Muffy, the American Cocker Spaniel, arrives for her annual spring shave down. Just like every year, Muffy is matted. Her ears are particularly bad, with tennis ball-sized tangles weighing them down.
With great effort, you peel a year's worth of smelly, damp, neglected coat off Muffy's body with a #10 blade. When you clip the matting off her ears, you notice how heavy it is and think how much more comfortable the little dog will be. Then, Muffy begins to shake her head because her ears feel different. After a few good shakes, you see a little blood seeping from the tips of her ears, and the ears themselves are beginning to swell.
An aural hematoma is developing. Dogs' ears have skin on each side of the ear flap and a layer of cartilage in between. The ears have a rich blood supply, and if the dog shakes its head repeatedly or scratches at the ear, blood can seep from the capillaries and become trapped between the layers. The tissue will swell and be very uncomfortable.
Post-grooming aural hematomas can occur because when the groomer removes the matting, the ear feels different, and the dog reacts by shaking its head or digging at the ear with their rear paws.
The potential hazard of this happening should be discussed with pet owners before a groomer removes heavy matting from a pet. Matting release forms can be beneficial in this situation.
If you are about to groom a dog with badly matted ears, there are some steps you can take to reduce the risk of hematomas developing. Instead of immediately clipping the matting off, release the pressure of the mats in steps. Here is an example of how you could tackle ears like Muffy's.
- First, use scissors to reduce the length of fur on the ears, clipping everything below the edge of the ear leather. This will take some weight off the ears.
- Work on other parts of the dog for a while as the dog becomes accustomed to the new feeling of lighter ears.
- After a while, clip the matting off the inside of the ear leather, leaving the outside alone for the time being.
- Return to other parts of the groom while the dog adapts to the sensation of having more hair removed.
- Clip a small section of the outside of each ear, again returning to the bodywork.
- Repeat, removing small sections at a time so the dog can adapt to the change.
- After the rest of the dog has been clipped, go ahead and remove the last of the matted fur from the ear. Monitor the dog carefully to ensure it is not shaking its head or scratching its ears. If it is, place a Happy Hoody around its head so the ears can't flap as it shakes.
- If the dog is showing signs of wanting to shake its head, avoid doing anything further to cause the ears to feel "funny" to the dog, such as cleaning or plucking.
Proceed with completing the grooming, keeping a watchful eye on the dog so you can prevent head shaking. Inform the owner to keep an eye on the situation at home, too. Aural hematomas can happen quickly and must be treated by a veterinarian if they develop.
Although the dog's reaction to having the matted hair removed directly results from the pet owner neglecting to keep the dog tangle-free, the groomer may be blamed for the dog injuring itself after the tangles are removed.
Next time you have to tackle a dog with severely matted ears, remember that clear communication with the pet owner before you proceed is vital and that removing the tangles in a series of small steps may help prevent the dog from injury.
