Mini schnauzer, ear plucking and his discomfort

[michellepete]

We have a 1 yr old mini schnauzer. When we got him, his tail was already docked but his ears were intact. We pruposely chose not to have his ears docked because neither of us like the idea of altering animals unless absolutely necessary.

He goes in every 8 weeks for grooming and part of that is plucking his ear hairs out to keep his ears clean. He comes home and his poor little ears are bright red for a couple of days. He shakes constantly as through he's trying to rid himself of the pain/discomfort. He won't let us touch his ears for a couple of days and really isn't his normal, playful self.

I've asked the vet and the groomer about giving him something and both of them really kind of pass it off. When I expressed concern about this last winter, both of them said that the more it's done, the more used to it he will get and the easier it will be.

To be honest I can't stand seeing him in pain, staring at me, wanting me to help him. He was itchy after getting groomed last night and the groomer told me that bathing him with a dog conditioner would likely hurt his ears at this point. So I gave him half a benedryl to see if if that would alieviate his itchiness and allow him to settle down enough to sleep with his ears. It helped some.

Can I give my dog baby tylenol or asprin or something to help this?

[expatpumpkin]

Why do they *have* to pluck the hairs from his ears? I have a shih tzu and his ears are floppy and this has never even come up with groomers. And he's lived in three countries, so we've been to a lot of groomers!

ETA: This piqued my curiosity, so I did some research and came across varying opinions on whether this is even necessary. In any event, Nair or simply trimming the hair may actually be the answer if his ears must be hair-free:

www.groomers.net/discus/messages/93/2444.html?1186974602

And I just took a look at my dog's never-plucked ears. Yes, there's hair in there, but his ears are healthy and clean... Good thing, because he's HUGE drama queen with ZERO threshold for pain, so we will NOT be trying this at home (or at the groomer's), hahaha.

[kellbell191]

We Have floppy eared mutts and use blue power ear wash to
Keep their ears clean and bacteria free.

[runs4qs]

If The hair has to be cleaned up trim or clip around the ear. Clean them manually. Coat stripping is traditional as to not change the coat texture. Do not give Tylenol.

[foundmylazybum]

You can ask them to scissor trim it.

We have had both stripping and trimming and our schnauzer has never had a problem. My mil's schnauzer who has floppy ears does need sripping and ear washing. she is prone to Infections.

Try trimming and see if it works. Then if it doesn't explore other options.

[tmonoxide]

Probiotics yogurt is great for a dog. Great to keep away ear infections and great for digestion, too.