My Kerry Blue Pup, Rhea, is 16 weeks old and has an awful lot of hair growing in her ears. The vet checked it out, and it is causing her some problems of a wax build up but no there's no infection there. My problem is that he told us to pluck the hair, and it seems to really hurt her. I hve a vague recollection that someone I know once had some ear drops for their dog which causes the hair to fall out. Has anyone ever heard of such a treatment, and if so what its it and where can I buy some??? Any other suggestions very welcome ...

Have you spoken to her breeder? They are usually a valuable source of guidance. I don't know anything about Kerry Blues but certainly in most breeds plucking hair from the ear canal would be too too painful. I suggest that you speak to the breeder and ask them to show you how to trim the hair in the ear safely. You could then use a product called Thornit to dry the ear out.

If you do a search on the board for Thornit you'll find out about it and how to use it.

hth

Pam n the boys

Hi try http://www.championpets.freeserve.co.uk/ears.htm for information on Thornit it will also make it easier to pluck the hair from the ears.Gillian

Is there a website that you can buy Thornit from please?
Anita

Anita - you can get it from Champion Pets I believe that are in the link above

Ahhh read the article just didn't look at the rest of the site doh:)

TT's need hair plucked from their ears regularly. I was advised by TT breeder to get ster-zac powder from the chemist.They ordered it for me (used to be used on new born babies tummy buttons). I sprinkle a little in the ear and then pluck out the hair using tweezers. Just do a few hairs at a time. It's really like plucking your eyebrows!! (now I remember why I didn't pluck mine!)

It's an unfortunate part of owning a Kerry Blue that it's ESSENTIAL that this hair be plucked out! (We had Kerries for some years). Your breeder should really have pointed it out to you.

Thornit definitely helps, as you can get a better grip in the hair, but please only do a little at a time, not the whole lot at one sitting. We used artery forceps to get a grip, but not recommended if you've got a fidget. as you can accidentally prod in the ears and cause untold damage.

If you're going to show, the ears need to be set when the teeth change (about 4 months old) - you need someone experienced to show you how. This stops them going out sideways for the rest of their lives. If you do this, the ears will need a jolly good clean out before, as you can't really get to them properly for a couple of weeks.

Jo and the Casblaidd Flatcoats