails...it didn't matter how much I took off, I just wanted her used to it).

I'm hoping others respond on how they get their pups to cooperate...cos I don't really have any advice. I would just hold her down & do it...and not doing it isn't an option. She become ok with it being done after just a few times. She clearly still doesn't like it, she likes the praise & "pretty girl" & treat that she knows follows.

The shaver I use on my Chloe ears and foot pads is called Conairpet it's a little shaver about 4 inches fits in the palm of my hand....they are very quite and run on one AA battery. I don't do the hold ear just the tip. Chloe didn't like it at first either so I just used to hold her and touch her all over rubbing her ears touching the pads of her feet .... talking to her calmly.... now she lets me do just about anything except cut her nails she still hates thats but it does get done I just talk very calmly in a low voice and give her treats and then cut....I'm sure others may have better ways but thats what I do.

I'm a wheenie, I didn't get anything off. :( I'll be honest I have never trimmed a dog before. As soon as he started to jump I stopped because I don't want to risk nipping him.

Have a groomer shave his ear, front and back, then tape like this.......Goldenray Taping Yorkie Ears Taping Yorkshire Terrier Ears to Stand Erect I've seen different ways to tape the ears, but this one seems to be the best of all.

There is a YouTube video that shows a couple of ways...she demonstrates a 'starting' method which may help you at about the 2:50 (time) mark...but watch the whole video:


When I first started shaving/trimming their ears, I held them under my left arm to secure/steady them, and used my left hand to hold the ear stationary...as demonstrated by this video, and, yes they wiggled some and I had to re-establish my grip. I, too, used an Oster Finisher Trimmer...which I love for this purpose, and they were 'uncomfortable' with what I was doing to them at first, but now they mostly take the process in stride...much as does the Parti shown in the first part of the video...which is how I trim their ears now.

Good luck.

Sam's ears are getting a little slouchy, so I picked up one of these yesterday:

Amazon.com: Oster Cordless Pocket Trimmer: Pet...
It's fairly quiet, and doesn't make that loud snap when I turn it on. I haven't used it yet, just let it run while he sniffed around it. He's so squirrelly about any grooming, it'll be interesting to see how he does with it.

I have a little Wahl battery powered trimmer combo kit that's about 1 1/2" wide. I use it to trim his ears, private areas, and feet. It came with another smaller head and blade attachments. It's the best thing ever!! Just try a little at a time. Run it and just let him feel the vibration on the side of it to get him used to it and the sound. I clean up Deuce's ears about once a month. Oh and I always talk softly and calmly when I'm grooming him. It seems to keep him in the mood.

Wahl Trimmer Combo Kit | PetEdge.com

Thanks. This is a great price for a specialized trimmer. Have Amazon prime too so no shipping. \0/

I've already invested in the Whal. It's a great price for everything that comes with it ( Amazon.com: Wahl 79300-400 Color Pro 20 Piece Complete Haircutting Kit: Health & Personal Care ) but didn't want to spend another chunk of change in a mini. Hopefully this will be better for trimming ears.

This is great. I will definitely watch this. Thanks.

With everything I've seen online about taping so far yes, this does look like it could be voted "Most likely not to be removed by a determined Yorkie." ;) lol

Thanks for the link.

The author of that video also has a video about taping Yorkie ears...

We use scissors to take off as much as we can. I hold the ear tip with one hand to guide the scissors, so I don't snip the actual ear. Then we use a personal trimmer that they sell for people to trim off the hair from the back. The trimmer is one of those little ones, about the size of a big pen; very quiet.

Have you tried wrapping him in a towel for someone to hold while you do this? That is how we got Kyra used to it.

Well it was not pleasant and the results not pretty but I did finally get Bentley's ears trimmed. Poor little man was acting like I was killing him but I did get them trimmed. I noticed yesterday the base of his ears had perked up considerably so I'm hoping the rest of the ears will start to perk up too with the extra hair gone. Keeping my fingers crossed that neatness does not matter just as long as the hair is gone. lol

I did use the battery operated Oster pet trimmer. It was much easier to handle than the full sized one.

Thank you all for the wonderful help and tips.

great videos!