Ear hair has to be plucked out of the ears....duhhhh!!

[Hedley]

What age do you have to start with this please?

I cant get a good look down there atm. My Yorkie pup is almost 5 months.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by Hedley

What age do you have to start with this please?

I cant get a good look down there atm. My Yorkie pup is almost 5 months.

I usually begin when pups are 9 weeks of age. After their first vaccination and the day they are going to have their first bath. Pluck just before the bath, then bathe. After the bath, flush the ear with a good ear cleaner with a drying agent. One that doesn't upset the natural balance of the ear. Revivalanimal.com sells Vet Solutions ear cleaner. Great stuff and ears always smell nice.

[Lou]

Angela,
My post was not aimed at you. Since your little one has had so many ear problems I am sure that plucking would be in order. I just wanted to be clear on that. Hope it helps with those nasty infections.

[miabellaamoure]

Originally Posted by Princessangela3

Okay so looking back at least 2 breeders and a vet told me to pluck Sherman Tanks ear hair out of his ears. What part did I not understand? Looking back it is plain as day....I trimmed his ear hair but never fully realized "pluck the hair in his ears out of his ears from the roots" is what I was to do. WOW and I consider myself smart!!!! I noticed Sherman has not been sleeping well which translates into none of us have been sleeping as he has been scratching his ears madly and moaning all night long. I took him to the vet AGAIN for ear issues and imagine how stupid I felt when the vet asked me how come I didnt pull the hair from his ears after the last time he was there with ear problems ? Ummmmm because I did not really think 3 people who were respected professionals especially with yorkies all REALLY wanted me to rip the hair out of his ears Thanks to my blond roots (that is what I am blaming this on) My SWEET precious adoreable love bug has a NASTY ear infection in BOTH ears.
A lesson for me is if I dont think people mean what they say or I think it seems drastic then I need to ask for clarification. I am soooooo sorry my boy has to go through this and will make sure he never has to go through this type of thing due to my negligence again!!! Just thought I would share incase someone else can learn from my mistake!

heeheehee...I'm a brunette and I literally had to be shown by the Vet Tech what the hell they were talking about! Then, to top it off...at the follow up appointment for Bella's Yeast Infection (yes...in her ears!), the Vet asked me to clean her ears for him and to demonstrate how I pull the hairs out...after the embarrassment of being treated like a kid...I was glad he did cuz, I still wasn't doing it right!

I am proud to say that I am now an official ear hair plucker and a damn good ear cleaner, too!

Also...I think it tends to be more prevalent in Yorkies with floppy ears, too. It's so easy to keep all that moisture in there to ferment into yeast or an infection! So, now after a bath...I even (very gently on the cool cycle) air her ears out with the blow dryer, too!

[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.

[Mardelin]

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.

[Nico29]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

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.

Thank you for this information! Do you think that I should continue once every 8 weeks (every other grooming) or if it should be done more frequently? Also, we smelled his ear and don't smell anything. We are very good about making sure his ears are completely dry. One last question-- I give him a bath every week. Should I clean his ears using the solution you recommended after each bath or just let the groomer do it? Thank you for your advice.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by Nico29

Thank you for this information! Do you think that I should continue once every 8 weeks (every other grooming) or if it should be done more frequently? Also, we smelled his ear and don't smell anything. We are very good about making sure his ears are completely dry. One last question-- I give him a bath every week. Should I clean his ears using the solution you recommended after each bath or just let the groomer do it? Thank you for your advice.

Keep on smelling those ears....that's your first line of defense. Just make sure you use a good ear cleaner with a drying agent in it. Always follow up a bath with a ear cleaner with a good drying agent. Once every 8 weeks for plucking is about right. You are the best judge as to how quick that hair grows.

[Nico29]

Will do! Thanks for getting right back to me. We appreciate your expertise.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by Nico29

Will do! Thanks for getting right back to me. We appreciate your expertise.

I'm by no means an expert on anything. I can offer advise on my experiences. It is best to do what works best for your dog.....if this works great. Oh! By the way, a good cleaning solution, will sooth the ear. So, that may help his itching ears......

[Nico29]

I'm going to look on the website to see if I can order it now. Thank you!

[WV~Yorkies]

Oh gosh I hate to pluck ear hair. I had to do Tara the other night and she didn't complain but it broke my heart. It seems to me it would feel the same as pulling one out of my nose..yikes!

[noisinka]

Our breeder showed us how to plug the ear hair when we went to pick up our little one. It looked painful because he was screaming. Our vet did that for us last month (boy, Sandy does have a lot of ear hair!) and poor thing was screaming again. I'm not sure if I could do that... it looks like he's in so much pain.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by noisinka

Our breeder showed us how to plug the ear hair when we went to pick up our little one. It looked painful because he was screaming. Our vet did that for us last month (boy, Sandy does have a lot of ear hair!) and poor thing was screaming again. I'm not sure if I could do that... it looks like he's in so much pain.

I'm sure it is a bit bothersome to them. Most of the screaming is because you're restricting their movement. Mine will begin quietly, laying on my lap at about 4 months of age.

[Princessangela3]

Originally Posted by Lou

Angela,
My post was not aimed at you. Since your little one has had so many ear problems I am sure that plucking would be in order. I just wanted to be clear on that. Hope it helps with those nasty infections.

Lou,
Thanks but no worries.....I dont take offense here....