Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, this is my first post here. I have a 2 year old papillon and he likes to rub his head on the ground, maybe cuz it itches. Well this causes horrible tangles in his very fine ear hair which I have to basically cut out. Does anyone out there know of a good way to prevent these tangles? I hate cutting off his beautiful ear hair knowing it will take a long time to grow back.

There is a picture of him. The tangles only occure behind his ears where the hair is extremely fine.

Thanks for any help, it is greatly appreciated.

-eliots mom

>>Hello, this is my first post here. I have a 2 year old papillon and he likes to rub his head on the ground, maybe cuz it itches. Well this causes horrible tangles in his very fine ear hair which I have to basically cut out. Does anyone out there know of a good way to prevent these tangles? I hate cutting off his beautiful ear hair knowing it will take a long time to grow back.
>>
>>There is a picture of him. The tangles only occure behind his ears where the hair is extremely fine.
>>
>>Thanks for any help, it is greatly appreciated.
>>
>>-eliots mom
>>

Hi, and welcome to the board. I don't have a papillon but do have a shih tzu. If you're referring to hair in the inner part of the ear, I use a small rounded tip scissors to clip this. If the hair is more on the outer ear you may have to comb it a couple of times a day. If the itch is coming from the inner ear you might also want your vet to take a look and see if there is anything in the ear that's causing the itch. Sometimes dogs can get ear mites which cause them to itch also. Hopefully some of the pappillon folks will have some suggestions for you.

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Mary Lou & Katie

Hi thank you for the help. Vet checks have found no medical reason for the rubbing. I think he enjoys the feel since he does it when he's excited and almost as a grooming ritual. Just not sure how to get those tangles to stay away.
Have a wonderful day.

Hi and welcome to the Doghobbyist! Elliot is a great looking little dog. I had a Springer mix that had very fine hair around his ears and I found it easier to brush and comb several times a day rather than dealing with cutting out the mats.
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Bob

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Hi
Thank you for the post. I brush almost daily and that just might be the best that I can do. The big problems come when I'm out of town. He also has such tender skin in that area that he's not always happy to see the brush coming his way. I try to do it when he's lounging with me at night. I've also found that a round brush works very well to get out the tangles. The brushing also causes this hair to have a problem with static. I've tride No More Tears. Didn't help.
Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Try a better conditioner. You don't want to brush thru the matts because that breaks the hair and makes it more likelty to matt. I like to use a fine, metal comb on the fringe.

You have to keep the hair really clean. So, about a bath every week. I would also use lots of conditioner. If he gets food in his fringe, you may need to put on a snood when he eats or chews on bones.

Long fringe is a little extra work but I wouldn't trade it for anything. . . I love long, curtain fringe!

ana