Swank Pets Dog Blog

This is the third part of my series on how to groom a yorkie or maltese. This section involves caring and trimming of the ears. The first step involves checking the ear channels. Check for any offensive odors, redness or discharge coming from the ears. If you notice any of these it could be a sign of an ear infection. Take your dog to a vet and have the ear examined to ensure there is no infection. If everything is clear, you’ll want to continue with clearing the ear channel of any hair. To do this

simply take a few strands at a time and pull quickly with your fingers. There are plucking powders available that give you a better grip making this process easier. I will not be your dog’s favorite activity, and there’s a good chance your dog will give a yelp when plucking these little hairs inside their ears, but it will help stop ear infections and bacteria from growing. Once the ear canal is done, move on the trimming the ears. This step pertains mostly to Yorkies to give their ears that standing V shape. Simply take a pair of electric clippers, and start trimming the top 1/3 of hair from both the front and back of the ears. Then trim the edges to give a nice and neat V shape. Maltese ears only need to be trimmed once in a while since their ears are usually floppy and more furry.

This next section also pertains to Yorkies only. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Maltese with standing ears. Here, I explain how make your Yorkie’s ears stand if they have not already done so. Trimming the ears in the step above is a large part in helping your dog’s ears stand. You can help even more by taping the ears. To do this, simply cut 3 or 4, two inch pieces of tape into Triangles. Next, stack these 3 or 4 triangles on top of each other to give it more sturdiness. Then, stick this on the inside of your Yorkie’s ear. Next, take a piece of tape about 3 to 4 inches in length, and place it on the opposite side of the ear. Wrap the excess tape around to the inside portion. Some dogs ears take a couple of days to stand on their own, while other dogs may take weeks. I think if the ears aren’t standing within a few weeks, your Yorkie’s ears may not be meant to stand.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this piece on ear care and stay tuned for more on this series.