# ear hair and brush direction question



## dogclass (Feb 16, 2011)

Hi,
I have a two part question:

1) Is it recommended to pluck the hair from your dog's ears to prevent ear issues? What do you pluck it with, or do you cut it? Do up ear dogs have less/more ear issues than down ear dogs?

2) For a long hair coat, are you suppose to brush against the grain of the hair or with the grain of the hair? I've been doing "with", but then I read you're suppose to brush against the grain.


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

I'm not much into grooming; I have labs that dont require it much. I brush their with the grain and Ouch! plucking ear hair? I've never heard of that, but I cant imagine doing it. I'd think that'd be awfully painful. Maybe cutting it instead?


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## WolfyNeiviv (Apr 24, 2011)

I let the groomers or vet pluck my little Diva's ear hair - from what they have told me, it does not hurt but tickles kind of. Still, I am not comfortable doing it myself. If she's hurt, I would rather be able to yell at the vet or groomer for hurting her than feel horribly guilty about hurting her myself! I believe my vet checks her ears when we go in for vaccines. Unless there is a lot of hair in the ear, I don't think it is anything to worry about.

I also brush her every week. I brush her hair, then has a treat I brush her teeth (she loves her poultry flavored toothpaste!). I brush with. I think that where you brush against is when you have a dog with two layers of fur? I could be totally absolutely wrong! I have always brushed with instead of against.


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## amberly (Feb 6, 2011)

First what type of dog do you have? That'd help a lot. with the ears and the type of fur for way you brush. its hard to say since i don't know.
Also if you start the ear plucking as a puppy the easier it generally gets if you keep up with it. If you have a dog like a poodle or shih tzu and the dog only gets the hair plucked every six months or so it can hurt or be more prone to ear infections. some dogs have way more hair than others, but generally it is recommended to have the ears plucked. It can get matted and cause buildup thus ear infections. if you keep up with it with a reg grooming the hair generally gets use to coming out easily. some dogs just get lucky with lil hair. you can snip it but really sometimes it can still stay bunched up further down than what you can actuelly see or even get the itty bitty scissors down in.
they sell powders at petstores that help absorb if any oils or wax's which hopefully your dog doesn't have, and it also makes a good grip for you on the hair to pull. and if there is any lil bleeding it'll help it has something in it to help w the pain. some dogs it can hurt i won't lie. you also want to make sure you do not pull any of the outside hair because that can hurt.
next visit to your groomer maybe ask if they can show you how to do it, than you can decide if you want to do it yourself or have them continue to do it. but the more its done generally the less it'll hurt. the hair will get use to being pulled out and sometimes it comes out like super easy and doesn't hurt or pull ect. but it is important to keep your dogs ears clean.

also you don't want to brush against the grain, if lets say you have a shih tzu, start at the tips and slowly brush downward not upward and gradually till you brush the entire ear. you can youtube proper brushing technique videos or also ask your groomer to show you. a groomer shouldn't have no problem at all with helping, it makes us happy to know people are so in kline to helping keeping up with the grooming at home.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

Not every breed needs the hair plucked, and not every dog needs it. I use hemostats, if needed, otherwise I used my fingers with a bit of ear powder to grip it and just pull it out.


As for brushing go with the lay of the coat.


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## Fuzzy Pants (Jul 31, 2010)

Ear hair plucking is really only necessary if you have a long eared/haired dog or a small breed with narrow ear canals. My little pup has both long hair (planning on getting her shaved soon) and narrow ear canals so she is prone to ear infections. Just cleared one up with ear plucking and drops in fact. I think I'll swing buy petsmart tomorrow for another plucking and nail trim then I'll use some ear cleanser on her when she gets home. I don't like doing it myself either since I'd rather her be upset with the groomer rather than me.:redface:


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## hungover (Jul 9, 2008)

Hair plucking in dogs such as bichons is a must. If left to grow the inner cannals become a warm and furtive breeding ground for many nasties.

Powders such as thornit help to make it easier to remove the hair whilst additionally killing mites.

With regard to the coat- I got told off at a dog show for brushing my hand through the coat of a St.Bernard against the normal direction of hair growth...


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