Maltipoo itching ears

[vegas]

Hi. I'm kinda new to this, so please bear with me. I got a maltipoo about 2 months ago. everything has been great, except he is always itching his ears. i know that because he doesn't shed, the hair in his ears doesn't fall out. people have told me that the hair needs to be pulled out. i've taken him to be groomed, and the first time he let them pull the hair out, but as soon as he realized what they were doing he squirmed and cried so they couldn't continue. anyway, he was better after the hair was pulled, but of course it grew back.

i've taken him to be groomed again, but the groomers all say it is impossible to get the hair. he just doesn't let them. they have said that maybe he just needs to get used to it.

i've taken him to the vet to have his ears checked out, and they said that his ears are not infected.

does anyone else have this same problem with maltipoos or poo mixes? what can i do to ease his discomfort? there are times when he is up all night scratching and i feel like he doesn't get any sleep! please help. thanks!

[poodlesmom]

How old is your furpal? I have standard poodles and the hair in their ears needs to be pulled too. I'd suggest checking with another groomer in your area to see if they are more successful. The little ones do tend to fuss a bit when they first start having it done but they do get used to it after the first few times. It is important that it be removed as it will lead to ear infections as the hair will trap not only dirt but dampness as well.

You can even try to do it yourself. Get a real yummy treat, such as some peanut butter on a spoon, that he'll really have to really concentrate on. While he is having his snack, with the tips of your fingers take hold of a couple of strands of the hair, give it a couple of twists and pull. If he's pretty much OK with that, do a couple more. The next nite you can try to do a couple in the other ear. Slowly he'll get desensitized to it and not protest as much.

[621mum]

I don't know about the poodle mixes, but I just came back from the vet tonight for my pup scratching her ears and making them bleed. The vet said she didn't see anything wrong but "a lot of hair in there." She gave me an antihistamine to help decrease the itching and some lotion to put on the scratches and just told me to hang in there and hopefully it will pass... but it might be allergies. So, for what that is worth (which is probably not much ) Hope pup gets some sleep tonight and you do too.

[elegy]

i work on teaching your dog to tolerate your plucking his ears at home in the way poodlesmom suggested. i used to have a mini poodle and i used ear powder and my fingers to pluck her ears. she didn't like it but she tolerated it because she'd been having it done for years and years and years.

[vegas]

Thanks so much for the quick responses! He's only 4 months old, and I've only had him for 2 of those months. I'll try the treat trick a try and hopefully he'll let me pull some of the hair out. I'm hoping that slowly but surely he'll get used to it! THanks again!