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Stringy ears

Janice

Janice

Well-known member
Lewis always seems to have stringy ears. I bathed him today, only do it once a month max, mostly because they looked so tatty. He looked lovely after his bath as usual with nice soft glossy fluffy hair everywhere, except his ears which when dry still looked stringy and greasy!

I washed the ears specifically with tea tree oil shampoo, the conditioner (both for dogs).
His ears never seem to look soft and big and fluffy like others on here.

6 months ago he did lick up some spilt clean veg oil which got on his ears but that was ages ago now, surely baths shouldve sorted that out. He has NEVER had thick fluffy ears.

A friend suggested talcum powder.. then brushing it out after a while, but seems wrong to have to do that straight after a bath.

Is it just ones with long ears that stay nice and fluffy. Lewis has shorter hair so it doesnt all reach the bottom of his ears like some of the other dogs.
 
I dont know much about this but can tell you from experience with my 3.

1 has beautiful, slighty curly and naturally fluffy ears. (even when oily.) But his mat very very quickly. I brush them nightly and still find tangles.
Another has short very slow growning very straight hair on the ears. I have tried and hers have never been fluffy. Even right after a bath they still slick down and look a little oily.
The other one was straight hair as well but his fur grows faster and only stays a little fluffy for a few hours. His get oily fast too.

I blame the oil on the fact I pet there ears so much just because they are so soft :p
 
Reptigirl said:
I dont know much about this but can tell you from experience with my 3.

1 has beautiful, slighty curly and naturally fluffy ears. (even when oily.) But his mat very very quickly. I brush them nightly and still find tangles.
Another has short very slow growning very straight hair on the ears. I have tried and hers have never been fluffy. Even right after a bath they still slick down and look a little oily.
The other one was straight hair as well but his fur grows faster and only stays a little fluffy for a few hours. His get oily fast too.

I blame the oil on the fact I pet there ears so much just because they are so soft :p
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. Seems there are loads of types. I will worry no more and just enjoy darling Lewis as he is!! :)
 
Hi Janice,
Do you have pics of his ears?
I wouldn't put conditioner on the ears if they look greasy after it.
Maybe try some other shampoo for the ears...maybe a gentle puppy shampoo and rinse thoroughly after it.
However it would be normal enough for ears to look stringy after a few days.They never do stay picture perfect for very long in our house..
Sins
 
Don't forget most pictures you see tend to be showdogs all perfectly coiffed for the show ring :), or even here, nice pics taken after grooming/baths/brushing! So this is NOT generally the way most people's dogs appear day to day :lol: and you are right: all have different coats anyway. Jaspar's ears tend to look stringy unless just washed or brushed, for example. Lily's are too thick really and get unkempt very easily so I keep them shortish.

The other things that come to mind but are less likely: some dogs chew at their ears and may do this when you are not watching. Also thin/stringy hair on ears could be caused by excessive scratching due to ear infections/mites/syringomyelia/PSOM. My dogs with SM have affected ears in this way, especially Leo, who has removed much of the top darker layer of his ear hair (he's a tri).
 
I think it's probably genetic;)

How is Lewis now by the way?
We must meet up in Hatfield Forest this summer:wggle:
 
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