# Advice needed



## catherine09 (Feb 14, 2016)

Really need some advice on this as a new owner of a cockapoo. On bringing our puppy home we noticed he was scratching alot. We took him to our vets to register him and general checkup, and she's noticed he has a bad ear infection. The vets have suggested we treat it for now, then in 8 weeks when he is booked in to be neutered, they will also pluck his ears while under anesthetic, then it will just be for us to keep on top of with the plucking. I have booked him into a salon this week for grooming and they mentioned plucking his ears as part of the treatment. On explaining what the vet told us, they said 8 weeks was too long to wait, and that we should have them done now. On all the reading up I,ve done, I never came across anything to do with ear plucking and do not relish the thought of him having this done, in fact it horrifies me. Can anyone please advise as I,ve owned many dogs but never one with hairy ears

Catherine


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

How old is your pup?
Here is a link to a thread on plucking:
http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=6936&highlight=plucking
Some people use a DIY ear cleaner - this is Cat 53's recipe: 
_Phoebe used to have very funky ears. Vet treated them and now I use the following on a daily basis to clean both dogs ears.

2/3 Apple Cider Vinegar.
10 drops of lavender oil.
Top up with water.

I have a dropper bottle filled with this solution.

Am pleased to say since using this solution Phobes ears remain clean and mite and infection free. It's been a good 18 months now that I have been using it.
_

And here is a link to a thornit powder thread:
http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=93713&highlight=thornit+powder

Other people swear by diet - dogs fed on raw food seem ot have less problems with ear infections...

Not all ears are the same. Dot has hairy ears and has had troubles originally with ear mites and infection and then with grass seeds - so I am quite sensitive to the whole ear problem. I do sometimes pluck some hairy from Dot's ears - particularly if the hair appears waxy - it comes out easily and it does not bother her when I do it, but I do not do it routinely.
Dot is raw fed and her ears (apart from after seed invasion) do not really cause her a problem.
When your pup is under anesthetic would seem a very sensible time to ensure that his ears have a thorough clean out.


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## catherine09 (Feb 14, 2016)

He's 4 months old and I really would rather wait if I can, and it doesn,t seem right to pluck them while his ears are still sore from infection. Thank you I will check out the threads


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## Michele (Nov 12, 2015)

Is he on oral antibiotics, or did he get the gel? If he's on oral antibiotics, you can, and probably should, pluck his ears--I'm surprised the vet didn't do it when your pup was treated as mine always does. When you take him to the groomer his ears shouldn't get wet if he had the gel treatment, but can be washed, plucked, and dried if he's on oral antibiotics as per my vet's recommendation. One of my boys is prone to ear infections (both yeast and bacterial) and he visits the vet to have his ears plucked every 4 weeks because neither myself nor my groomer does a good enough job ☹. Since he's been on this regimen--and having received two gel treatments spaced 4 weeks apart, he has yet to have another ear infection. Keep in mind Finn's ears are ridiculous--the amount of hair that grows in there rivals that of a small puppy. Lastly, plucking does not faze any of my dogs in the least. Best of luck.


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

Rufus had a waxy ear at the vet a week or so ago. She plucked out some hair so she could clean it better. I was amazed that she just pulled it out with her finger tips and he did not even wince. This from a dog who carries on like the village virgin over minor infringements to his freedom. All this to say don't sweat the plucking, it is not the same as pulling out nose hairs or something.


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## Barbieg (Jan 4, 2016)

It's the poodle in them. I've had poodles & they all had their ears plucked at grooming time. I know it seems harsh, but if their ears aren't infected they usually don't mind.


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## Rrbirardi (Mar 10, 2016)

Marzi,
Do you clean the ear with this apple cider solution or actually put drops in the ear canal? Thx!


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## EllieS (Jan 3, 2014)

I am interested to read this thread as when my poo was a puppy he had a fungal ear infection which was got rid of with antibiotic washes and anti fungal drops. He has very hairy ears and i asked about plucking ,but my vets here in the uk are against plucking as they maintain it's best to leave well alone if there are no problems. Rufus is now 2.5 years and has never had any more problems with his ears. Long may it last !
Ellie


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## Michele (Nov 12, 2015)

That's interesting. Gorgeous Dudley's mom is a groomer across the pond, I wonder if she plucks when she grooms....every groomer here in the U.S. I've ever been to does, however, I've seen inconsistency when it comes to expressing anal glands--some do religiously, but others less often.


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## EllieS (Jan 3, 2014)

The groomers don't pluck here, well mine doesn't ,although do clip as close as possible to ear canal and the vets don't squeeze anal glands although would do if problems with glands .Their policy seems to be, "if it ain't broke don't fix it ."!
Ellie


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

catherine09 said:


> He's 4 months old and I really would rather wait if I can, and it doesn,t seem right to pluck them while his ears are still sore from infection. Thank you I will check out the threads


I agree, i would not pluck if they are at all sore, when there is definitely no infection it shouldn't bother him too much if you just do tiny bits at a time, you need to hold the ear right back and make sure you are only getting hair that is growing deep in the ears, not around the outside as that won't come out easily so would be sore. You can get ear plucking powder from grooming suppliers which helps get a grip and you only pull a tiny bit at a time, it should come out quite easily. I was shown how to do it during training and was taught to do it as part of the groom, however since then there has been some debate over whether we should, some groomers and vets believe it definitely should be done, some think definitely shouldn't! if people ask me I am happy to see if i can get some out, but only if the dog tolerates it well. The advice for groomers now is not to routinely do anal glands, as doing them too often if not required can lead to problems, and if they rupture it is a vet visit so probably best to let the vets do it anyway, although again I think some vets still presume the groomer will do it. During the bath this area usually needs a good wash anyway so whilst i'm doing that if they look full I may do a really gentle squeeze/stroke and often if they are really ready that's all it takes for them to be expressed, i wouldn't try too hard. A vet is usually happy for the owner to express them themselves once the owner has been shown how to by them if they have a dog that needs it doing - oh the joy of dog ownership! (I know you didn't ask about this but it was mentioned!!)


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## Walter (May 31, 2015)

catherine09 said:


> He's 4 months old and I really would rather wait if I can, and it doesn,t seem right to pluck them while his ears are still sore from infection. Thank you I will check out the threads


When his ears are infected is probably the best time to do it, whether it 'seems right' or not.

The hair is part of what is causing the infection. It causes a hot, damp, matted up place for bacteria to grow. Plucking the hair will let air circulate and make it harder for the bacteria to grow, as well as actually letting the medicine get down in there.

It doesn't actually hurt a dog, as long as you get the hair that's in the ear canal. It's the hair on the sides that will cause pain. If you just reach in with your fingers, you can generally pull some of the hair out easily with little reaction from the dog.


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