Have a great week. God bless ~~ janet (fellow heart beat team member)

Thanks for the early morning congrats on Maddy K's debut!  Yes, she was a big girl!  I'll feel better when I can see her and hold her.  I just talked to Tim and he said that the pediatrician was there now assessing the baby, so he couldn't talk and said he'd call me later.

on your grooming question: it is customary, but not a requirement to remove the hair in a dogs ear canal when it is a breed succeptible to ear infections.  But, if it's not done right, it can lead to infection.  The hair that should be pulled out is ONLY the hair that is actually inside the ear canal. not around the outside, or on the ear leather itself--that hair is more attached.  The soft hairs inside the ear canal are not 'well-attached' so it should come out easily.  It shouldn't bleed at all.  at the most, perhaps look a little irritated.  we always do it dry, and/or use ear powder to grip the hair with.  some use a hemostat or 'puller' to do the job, but I use my fingers and only pull what will readily come out.  if done that way, there should be no irritataion.  the process should be followed up with an anitseptic ear cleanser also.  It's not a standard procedure, more of a customer request, and varies from dog to dog within a breed and not all the hair has to be removed for good air flow.  if the ears are cut short anyway, there shouldn't be a problem with it.  it's usually seen as a problem in heavy eared dogs, like cockers and hounds.  my recommendation is that if it's not a lot of hair and it comes out w/o irritation then it's okay to do routinely, but if she's not blocked by gobs of hair and hasn't had ear infections, i wouldn't do it all the time.  some groomers only do it by request, so if you'd asked for it to be done before, it might become routine.  if you take her to different people from time to time, and you want it done, just ask that they check her ears and remove it if it's necessary.  sometimes, you just forget to ask, and/or they forget to do it too.....i don't see why anyone would be offended by asking about it. around here, it's not an assumed part of a groom for every dog. some dogs really scream having it done, and i don't like doing then unless it's really a problem.  i've seen ears that are infected and gross with peanut butter-like discharge that is really difficult to remove--a vet should do it then and treat the infection. in those instances, i'd say it needs to be 'routine', but done only after the infection is treated and cleared up or it would cause the dog GREAT discomfort.

hope that helps!