Ear Educated: A Groomer's Take on Grooming, Plucking, and Ear Cleaning Etiquette

Let's get one thing straight (or clean): grooming a dog's ears isn't rocket science, but it sure creates plenty of debate. Ear cleaning, ear plucking, and proper ear care are topics that often spark strong opinions between groomers, veterinarians, and pet owners. Understanding where a groomer's role begins and where it ends helps everyone work together for the benefit of the dog.

Why Some Groomers Have Become Cautious Or Outright Refuse About Ear Plucking

Picture this: your veterinarian examines your dog's ears, and sometime afterward an ear infection develops. Even if the groomer followed standard grooming protocols weeks earlier, they're often the first person blamed.

This is one reason many groomers have become more conservative with ear plucking and ear cleaning.

Some of the reasons include:

• Client backlash after veterinary visits. Groomers frequently hear comments like, "You pulled too much hair," "You didn't pull enough," "You poked too deep," "You got water in the ears," or "You should have cleaned them better," even when they followed accepted grooming practices.
• Deep ear debris. Groomers generally don't remove debris deep within the ear canal. Material can surface after a veterinary examination or cleaning, creating the impression that the groomer caused the problem.
• Ear infections appearing later. Moisture, wax, allergies, and many other factors contribute to ear infections. When one develops after a grooming appointment, the groomer is often blamed regardless of the actual cause.
• Different professional training. Veterinarians receive medical training, while groomers receive grooming education. Both professions have valuable knowledge, but they approach ear care from different perspectives.

When the Groomer Is the One Who Finds the Problem

Here is one that has frustrated groomers for years. We notice that a dog's ear is red, irritated, smelly, full of unusual debris, or simply doesn't look right. We tell the owner what we found and recommend having the veterinarian take a look at it. The owner does exactly that, only to come back and tell us the veterinarian said the ear problem was probably caused by grooming.

Wait. We found it, told you about it, and sent you to the vet for it, but somehow we also caused it?

Groomers don't diagnose ear infections, nor should we. What we can do is recognize when something doesn't look normal. If I notice redness, odor, unusual discharge, swelling, sensitivity, or excessive debris, I try to tell you what I see and recommend veterinary care when appropriate. If the abnormality was already there for me to notice and report, that should be pretty important information when everyone starts trying to figure out what happened. BUT, there are also times we aren't sure or whatever is going on already is lurking just under the surface and not visibly obvious to us.

Unfortunately, groomers hear every possible explanation afterward. We plucked the ear hair, so we caused it. We didn't pluck the ear hair, so apparently we caused it that way instead. We didn't pluck ENOUGH ear hair. We cleaned the ears. We didn't clean them enough. Then there is an old favorite: we must have gotten water in the dog's ears during the bath. Never mind that keeping water out of ear canals is something professional groomers are specifically trained to do and take precautions against every single day. Most veterinarians have never been trained to professionally bathe and dry dogs, so they may not realize just how much care experienced groomers actually take around the ears during a bath. Keeping water out of them isn't some obscure advanced technique. It's Grooming 101.

And all of this may be being magically determined by someone who wasn't there and has no idea what actually happened or did not happen during the grooming appointment with lengths of time in between where many things could have occurred.

The dog's history matters too. If I have groomed the same dog every six weeks for years using the same bathing techniques and that dog has almost no history of ear infections, it doesn't make much sense to suddenly decide that I forgot how to keep water out of its ears this particular Tuesday. Maybe we've had weeks of unusually humid weather. Maybe the dog has been swimming or playing in water. Maybe there is a new puppy in the house constantly licking, chewing, and playing with everyone's ears. Maybe allergies are flaring up. Maybe something else has changed that nobody has even thought of yet. None of those things automatically prove what caused the infection either, and that's exactly the point.

An ear infection occurring sometime around a grooming appointment does not automatically mean the grooming caused it. Moisture, wax, allergies, and other factors can contribute to ear infections, something this article already discusses. Looking at the dog's history, what was observed before and during grooming, what has changed recently, and what is actually happening medically makes considerably more sense than simply looking at the calendar and deciding the groomer did it.

Could grooming ever contribute to ear irritation? Of course. We work on living, breathing dogs, and pretending nothing could ever happen during grooming would be ridiculous. What is equally ridiculous is treating a recent grooming appointment as proof of causation. Diagnosing an ear infection is one thing. Knowing exactly what caused that infection is another.

Sometimes the groomer didn't cause the ear problem. Sometimes we're just the annoying person who looked closely enough to find it and told you to call your vet. Sometimes we just happen to groom your dog every 4, 6 or 8 weeks so your never far from your grooming appointment when an ear problem flairs up. SOMETIMES the vet has no idea life happened and it had been 6 months since your last grooming appointment shortly before your most recent trip to the vet.

What Do Grooming Guidelines Recommend?

According to AKC guidance and professional grooming education, routine ear maintenance is generally limited to the visible portions of the ear.

