grooming a malteses ears

Question
my malteses (yes plural) are really great when it comes to grooming except for the ears.  They hate it when I pull the hair out of their ears.  I use the powder, which I find helpful but can you tell me why they hate it so bad and how I can make this more pleasant for all of us?   Thanks Donna

Answer
Some dogs are just bad about ears and there isn't a lot to do about it. Some are more tolerant of fingers, and some do better with the tweezers. Figure out which way works better with your dogs and try to do most of the work that way. I use lots more powder with these dogs, too. Take smaller bits of hair, even if it is only two hairs at a time.

Hold them firmly and do not tolerate any fussing, and when you are NOT in the ear (and they are still), then quietly tell them how good they are being. Only praise when they are behaving and you are NOT doing the action that they dislike. With a lot of patience, some dogs can be trained to tolerate ear plucking. It all involves correction and praising at the proper time.