Ear plucking

I’ve always plucked Fluffy’s ears clean regularly, and he’s never really gotten an infection. And if he did, I would hope that the amount of time I spend fiddling with his ears would help me give him any medication he needs. It seems to me that keeping a bunch of hair in one dark, moist spot would be a breeding ground for some kind of infection. Most other breeds of dogs don’t need ear hair plucked, so maybe that’s where the vet is coming from?

I think it just depends on how much ear wax the dog produces. My last dog had lots and lots of ear hair but didn't produce much wax so his ears were always clean and he never had any problems. I didn't even clean them regularly, much less pluck them. Zephyr also has lots of ear hair, but he produces a lot of wax, so I do need to clean and pluck his ears frequently to prevent infections.

Pogo gets ear infections if his ears are plucked. The irritation from plucking seems to give an opening for bacteria.

Some vets say pluck, others say don't pluck. Mine says pluck but use Zymox regularly to keep infection away. I am on board because I think hair in the ears cannot be good for hearing.

Lisa3104 said:

I got Martini a 3 yr old rescue standard 6 weeks ago and groomed her myself because the groomers weren’t open yet. Her ears were full of hair and I had to clean them Over a 2 day period because she wasn’t used to it. I brought her to the vet for a check up and the vet told me not to pluck her ear hair and onl clean them if there’s an infection. This is my third poodle and I always plucked their ears.is this a new trend? The vet is new to me she took over the office after my old vet passed away. View attachment 467870

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We have a 3 year old standard poodle. When he was a pup he had 2 terrible ear infections. The Vet said he has the hairiest ears she had encountered and a tremendous amount of ear wax, both were completely plugged. Vet told me to always keep the ears well plucked and do a squirt of Burow's solution once a week. I wipe the ears with baby wipes using my thumb only for depth once a week. Clean ears, 3 years with zero problems

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Charlie's Person said:

We have a 3 year old standard poodle. When he was a pup he had 2 terrible ear infections. The Vet said he has the hairiest ears she had encountered and a tremendous amount of ear wax, both were completely plugged. Vet told me to always keep the ears well plucked and do a squirt of Burow's solution once a week. I wipe the ears with baby wipes using my thumb only for depth once a week. Clean ears, 3 years with zero problems

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Good to know. Thanks for the info.

I just posted this in another thread, but will add here: Our groomer only plucks if absolutely necessary to keep the ears gunk-free. She said her standard approach is to keep plucking to a minimum.

She's fairly young. Maybe 30 or so. And she's the best groomer I've ever used.

Peggy did show some ear sensitivity after her last appointment, but that's because she missed a groom due to lockdown. She was fine again within 24 hours.

Echoing PTP. The thinking on this has shifted over the last decade, and now the default is don't pluck unless there's a problem. That said, I've had one dog that did better with plucking (he developed ear infections if I didn't pluck) and one who did better without plucking (if I pluck she spends the next week shaking her head and rubbing her ears in discomfort).

As a vet tech, I can tell you that some dogs definitely need their ears plucked! One of the worst I saw had actual huge matts that extended 3-4 inches from his ear canals....
However any time I have to pluck, I apply some sort of anti-inflammatory cream- Burow's is amazing, or I use Surolan or similar if the dog has been prescribed that.
For my own boy, I randomly but regularly (couple times a week) pull a few hairs out. Never enough to cause irritation, but it keeps it from building up.
I clean when necessary (so far twice, he is 11 months old) and use a bit of ear powder if his ears are damp (during winter a few times) or if there is a clump I need to get out.

I pluck Renns ears. His fur is thick and in his ears gets thick too. The only time he got a ear infection was before I plucked them. Now I keep his ears clean and give zymox every week or two.

I plucked my puppy’s ears ever so slightly (after recommendation from a junior vet!)... He then got a bad ear infection. I immediately took him to a new vet, who said the plucking caused the infection and I should never pluck! I do trim the ear hair with scissors though whenever grooming him.. He had antibiotics to get rid of infection & I’ve not plucked since and his ears have been fine. I just clean them every month with cleaning solution. x