To not get a poodle because I’ve just discovered they need their ears cleaned once a week?

[Hellomotto2]

Please be kind as I’m very torn and ultimately trying to make the most responsible decision!

DH and I are wanting to get a toy poodle, we’ve been doing so much research over the last year or so, and I’m even changing jobs to be able to accommodate getting a dog (DH is able to wfh more than me), all the reading so far indicates that a toy poodle would be an ideal bread for us as we live in a small flat and then temperament etc feels like it would really suit us too, not to mention I’ve met so many on my travels and they are always adorable. I understand it’s gonna be hard work for the first year, the training, the late nights, the yapping etc and it’s took us a while to make sure we understand what we are getting ourselves in for! So I thought I was ready to make the step to start contacting breeders and generally starting to look for our wee guy, when the other day I read that poodles (as well as other breeds with drop ears) need their ears cleaned out once a week!!

Apparently they are prone to ear infections if not cleaned and they give off brown gunk and it’s a very messy job! I’d just about gotten used to the idea of picking up poo and made peace with that lol! But once a week for a messy job? I think I’d be too squeamish for that and worry about the mess in the small flat and the fact it’s so frequent. It’s making me really sad as it’s making me think we won’t be able to get one after all (at least while we are still in this small flat) I was thinking it would be more like a once a month thing, and I could get help with it at the groomers! AIBU? Are there any poodle or drop-earred dogs that live in a flat that could shed some light on this? Is it really as big deal as the internet is making out? Thanks!

Oh god, anal gland fluid (or bum juice as we call it in our house) is literally it's very own special level of hell. It's fishy and meaty at the same time OP - think of a combination of prawns and chicken that's gone off and been left to sit out in a heatwave. It also has a horrendous oily consistency and a hellishly long lasting and lingering scent.

This.

Plus toy poodles are pretty active so I don't think they'd be too pleased being cooped up in a flat

I can beat that.

One of our goldfish (pond, so had grown quite big) died and we buried it in the garden. Obviously not deep enough and Not so darling dog1 decided to dig it up and eat it, then proceeded to come into the house and vomit everywhere... we never made that mistake again.

@FFF3 same experience here. MIL has 3, they have never been able to be house trained and yap constantly if she’s not there, even if she leaves the room they start yapping or making this awful screeching noise that never stops. When she comes back they jump around going crazy for ages that she’s returned (from
say the toilet!) Shes also had so much professional help but it’s just their personality. They also yap all the time for no apparent reason and always look grubby no matter how much she cleans them. They are all ancient now (late teens!) and I won’t miss them one bit when they are gone!

On the ear front, I have 3 dogs one with dropped ears and don’t clean any of them. I do check them regularly though.

Two words… anal glands 🤮

Do you think dogs just take care of themselves? If basic pet care is beyond you then you shouldn’t even consider getting a dog.

😂😂 I feel like each time we have to do that it’s payback for not sharing something completely inappropriate we’re eating that we get the stare down for 🙃

let’s not talk about the rubber she ate as a puppy that acted as a several day poo plug. Boy that was fun when it popped out

Oh wow, he is adorable! Thank you so much for your informative post, it’s seriously helpful. Weirdly I’m ok with poo stuff, we currently have a family cat, and I previously had another cat for 16 years - training her was ok and I had to bath her several times as a kitten when she rolled in her own poo during litter training! It honestly doesn’t bother me. I the ears thing worried me cause a lot of the articles and videos say they shake their head and it’s messy, and basically make out any less than once a week is neglect!! and I’d worry in a small flat about having no garden to bring them in -the walls end up covered in ear gunk! I’m glad to many people on MN are saying they don’t have to do the ears once a week, that’s given me a bit of perspective. Your wee guy is so class!

Haha yes, I did actually have a cat for 16 years and my mum still has a cat in our family home currently. I’ve just never owned a dog before, and it’s a different ball game - I think a cat is a walk in park to be honest.

Oh my god, lol!
ive heard about the leaky anal glands yes!
do they vomit often like cats?

I can get a groomer to do that

Why do you assume I won’t be taking it out for walks every day in the Olympic park where I live????? As if people in London who live in flats have never owned dogs before!
God … i completely forgot how fuckin tetchy and unnecessarily judgey, assumptive, and hysterical everybody is on MN … YUK! 😂

I've always had poodles and only one needed ear cleaning daily - but that was a temporary situation, she had unusually narrow ear canals and had an operation to widen them which meant no further problems.

