If you have a dog shaking head after grooming, you’re not the only one to experience this because we have too. There’s a reason your pup is shaking his/her head and it’s good to know what it is so you can do something about it.
The Reason for Dog Shaking Head After Grooming
The reason for dog shaking head after grooming is likely due to water getting in your dog’s ears. Your dog is either trying to get the water out of the ear canal or your dog has an ear infection.
If you’ve ever wiped your dog’s ears with antibacterial wipes, you should read: Can You Use Antibacterial Wipes on Dogs?
What to Do About Your Dog Shaking Its Head After Grooming
Now that you know that your dog’s ears probably have water in them or your pup has an ear infection, it’s time to do something about it.
If your dog just came back from a grooming session, wait until tomorrow to do anything about it. The water that is in your dog’s ears may come out with the head shaking.
If your dog is shaking his/her head two days after a grooming session, call your vet to ask what to do about it. Your vet will likely want you to come into the office to have it checked for an ear infection – it may be an inner ear infection or an outer ear canal infection. If there is an ear infection, your vet will likely prescribe antibiotics.
How Water Gets Into Your Pup’s Ears
Ear hair often keeps water out of a dog’s ears, but not all dogs have enough of it to keep the water out.
The ear flap should also keep water out, but unfortunately, depending on how your dog was bathed, water can still get into it.
Consider changing to another groomer if you continuously see your dog shaking head after grooming. A professional groomer knows how to avoid getting water in the ears.
Other Common Reasons for Dog Shaking Head After Grooming
The following are additional reasons your dog’s head is shaking after grooming.
Injured Ear
One of the tasks of grooming is to clean ears. Sometimes, groomers can get too rough with the cleaning and it results in an injured ear. It can be as mild as skin irritation or as severe as a ruptured eardrum.
Most groomers tell their clients when they notice something during cleaning the ears. For example, if there was an abundance of ear wax, blood blister, ear hematomas, etc. These are possible causes of suffering from an injured ear.
If you just brought your dog home from the groomer, consider calling the groomer to ask if anything out of the ordinary happened during the session. That way you know if you should contact your vet sooner rather than later.
Ear Mites
Ear mites can be itchy. While this doesn’t have anything to do with the grooming appointment, it may be an underlying cause for your dog shaking his/her head.
Look in your dog’s ears. If you see dirty ears even though your groom just cleaned your dog’s ears, they are likely ear mites and you should call the veterinarian.
Excess Hair in the Ears
If your dog had a haircut, there may be some hair in your dog’s ear. You can try to GENTLY blow into your dog’s ear to see if it helps.
Long hair may be another reason for hair in the ear. After getting brushed, there may be hair that flows into the ear opening. Simply brushing the hair around the ear opening may stop your dog shaking head after grooming.
If after 24 hours from the time of the grooming appointment your dog hasn’t stopped shaking his/her hair, it’s a good idea to check in with the vet.
Dogs that have regular issues with hair inside of the ear may need dog ear plucking. This involves plucking the hair out of the ears so that it doesn’t cause a tickling sensation or skin irritation.
Head Tremors
Head tremors is a much more serious cause for dog shaking head after grooming. This condition isn’t because of the groomer, but it can present at any time and requires medical attention.
How to Prevent Dog Shaking Head After Grooming
There are a few things you can do to prevent this situation from happening again.
- Always use a professional groomer for grooming your dog.
- Stay in touch with your vet and keep regular veterinarian appointments.
- During bath time, avoid pouring water near your dog’s ears.
- Remove excess water from the outer ear with a cotton ball.
Now you know some of the reasons for dog shaking head after grooming and what to do about it now and in the future. We hope your dog’s ears heal quickly and remain healthy from this point forward.
Related Reading:
Why Does My Dog’s Ear Make a Crackling Noise
