There is a lot of controvery about if any plucking, or how much should be dome on any floppy eared dogs..like Maltese. The hair con obstruct the ear canal, not let air in and lead to ear infections. Over plucking can irritate the ear canal allowing irritation, encouraging bacterial growth and lead to ear infections. Sounds like you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. My vet suggests pulling the hair that protrude,, not delving in to the canal too deeply.. a conservative aproach.
It is important to dry out the ear canal after bathing.No matter what you do some water will seep in after the bath. The drying solutions can be puit in the ear canal, massage the ear and it will flow downward. Cotton balls are good to clean the opening of the canal. Don't delve in there too deep with a q tip. The shape of the ear canal is a U shape and if you don't go in digging it is safe to do a little cleaning. As with all grooming the key is to get a puppy accustomed to the routine and then they grow up to be adults who will accespt all these rituals. I have one Maltese who is a complainer about the grooming. I just explain to Freddy that in the next life he can come back as a german short haired pointer and will not have to put up with all the grooming Maltese require. For now..I am the mommy and what I say needs to be done will get done.
