Question about ears...

[Baloosmom]

This might belong in the grooming section, but I'll post it here anyway

Baloo is our first Newf, so I am not sure if this is "normal."

The area under his ears tend to matt quite easily and when I brush them a bunch of white flakes come out. My husband thinks they are scabs (I have no idea why!) and I think it is due to ear drainage? Is this common or is it something for us to be concerned about?

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[Khiori]

if you are talking about where the lowest part of the ear attaches to the head, then it probably is drainage. Is it kinda oily?

Sometimes behind the ear matts because of doggy play. Is Baloo playing with other dogs?

Just keep it well combed out. I finally got a flea comb and that gets all those little things out, including hair that should be shed.

 

[Jeannie]

I keep the area under and around the ear canal shaved or cut real close. This help eliminate ear infections by letting the air circulate into the ear canal. You can trim quite a bit because with all that hair you cannot see it anyway

Jeannie

 

[Khiori]

Really? Cut it? I was trying so hard all this time to just keep it cleaned. Ack. Where's Solo?

Btw, is there some kinda stuff you can use to wipe away the oil that comes out? (oil, wax, whatever) I'm afraid to use anything real heavy duty since Khiori's seizures are in part triggered by strong smells... any suggestions? I'm not talking about the ear inside, but just the bottom and flap. TIA

 

[Theresa]

We use Chlorhexiderm flush to clean our newfs ears. It works great. We don't put anything directly into their ear canals. We pour some chlorhexiderm onto a cotton pad and wipe inside (not too deep) and towards the outside. It doesn't take too many wrestling matches in the yard for them to get dirty ears! lol!

 

[Baloosmom]

I think it is drainage, on occasion he has that dog ear infection odor, but his ears are clear. He also plays with our 5 year old lab Gus a lot..so it sounds to me like it could be a combo of the two?

The first time we noticed it, he had spent the weekend with Gus at my brothers house with their Boxer so I had my husband put the ear cleaner in and after a good bath he smelt much better

Thanks everyone! I didn't think it was something to worry about, we'll try to keep on top of it more.

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[Lynne]

I use my wonderful Blue Power formula. Got it from a dog line, an old country vet's concoction. It's alcohol, boric acid powder and gentian violet. It's the best thing I've found. Gussie's ears kept going gunky until I started with this stuff, and a few friends have found similar great results. Want me to post the formula? It's cheap, too. Would the alcohol be too strong an odor for Khiori?