My Griffon has hair in it's ears, What do I do?

• From start to finish, ear care

Wirehaired Pointing Griffon

Return to Index

Ear Care can be done easily and effectively.

© Shannon Ford 2009

---

Cleaning your Griffon's ears
	Begin with Dog in a relaxed  "Settle" position.  If your Griffon is prone to infections, you will need some supplies. Ear Cleaner (Your Vet can recommend a brand) Ear Powder Kleenex or soft rag Clean fingers
We generally clean and pull hair from our Griffons' ears approximately every 1 1/2 months, but some Griffons need attention sooner, and some need it less frequently.  We never use instruments to pull or scissors to cut the hair near the ear.  Pulling with your fingers is the safest method of hair removal.  Cleaning the ear properly causes no pain, no blood, and makes the Griffon very happy, indeed.  If you are unsure about how to proceed... contact your Veterinarian or Groomer for a personal demonstration.  If your Griffon is scratching it's ears or shaking its head, it may mean that she is long overdue for an ear cleaning.  If you have not pulled hair from your Griffon's ears for a while, the ears can be more prone to infection caused by accumulated hair and wax, moisture and lack of air circulation. If there is any redness or thickness to the ear leather, or if there is a peculiar odor,  it may indicate a bacterial or yeast infection.  In the case of a bacterial infection, a yeast infection or collection of foreign material (ie: grass awns), a visit to your Veterinarian will be needed to properly treat the problem.
	Inspect Ear for hair, wax and infection.   This Griffon's ear has a large plug of hair and wax, but no irritation or foreign matter is evident. This hair and wax plug can be pulled, simply by gently and firmly pulling the plug from one edge, removing it from the ear canal. Take a soft cloth and gently wipe some of the wax out of the ear after pulling hair. Make sure not to push anything into the ear canal. If your Griffon's ears are otherwise healthy, you will not need to apply cleaners or powders... just pulling the hair will be sufficient (and preferable) as you will not be changing the environment of the ear canal.
	If your Griffon is prone to infections, you may need to do more than just pull the hair. Putting things into your Griffons ears can change the "environment" which, if your Griffon has an infection can be helpful. Talk to your Vet about ear care if your Griffon has re-occuring infections or has irritates, red ears. If the hair is not easy to remove, Sprinkle a small amount of ear powder into ear.  The ear powder will provide a grip on the hair, which can otherwise be somewhat hard to pull in some Griffons.
	Gently pull  a small number of hairs at a time.   Make certain that none of the fine hairs fall back into the ear canal.
	If your Griffon has a plug of hair and wax, pull gently away from the ear canal.
	Look inside to make sure that you have all the hair removed from the ear canal. Once the Ear canal has been cleared of hair, moisten the kleenex or soft cotton rag with Ear Cleaner and gently swab the ear canal.
	Work the ear cleaner into the undulations of the ear, carefully wiping out any debris and wax.  If the dog's ear is dirty or waxy, you may have to do more than one application of Ear Cleaner
	Once the ear is clean, you can do two things, either leave the ear clean and moist, or you can sprinkle a bit more ear powder into the ear.  This will dry the ear, but some Griffons find the powder irritating. So, check with your Vet on which is better. .
	If you apply powder, Gently Massage the powder into the ear canal.
	Voila!  A clean Ear which is free of hair.
	Here is the hair and hair/wax plug that was in this Griffon's right ear.....   Now you need to repeat these steps for the Left Ear!
	Still relaxed, Griffons enjoy having the hair pulled out of their ears... and ours groan with contentment during the process.