The groomer plucks and cleans their ears each time which is fine.

They really are the absolutely best dogs 😍

If your stomach turns at the thought of cleaning out ears, wait til you’re wearing latex gloves with a Vaseline smeared finger, about to face the horror of the “emptying of the anal glands” since your hound has decided the vet is a pervert and won’t let him anywhere near her arse-end!

I have a Basset - the longest of long floppy ears. Yes they get gunky and smelly and itchy if they aren’t cleaned regularly. If neglected, infections and ear mites (shudder at the use) can happen.

I clean out her ears with gentle baby wipes every other day. It’s really no big deal and takes a few minutes, if that. Every now and then I use some ear cleaning drops, but mostly a good wipe out keeps on top of it. My hound is 4 now and it’s almost like a little hobby now - quite satisfying to get into all the nooks and crannies!

If the idea is seriously making you question your plans then perhaps a dog isn’t the right fit for you at this point. If you want something cute and affectionate, have you thought about a pair of Guinea pigs? My DD’s lived to be 9 and 10 and were real characters. There was a lot of poo though……

I have a shih tzu and I've never cleaned out his ears, he's never had any anal gland issues and he's never rolled in anything gross

He is partial to eating cat shit if he can get hold of it and then vomming it all back up on occasion

I have a 2 year old poodle cross. He has had a bad ear once which needed ear wash from the vets and wasn’t gross.

The time he ate cat poo and threw it up everywhere on the other hand… 🤮🤮🤮

Poodles and poodle crosses are more prone to ear problems as they grow hair inside the ear but that is definitely not the most disgusting part of owning one.

basic pet care isn’t beyond me, and if I thought dogs took care of themselves I wouldn’t be researching how to take care of one for the last year. Just read the post and don’t be an asshole. I’m asking is it perhaps not suitable in a small flat if it’s that messy, Perhaps it’s something that could be put off for a couple more years until we have more space.

Honestly dogs can be totally disgusting so if cleaning out ears is a potential deal breaker really think on
I have adored every single one of my dogs but the things that can happen are way worse than a bit of ear wax

You could of course clean the dogs ears outdoors , cos it's true when you put the liquid in the dogs ears you are meant to massage the ears to move the liquid around and then they do shake their head🙄 before you get a chance to wipe with cotton wool .

haha oh god really? Well that’s good to know re the baby wipes! All the YouTube videos seem to say you have to use a solution and fill their ear canal with it, so I thought it would be more of a messy job. Yes I’ve looked at the little Ginny pigs too actually. My sisters friend has a couple and my other friend who also lives in a flat just got a beautiful rabbit, I know there are options. I think with a dog as long as I know what I’m dealing with, I’ll be able to make the best informed decision so it’s great to hear of everybody’s experiences

Thank you! This ^ so this is my main worry - I don’t have a garden, so I’m wondering would this be suitable/ possible in a flat? if it needs done as often as google would have you believe! Judging by some of the comments on here though - it seems dogs needing their ears done once a week is slight exaggeration to be fair!

Things I have had to do with / for my dogs:

Apply ointment around their willy while he sat there smugly like Lord Muck

Pull bits of grass out of their bumholes

Clean up poo from the walls, their bed, THE SOFA because they were suffering from "never trust a fart" liquid diarrhoea

Ditto carpet, floor when one of the dogs had serious gut issues, poor blighter

Clean their teeth

Hand feed them wet dog food 🤮

Bathe them once the shits (see above) had subsided

Repeat, after they discovered the delights of sticking their head in fox poo

Deal with a turd/carpet/robot hoover clash (several times) (you think I'd learn!)

Wee and vom on some VERY absorbent surfaces. The last minute rush to Argos to get a new mattress so we had something to sleep on that night....

Sponged blood off ... A LOT of walls after The Tail Incident

Oh! And the tapeworms.

And the occasional unfortunate, recently deceased members of the wildlife community that one or other of the dogs found in the garden or in a hedge within on-lead range...

I really wouldn't worry about ear cleaning lol!

One dog who liked to drag her face along the ground for a good scratch used to need her ears cleaned often , just do it outdoors . Choose a bench with no one else around and sort them out , might need someone to help you first couple of times .🐶

If you’re in a flat and don’t have garden access, does your cat have his/her own space to be away from a puppy?

Ive got two bichon frises. The only time one of them had an ear infection was after a groom at pets at home where they removed all his ear hairs. I’ve left them alone since….I just check them and make sure the hair isn’t blocking their ear holes.