Does anyone have any tips how to remove a knot of hair from behind dogs ear?

[Diddytv]

She is nervous as she doesn’t understand what I am planning to do when I approach her. She knows I want to poke around behind her ear. I am not sure what best plan of action is ? 😬

Tricky. Baby scissors maybe a cut just a tiny bit of at a time when asleep at random times. But if she really doesn't like it leave it and go to a groomer.

I had to cut little dreadlocks out of my fluffcat's arm and leg pits in the summer, where grass seeds had got wrapped up tightly in her fur. I didn't escape unscathed, and it was a two person job.

Is there someone who can hold her head still while you quickly snip it? It's going to stress her briefly, but it would be done with a lot faster than a stealthy approach.

I don’t have any chance of getting it while she is sleeping. She will definitely wake up.

Do you think a groomer will be better than me doing myself?

Our rescue collie gets terrible knots around her ears. She is also very nervous so we spent five minutes each day just touching around her ears and face with lots of nice treats involved. Try this for a week or so and then introduce some scissors and repeat for a few days before you attempt to snip the knot.
Best of luck

Groomer or vets who can clip it out. If you ask for a nurses appointment it probably won't cost anything

Have you tried something like one of these

Buddy Treat Mat,Perfect Curve Lick Pad Dog Washing Pad - Dogs Bath Buddy- Grooming Helper- Super Suction- Just Add Peanut Butter https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KPT737F/ref=cmswwrcppapiglttfabcD1H8W5E6QDXVYHCB6PG4??encoding=UTF8&psc=1

You need a French window type glass pane to stick it to, but it was the only thing that let me clean DDog's ears so worth a go if you have a food motivated one

Does she like being brushed? We have lovely brushing sessions with ours, she loves to be brushed - now I can trim behind ears no problem, but when she was a puppy she would freak out.

We eventually got there by just doing the ears very slowly, with lots of brushing (that she enjoys) all over her body and on ears too.

Keep the scissors and comb nearby, do a nice relaxing brush of the ears, brush brush brush until she’s got eyes closed, and then go in and trim a bit of the knot. Brush some more, trim a bit. Brush her paws/tummy, head back to the ears and trim some more.

Make sure you’re holding the skin between thumb and forefinger to ensure you know where the skin is at all times and don’t accidentally cut it.

Cut into the dread as much as you can, and then brush out the rest.

Stop if she gets bothered and try again the next day.

Get a few different brushes for the job.

We have one called a coat king brush which takes the fur and is great for breaking up the behind the ears knots. Trim off as much as you can and then use the coat King on the rest.

If you have the patience to put in some training for the long term, search for 'cooperative care dog' which will show you how to work on animal husbandry with more active consent from your dog. Chirag Patel (search his stuff on you tube) is amazing at this, for example teaching dogs how to put their head into a lampshade/cone willingly, or even vaccination without restraint. This is very popular with zoos now, where they use these techniques to lower handling stress etc on bigger/dangerous animals and therefore avoid the need for sedation.

Thanks I will order the lick mat. Looks good.
Is it generally better to leave these things to the professionals or do you think I have a good chance myself?

@Diddytv

Do you think a groomer will be better than me doing myself?

Um, yes. That's what they do as a job. You could ask them to show you how to do it yourself if it's a standalone problem that you'd like to tackle between groomings.

She tolerates brushing. I wouldn’t say she likes it

My very fluffy Newfie often gets matts behind her ears. I asked the vet about it once and she said it's best just to let the groomer deal with it. Less chance of me hurting the beast if she jerks suddenly, and combing it out will never work.

I do agree with making sure your dog is used to you handling her ears, though. I often just play with GrouchyDog's, so if I have to clean them or whatever she's not bothered.

I just thought having someone she knows and in the comfort of her own home may be less stressful for her

She does like me touching and stroking her ears. It’s only cos she senses straight away when I come with a few treats and a pair of scissors in my hand she knows something is up

I have 2 nervous dogs and there is absolutely no way they would tolerate a groomer doing it - IMO you're much better off trying yourself! As PP said, you need to work on your dog's cooperation to make things better in the long run. Lots of stroking around ears with treats. Get the scissors out and leave them around, treats around scissors. Snip scissors lots in the air and around ears to get dog used to noise. Treats at this point! Then just have a lovely stroke and give it a go. Don't push it if the dog gets upset.

Thanks user that sounds like a good starting point

Trimmer is safer than scissors.
Also - I found this stuff is incredible for brushing out knots.
Artero Matt-X

Does that stuff work on an actual knot? Or does it just prevent a knot?

A groomer would be way scarier than at home! You’re meant to socialise your puppy to the groomers, so if she hasn’t been yet, I think that’ll be much more stressful than attempting it yourself.

Also, if you manage at home then that’s obviously a lot easier and cheaper moving forward.

My dog would also know when scissors came out and would freak out too, but you just have to stick at it and get them relaxed around all the tools.

Start with brushing her nicely (we have a dog tangle teezer which is great and a soft bristle (rounded ends) stickler brush www.johnlewis.com/tangle-teezer-pet-teezer-de-shedding-dog-grooming-brush-small and www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/groom-room-ball-pin-dog-slicker-brush-small). Get her to be relaxed with you brushing her ears, brushing the knots etc.

Slowly introduce scissors.

Thank you. She isn’t a breed that should need professionally groomed just brushing at home should be enough. But I didn’t realise knots could occur behind the ears. I will need to be more careful with my brushing to do these areas and use detangle sprays

For my long-haired cat who constantly comes in with knots wrapped in twigs, dead slugs and all the good stuff, I use a stitch ripper very carefully. It works a treat. He's very nervous so would freak with scissors

Sometimes you can tease them apart with your fingers. I have small round end cat/dog grooming scissors that I sometimes have to use on my cat. He tolerates it for a few minutes and then tries to bite them

It works on the knots! It just seems to loosen them up. If I brush my dog without it, he complains non stop, seems to really hurt him (like when my mother used to brush my hair).
With the spray, he's quiet.

Ddog 3 is super anxious and nervy. I can't get near him with scissors. Tried treats and daily touching, grooming etc, but site of scissors has him panic snarling at us.
Our vet now gives us a sedative for him when I need to remove mats