Hematomas
If your dog has mats on their ears it’s very likely causing hematomas.
The external ear has a layer of skin on both sides and a layer of cartilage sandwiched between the two skin layers. Blood vessels run just beneath the skin. When something irritates the ear canal, your dog will respond by scratching or shaking its head. Excessive or violent shaking causes one or more blood vessels to break, causing blood to leak into the space between the ear cartilage and skin on the inner surface of the ear. (source link for this paragraph below)
When the mats are shaved off of your dog’s ears they will likely want to shake their head and/or rub their ears on surfaces, because of the tingling sensation associated with the blood in their ears circulating properly again. It's very similar to when your foot falls asleep then you start to walk again and it tingles. So the goal is to stop your dog from rubbing their ears on anything and keep them from shaking their head.
You might literally need to hold onto them as much as feasible to stop this behavior. If they rub their ears on surfaces or shake their head they could break open the small blood vessels and cause your dog's ears to bleed (onto your walls, car and their head). If you're able to keep your dog from shaking their head and rubbing their ears it usually goes away after the first day.
A product I recommend is an head/ear wrap, linked below. This is a head wrap to hold your dog's ears against their head with a slight amount of pressure as their ears acclimate to their natural state again. We make no money off of anything in this article.
The best way to avoid hematomas is to ensure your dog is brushed properly each day. Brushing properly means the bristles of your brush AND comb are reaching your dog's skin through their fur. For most breeds we recommend a rotation of brushing with a slicker brush and combing with a metal greyhound comb. If the teeth of the comb get to your dog's skin and can easy go through your dog's fur it means they have no tangles or mats. The mats are what cause a hematoma. Links to the brushes mentioned in this article are listed below.
If your dog has had their ears shaved due to mating and you're having difficulty brushing their ears at home due to behavior we recommend trying these steps:
Spreading something like peanut butter on a surface or slow feeder to keep them distracted and build positive association.
Use a Soft Bristle Brush on their ears. We do not start with a slicker brush or comb because our goal is to start before the fur is long enough to need brushing. This helps to build positive association with having their ears touched and feeling something rubbing their ear leathers (Fun fact: The technical name for your dog's ear is pinna.
If your dog enjoys kisses and petting you should also work that into the training. In the beginning we want to teach your dog that being brushed is affection. So we want to pair the rewards with the light sensation of being brushed.
When your dog doesn't mind the soft bristle brush you start using the slicker brush instead. Some dogs may need you to rotate between the soft bristle brush and slicker brush within the same session and that's ok. Take your time.
As your dog's fur grows longer you'll work in the metal comb as well. By this point you may not need any food incentives to brush your dog's ears. But it's ok to keep the food rewards going. Accommodate whatever your dog needs.
Most dogs with long fur on their ears need them brushed every 1 - 3 days with an emphasis on brushing if they're playing with other dogs or getting them wet. It can be so difficult to keep dogs' ears from being matted that many show dogs wear the ear wraps anytime they eat food, to avoid them getting food in their fluffy ears.
Have questions or want help with your dog? Just let us know via the contact form above.
Products mentioned in this article.
*We make no money off of your purchases. These are just recommendations of products, but these brands are not affiliated with us in any way and using whatever brand you want is great!
Head/ear wraps: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FH9WK5ZW
Soft bristle brush: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J49V736
Slicker brush: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09G981NXV
Metal greyhound comb: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C3GM8V7P
Sources: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/hematoma-of-the-ear-in-dogs