Plucking ears?

When we went to the vets last week, we mentioned that Marco (our Portuguese Water Dog) had been scratching his ear area a lot, so he had a quick look and said he needed some drops. so we've had fun putting 8 drops in twice a day. But I asked him whether we had to pluck his ears first, he said it might help, but not needed, just to make sure we massage the fluid down after we apply the drops.

His ears are quite hairy, they are floppy/droopy (I don't know the proper term) and they are the I've read that apparently they have quite oily ears anyway.

He has certainly stopped itching, but it's hard work trying to put the drops in, a 2 person effort!

Should I pluck them? Thin them? Leave them alone?

I don't particularly want to post a picture, but can if required!

I have no experience of the breed but it sounds like unnecessary treatment to me.

My oldest has very narrow ear channels and suffered for a number of years with problems. I now treat his ears with Sancerum which is a patent ear cleaner. Since using this once every 6 weeks or so he has not had to have the drops in his ears.

As you will know, it's also difficult to know exactly what drops you have put in the ear and they aren't cheap.

IMO prevention is better than cure if your dog is susceptible to ear infections but of course the vet nearly always knows best.

I once groomed a St. Poodle who hadn't had her ears plucked in a long time... I pulled as much hair out as I could without hurting her then told the owners to get her to the vet pronto... I suspected she had an infection. The hair had become impacted into her canal, and the amount pulled out was disgusting. and boy did it stink! She was put on drops and a wash, then a couple of weeks after the infection cleared up, I plucked her ears again.

Now this was a Poodle, not a PWD, but I would consult the breeder about whether or not it should be done.

Yes, I suppose he's very similar in that way. I'm assuming his problem is settling as he's not itching it now.

Is the plucking something we can slowly (given the volume) do ourselves?

My recent attempts at phoning the breeder to ask about one or two other things have resulted in the phone never getting answered yet and I left a answer machine message for them to call me.

I have Beardies which do need the hair in their ears plucked some more than others.

What I do is pop a bit of Thornit in massage it down and then pluck a few hairs at a time between finger and thumb. If you do it tactfully and carefully you should have no bother even my big woosy brown boy is happy to have it done.

I also use Thornit to pluck ear hair.

I sprinkle a bit in then leave a bit pull just a bit at a time often until it is all cleared then keep on top of it.

You can get Thornit online and I buy the 20g bottle which looks small but lasts for ages as you only use a bit at a time.

You can also get ear powder but I think Thornit is by far the best.

Floppy ears and too much hair provides a lovely warm place for Bacteria to grow.

My dog has hairy ears and I have never plucked her ears when putting drops in just get a 2nd pair of hands to help me

I persoanly would not pluck them, it might hurt and make him ear shy.

The trouble with dogs that have long hairy ears is that the air does not get into them so they can suffer with a few problems.

David the best thing you can do for Marco is invest in some "thornit" you can get it on the internet, it does not cost a lot, but used in your weekly grooming exercise will hopefully keep Marco free from ear problems.....


Just sprinkle a small amount onto the inner ear flap and massage in in, them with a baby wipe the next day or so you can clean it out.

Dogs with hairy ears need them plucking I use thornit and then pluck the hairs out.

If is best to start young. Every person who gets a pup from me gets shown how to do it and every pup will have had it done before they leave here at eight weeks. Every groomer will know how to do it and they will do it as a matter of course if you take in a dog with hairy ears.

If you don't want to do it you will be your vets best friend because you will have reoccuring ear problems and spend lots of money with him/her.

Its up to you.

I have never plucked a dogs` ears. The only dog I`ve had with recurring ear problems suffered from atopica and the condition was managed with an avoidance of the things she was sensitive to (colourings, additives, cat fleas etc) and a regular spot treatment with Stronghold to kill any mites.
Ear problems are not always that straightforward.
BTW Daisy has never suffered from ear problems and she is very fluffy.