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Hair on underside of ears

Daisy's Mom

Well-known member
I just got Daisy back from the lady who boarded her (it turned out to be a bad experience and she will definitely NOT be going back there. I would say more, but then I will get very upset, so I'll just leave it at that.).

Anyway, when I picked Daisy up last night, the lady said "I'd love to get a hold of her and groom her some time." I said "Really?" She thought she should be shaped (I disagree and no one will be doing that to Daisy.) But she also said that she needs to have the hair removed from inside her ears and maybe the inner part of her ear hair trimmed off to let more air into her ears. One of the vets who has seen her told me the same thing, although she then immediately said "Her ears look great."

Do those of you who leave your Cavaliers in full coat do anything to their ears at all? I never have, and Daisy's never had an ear infection, although her ears do sometimes smell "musty." I always heard "no trimming" with Cavaliers, and I follow that rule, with the exception of the bottom of her feet. But should I be doing some sort of thinning/pulling/trimming on the underside of her ears near her ear canal for health reasons? Have I been neglectful? Any advice would be appreciated!

ETA: I should probably add that Daisy has a LOT of hair and very long ears. When I picked her up after not seeing her for a week, I realized how shaggy she is, but part of that was the fact that she hadn't been brushed in a week and was a mess.
 
I'm no expert with ears but I've always clipped around the ear opening and plucked excess hair from ears. Started this with Old English Sheepdog and have continued it with Golden retriever, Husky/Mal mix (floppy ears) and the cavaliers. I also clean the exterior ear canals weekly with Epi-otic. Their ears always smell "right" and ear infections don't occur. I think those floppy hairy ears don't allow enough air circulation and there is little use for all that hair for a pet that is not hunting in the field. Rationalize that the hair was protective for dogs going thru brush and brambles. :paw:
 
How rude of the woman to tell you she wanted to groom YOUR dog, with the implication that she needed 'shaping'! I'd shape her... I think I'd have been tempted to tell her I'd love to do a makeover on her as she was so clearly letting herself down,going by her appearance. :badgrin:

Anyway: I think people and vets split on whether dogs need the hair removed from inside their ears and around them. I have never done anything to four of mine and have never had an ear infection since they were puppies with NO hair in there. So you could trim if you feel like it but I do not believe there is any evidence beyond the anecdotal that keeping hair out of ears reduces infections and problems. Maybe it would help with a dog prone to infections as well.

There's no law against trimming a cavalier though so if there are some health or convenience reasons and you are not showing you can do whatever you'd like :lol:. There's no problem with show dogs with trimming hair from inside their ears (eg plucking) but I'd let a vet do it or show you how if you want to do this.
 
Thanks, Karlin. Since she hasn't had ear infections, I really didn't want to do anything to the hair there. But after hearing about it twice, once from a vet and now once from this lady, I just wanted to check to make sure that everyone else isn't doing this and I've been neglectful.

I agree with you and I didn't appreciate that lady's comment either. She then proceeded to tell me that Cavaliers need to be "shaped up." I didn't correct her, I just took my poor dirty, hot, bedraggled dog and left as quickly as I could. Daisy did look pretty shaggy when I picked her up, but I blame that on HER, not on Daisy. Overall it was a very bad experience.

I just now got back from visiting another kennel and I am hopeful that it will be a much better place for her for our next trip. I certainly liked the lady personally a lot better. And the whole place was shaded, which makes me feel better, too. It gets incredibly hot here, and Daisy is so hot-natured. The other kennel was air conditioned, too, as I was assured. What she didn't tell me was that SHE WAS TOO CHEAP TO TURN IT ON!!! Never. Again.

:p I know it's not a law :)p) that she not be trimmed. I just have delusions of grandeur about how pretty she is and how much she looks like the show dogs I see (probably in my mind only)! I suppose it's bad to be so vain about one's dog, but I just think she's a glamour girl with all that beautiful long silky hair. It would break my heart to cut it off! I want her to look like the beautiful breed I waited so long to get! I'm not crazy about how trimmed Cavaliers look, I have to admit. If I wanted a short haired dog, I would have gotten a chihuahua! :)
 
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