Schnoodle (ear question)
Hi,
We've owned a Schnoodle for the last four or five months and I have a question. Our vet told us that the hair in the dog's ear can cause him ear infections if not regularly dealt with. He also told us that using a trimmer on the ear won't be good because the hair can fall back into the ear and also cause an ear infection. He said the only real option is to pull the hair out by hand. I watched my wife do this the other day and it looks painful for the dog (obviously). So I'm wondering if anyone who is familiar with a Schnoodle has any suggestions on another way to get the hair out of his ears. |
Schnoodle (ear question)
Doogie wrote:
Hi, We've owned a Schnoodle for the last four or five months and I have a question. Our vet told us that the hair in the dog's ear can cause him ear infections if not regularly dealt with. He also told us that using a trimmer on the ear won't be good because the hair can fall back into the ear and also cause an ear infection. He said the only real option is to pull the hair out by hand. I watched my wife do this the other day and it looks painful for the dog (obviously). So I'm wondering if anyone who is familiar with a Schnoodle has any suggestions on another way to get the hair out of his ears. He'll get used to it. Unless there's active inflammation present in the ear canal the hair pulling/tweezing is more uncomfortable/undignified than actually painful. If the need for this sort of intervention seems unnatural it's because it is. Poodles, and by extension, many of the various "Oodle" crosses are subject to an abnormal growth of hair in the ear canal, an incidental side effect of the genes creating the dense, curly coat. The extra hair traps wax and moisture, predisposing the dog to ear infections. I've worked on poodles who actually seemed to enjoy the procedure... "Ooh yeas... Ah. Much better. And now ze soothing drops, if you please, and ze ear massage." |
Schnoodle (ear question)
"Kathleen" wrote in message
... If the need for this sort of intervention seems unnatural it's because it is. Poodles, and by extension, many of the various "Oodle" crosses are subject to an abnormal growth of hair in the ear canal, an incidental side effect of the genes creating the dense, curly coat. The extra hair traps wax and moisture, predisposing the dog to ear infections. Huh. The same problem exists with miniature schnauzers. Which would clearly make it almost certain for any combination of the breeds. Our miniature schnauzers get their ears plucked about every three weeks - or roughly at their six week groomings and then halfway between. They don't like being made to lie down to have it done but the actually pulling of the hair doesn't bother them. Well, that's true of the ones deep down in the ear. Once you get to the hairs further out - where you actually *could* clip or trim them - there seem to be more nerves there. I would say there aren't any nerves for pain deeper in. If this is a problem with poodles, I wonder if the miniature schnauzers inherited it when the standard schnauzer was bred down in size by the introduction of poodles (among other breeds)? I haven't ever asked if standard schnauzers need this ear hair pulling done. The problem of infections within the ear can happen with any drop eared dog - our beagles were always prone to it. We'd make sure their ears were clean but never plucked hairs. Our schnauzers have cropped ears - so no explanation via the drop ear theory - but one of them in particular would definitely have recurrent infections if we didn't stay vigilant. Judy |
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