Ear Trimming

[MaryellenK]

Hi All,

One of my cairns grows lots of fur on the outside of the ear which has gotten very long.  What stripping knife or tool do you recommend?  The hair is very fine so my pumice won’t work.  I’ve tried grooming powder, finger cots etc with little success.  My boy also hates having them done so he’s not very tolerant of a long session.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks much!

[bradl]

Hmm, I've generally found the ears the easiest to do with finger cots. It generally pulls without a lot of fuss as long as I only grab a few hairs each pull. 

In a hurry I've been known to use a Hauptner finishing knife (medium/fine). They are very sharp and this is the one time I break the rule not to 'break' the wrist when using a knife; I just twist that sucker and cut the hair. 

The black knife is the one I'd use. The green one is a beast — also very sharp and a bit large for the fine work you want to do next to soft ears. 

[MaryellenK]

Finger cots are a no go..I’ll give this a try. I’m even contemplating using a clipper for the ears.

[bradl]

Scissors (preferably blunt tip) can do in a pinch, although scissors can be risky if you're trimming close along the edges.

[May]

To strip even very fine hair pumice cuticle sticks work well if you catch the hair between the stick and your thumb taking care not to pinch the ear. They are much less coarse than other types of pumice and found in beauty supply stores.

Edited June 28, 2020 by May
clarifying grade of pumice

[MaryellenK]

Thanks all for the suggestions.  Brad, I just received the stripping knife and plan to give that a try tomorrow.