Safe grooming practices typically include:

• Wiping only the visible outer ear with a cotton ball or pet-safe wipe.
• Avoiding Q-tips or cotton swabs inside the ear canal.
• Lightly thinning ear hair, when appropriate, to improve airflow rather than completely removing every hair.
• Keeping water out of the ear during bathing by gently closing the ear flap and, when appropriate, using cotton for protection.

Additional recommendations often include:

• Protecting floppy ears during bathing and drying to reduce trapped moisture.
• Thoroughly drying the ears after the bath, since excess moisture creates an ideal environment for bacteria and yeast.
• Using a gentle astringent cleaner to dry out any additional moisture

Groomers Aren't Trying to Be Veterinarians

Professional groomers care deeply about ear health, but they're not veterinarians and shouldn't be expected to perform medical procedures or diagnose ear disease.

What groomers do exceptionally well is:

• Helping prevent water from entering the ears during bathing.
• Using appropriate ear cleaning products during routine grooming.
• Following safe, consistent grooming protocols designed to maintain cleanliness without venturing into medical treatment.

Think of groomers as helping maintain healthy ears, not treating unhealthy ones or being responsible for them.

Groomer-Style Ear Care at Home

If you want to perform routine ear maintenance between grooming appointments, keep it simple.

• Use a veterinarian or groomer approved ear cleaner or plain witch hazel if appropriate for your pet.
• Apply the cleaner to a cotton ball or soft wipe rather than directly into the ear.
• Clean only the visible outer portion of the ear.
• Never insert cotton swabs or other objects deep into the ear canal.
• Dry the ear thoroughly after cleaning.
• If you notice redness, swelling, discharge, a foul odor, pain, or excessive scratching, stop cleaning and schedule a veterinary examination.

If your breed commonly grows dense ear hair, gentle thinning with your fingers may help improve airflow. Avoid excessive pulling, and if you're unsure whether your dog should have ear hair removed, ask your groomer or veterinarian.

Pet Parents Need to Maintain Ear Hair Too

One thing that seems to get lost in all the arguments about whether groomers or veterinarians should be plucking ears is that ultimately, neither one is responsible for maintaining the amount of hair growing in your dog's ears between appointments. You are. If you have a dog that grows a lot of hair inside the ears, checking that hair should be part of your normal maintenance at home.

Large amounts of ear hair should not be pulled all at once. Removing too much hair at one time can irritate the ear canal, which is exactly what we're trying to avoid. Instead of allowing the ears to become packed with hair and expecting a groomer or veterinarian to remove all of it during one visit, the hair should be maintained gradually so there is enough room for air to circulate and dirt and debris to work their way out.

Check your dog's ears every week or two. If the opening is starting to look particularly hairy, you don't need hemostats, ear powder or any special grooming tools to do a little maintenance. Take a few of the hairs growing from directly inside the ear between your fingers and just give them one quick, gentle tug. Hair growing inside the ear frequently releases very easily when it hasn't been allowed to become excessive. It should not require repeated pulling or a struggle with your dog. If the hair doesn't come out easily, leave it alone.

Make sure you are actually grabbing hair growing from inside the ear and not the regular coat growing on the skin surrounding the opening. That surrounding hair is attached just like the hair everywhere else on your dog, and yes, pulling it hurts. We are talking about removing a few easily released hairs from inside the ear when they start becoming excessive, not grabbing a handful of whatever happens to be nearby and giving it a yank.

The goal isn't to make the ear bald. Some dogs naturally grow much more ear hair than others, and some need very little maintenance at all. The goal is simply to check your dog's ears regularly and keep excessive hair from building up in the first place. A few seconds every week or two can prevent the situation where a large amount has accumulated and somebody is then expected to unpleasantly remove it all at once. which as we've discussed can be a problem in itself.

Your groomer will very likely happily demonstrate this if you have questions or need a little help at first.

For problem ears, I absolutely love ZYMOX Enzymatic Ear Solution. It’s incredibly easy to use and unbelievably effective for pesky ear problems. It has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, works WITH whatever is in the ears so there is no extra daily cleaning and fuss necessary and also works great as a weekly or bi-weekly preventative.

Breeds That Commonly Benefit From Ear Hair Maintenance

Some breeds naturally grow more hair inside the ears or have floppy ears that reduce airflow.

These often include:

• Cocker Spaniel
• Bichon Frise
• Poodle (Toy, Miniature, and Standard)
• Schnauzer
• Shih Tzu
• Lhasa Apso
• Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
• Golden Retriever
• Cockapoos, Labradoodles, and many other Doodle mixes
• West Highland White Terrier

Every dog is different, so ear maintenance should always be based on the individual dog's needs rather than breed alone.

Final Thoughts

Good ear care doesn't require drama. Groomers and veterinarians each play different but equally important roles in keeping your dog's ears healthy.

Routine grooming helps maintain cleanliness and reduce moisture buildup, while veterinarians diagnose and treat medical ear conditions.

When each professional stays within their area of expertise and pet owners understand the difference, everyone benefits, especially the dog.