Plucking is one of those poodle care topics subject to debate. I am a "little plucker," I remove a few hairs at a time as needed using R-7 Ear Powder, which contains rosin to improve your grip. I only use my fingertips, not hemostats. Chagall is not a hairy-eared boy. (I will not divulge the ear hair status of other males in the family!)

There are a number of threads on the subject. This one is fairly recent.
http://www.poodleforum.com/9-poodle-grooming/26634-pluck-not-pluck.html#post315698
The sticky on ear care may be of interest to you too.
http://www.poodleforum.com/29-poodle-health/18373-poodle-ear-care-guide.html

 

Thanks for this thread, i am interested in the responses. I too have heard many different opinions from different people but nothing very reassuring.

 

Thanks for the links - very helpful! So I guess the real consensus is depends on the dog and the owner then LOL. Think I'll be ordering some ear powder and maintaining now that Halona's are already plucked, since both vet and groomer agree in her case an excess of hair trapped to much wax/gunk, and that's what led to the infections.


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Just saw those links! Yes thanks for the thread/links. Very helpful info.

 

I am from the no pluck school. My eldest, who had allergies had some ear infections - regular meds from. The Vet did nothing, but the Vet Dermatologist made up a formula just for what she had in her ears and it was magical! Might be worth taking her to a Dermatologist - in the long run it would save you money and the grief that it would save is priceless!


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K9 Liquid Health Ear Solutions - has cleared up all infections on every dog I know that has used it. Lots of reviews on Amazon.

 

Jazz has a lot of hair in her ears, so the groomer was plucking it at every grooming, about every five to six weeks. In late April or early May, though, the groomer mentioned, when I picked Jazz up, that one ear looked gunky. The dog's ear canals were red and irritated, so I'm assuming the plucking was vigorous. A few days later, she developed a persistent ear infection in both ears that took several vet visits and two or three different meds to clear up. I wondered if maybe yeast/bacteria was introduced into her ears during the plucking, or if the irritation gave it a portal of entry. So--I asked the groomer not to pluck her ears in the future. I'm cleaning them once a week with ESA-Otic cleaner, her ears are shaved quite short except for tassels, to allow for better air flow, and so far, they look and smell okay. We'll see how this works.

Edit: I should have said Epi-Otic cleaner. The ESA-Otic was the medicine.

 

Poor Jazz,my second standard Harley had a lot of problems with his ears and had a major op on one of them when he was three to completely open up the ear canal,his hair grew so thickly in his ears,after that he had no more problems. In England we have a product called thornit which is a powder that you put in their ears twice a week. It helps when you pluck out the hair and seems to keep ear infections at bay. I've been using it since I picked up Billy my standard 3 months ago and touch wood iris ears have been fine. Also use it on my mini pup but have found standards seem to suffer more with ear problems. You can order thornit on the Internet.

 

hello service poodle momma
Getting the ears healthy is your first priority. They may be extra hairy because they have never been dealt with. Use ear powder (R7 will do, available anywhere, and not too $.) This gives you 'grip' to pull something out. Use a q tip in the beginning of ear to kind of pull up the hair that is globbed up. Don't go fishing, just pull up the ear at the valleys of outer ear to get started. I pull with my fingers and what comes out is dead, otherwise leave the rest. don't be afraid to really pour on the R7.
Secondly, have the groomer kind of shave around the inside ear flap so that hair is completely out of the way and air can get in.
Thirdly, her ear issues may just be poor diet and no treatment/basic care.
I work with rescue dogs and many times just basic care and pulling the gobs of stuff out will make a big difference.
Poor diet is a big contributor to ear and skin issues. Get her on a top shelf grain free food or a raw diet. Be fastidious about clean stainless steel or ceramic food/water bowls. Feed once, and in the dishwasher the bowls go. Be careful with treats, many times there are wheat or grains in dog treats.
good luck with your new poodle and great news, another poodle saved!
Hope this helps!

 

Thank you for your help. I do have her on a raw diet now - so I'm sure that's helping. And your absolutely right - getting her ears healthy is my priority right now, they're TONS better but as is evident by her constant rubbing and itching at them, I know we're not there yet.


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