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My cousin, KVP, told me I would have to be careful with Remy’s ears when we got him. Doodles grow hair in their ears just like on their bodies. Deep in their ear canal is quite a lot of hair. That hair can get wet and because it doesn’t dry easily it can lead to all kinds of problems.
Originally I cut as much of that hair as I could in an effort to keep his ears clean and dry. Less hair seemed like it would lead to less problems.
Remy loves to play in the snow. After 30 minutes outside he is covered in snow, which melts quickly when he comes inside. He is then just a completely wet dog. Emma plays in the snow with Remy but she repels the water. Her fur must have more natural oils in it. Remy has baby soft fine hair and doesn’t get oily. I’m not sure if that is because he is young or if that is a doodle thing but he gets very wet every time he is outside.
Interesting, random fact: Doodles have hair, not fur. The difference isn’t the strands, it is that fur sheds in cycles and hair does not. Doodles have a shed around 8-12 weeks and then they lose hair just like people, a few strands at a time. Dogs with fur shed their coats in cycles.
A month or so ago I stopped into The Posh Pet Salon with Remy. The owner told me that doodles need to have their ears plucked. I was really conflicted by this. Remy’s ears looked okay, I decided to wait and see. Two weeks ago Remy went to the vet and Dr. Smith said Remy’s ears looked good. She did not suggest plucking unless absolutely necessary because it is quite unpleasant for the dog. I was quite relieved. We have since had a big blizzard & Remy has been especially wet, several times every day. I developed a false sense of confidence that Remy’s ears were fine and I learned a tough lesson.
Remy’s ears got really stinky which is a definite sign of a problem. After Remy’s bath yesterday I went to clean out & trim his ears and I was horrified. Way down in the canal there was a glob of black wax. It stunk & he was pretty sensitive to me messing with it.
Major dog parenting fail.
Right away I texted KVP to find out what she uses on Kelham, her goldendoodle. She was at work and didn’t have the name off hand. I turned to my trusty friend Google and turned up quite a lot of info. I decided to immediately get a cleaning solution & try to clean his ears, then use a drying powder for a week. I’m also going to treat all the pets for ear mites because mites are contagious and can cause damage to the ear if left untreated. Mites appear as white flecks and are visible the naked eye. A quick google search will tell you how to check for mites – or you can always visit the vet to find out if your pets suffer from mites.
The plan is to pay close attention to his ears & if this continues, or if they seen to bother him, to then have them plucked.
We went to Pet Smart & I bought ear cleaner, drying powder & a pair of hemostats in case I felt plucking was necessary. Cleaning his ears was really easy & he seemed to like it. It must have felt good. One ear had very little wax but the other had a ton. Today there is no stinkiness. I’m going to check them again tonight & start using the drying powder. I really want to avoid plucking but Steve & I both agree that the 5-10 min of discomfort a month is far better than chronic ear issues. We are going to play it by ear (no pun intended) with hopes of not plucking.
I have been trying for a month to get a good picture of Emma and Remy together. It is so difficult! Not only is there a significant size difference (making a good picture a challenge) but every time they are near each other they are compelled to roll around licking and chewing on each other. They just won’t sit still. Most pictures look like this.
Here is a little video I made of them a week or so ago. They love to chew on each other. It’s so hard to believe that Emma ever was ever at all aggressive with Remy. She absolutely loves to play with him now.
<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/19755029″>Untitled</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user2387525″>kaira b</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
OMG! Remy is HUUUUGGGGGEEEE!!!
Here is the solution we use. We got it from the vet after Kelham had a very bad ear infection that his first vet didn’t catch. His ears were stinky and all black stuff came out. Anyways….this solution has a blue tint to it.I squeeze a little in his ears once a week. Then I massage his ears to get the fluid in to each ear. He doesn’t mind the massage part. After the massage, you have to give him room. He will shake any of the access fluid out, and it will get on you if you are standing close. Gross! After that, I use a cotton ball and q-tip to get the residue out. The vet showed us a dog ears and how we shouldn’t be scared because there is no way a q-tip can hit anything that would damage the ear. Kelham hates getting his ears cleaned. He walks out of the room to second he sees me get the bottle from under the sink.
http://www.amazon.com/Virbac-Epi-Otic-Dog-Cat-Cleanser/dp/B002CZNCY2
P.S. I will be buying from Amazong moving forward. At the time, he had an ear infection so we bought it from the vet because we needed it ASAP. The bottle has lasted us 6 months and I have plenty left.
Thanks, Katrina! I guess we have been lucky because Remy hasn’t tried to shake it out of his ears yet and I’ve cleaned them twice. My mom told me her dogs shook their heads like crazy when she cleaned theirs too. I’ll look into ordering some of that when this bottle is used up.
I just had to comment on what a lovely doodle you have. I am a retired dog groomer and have 2 standard poodles and a pom-poodle x. When we got our poodles they came complete with ear infections right off the bat. Freedom’s infection cleared up quickly with ear plucking and some drops recommened by the vet. Zak however has “power hair” growing in his ears by comparison and these first oily drops did not work for him. The key to cure his infection was 1. confirmation from a better vet that it was a “yeast” infection 2. anitibiotics for two weeks 3. return to test if all infection was gone (it was not) 4. two more weeks of antibiotics 5. return to confirm that infection was gone 6. the vet’s own mixture to keep the ears clear and dry which is a mixture of 90% alcohol and 2.7% boric acid. We several drops of this solution in his ears once a week to maintain his “good” ears. As a side note we discovered that a pharmacist can make up the same solution for us for a fraction of the vet’s price. I pluck his ears without fail also. He is a much happier boy. Getting a vet to test the gunk in you doodle’s ears is a really important thing. Best of luck with your little guy.
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