Dog won’t let me clean her ears anymore?

[Tova]

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My dog won’t let me clean her ears anymore. She’s never liked any sort of grooming but she would endure it. Now she runs away, snaps/barks/growls at me.

I’ve tried doing it while she sleeps and I’ve managed to do it a few times like this but now she will only sleep under the blanket on me or away from me. She’s very suspicious of any movement.

I’ve recently been putting a little of the solution on a cotton pad for her to sniff at, I’ve even pretended to wipe my own ears with it to show it’s not scary or hurtful but she won’t have it.

I suspect she has a infection in her right ear as she constantly digs it out with her paw and shakes her head but even the vet couldn’t look properly without her panicking.

She is going in to be spayed in two weeks time so they’ve said they can throughly inspect them while she’s out but I’m still going to have the same problem of cleaning them.

I would appreciate any ideas or tips!

 

[Mad Murphy]

Stop trying to trick her , she knows what youre up to.

In classes that Murphy went to we had some help with this the trainer asked the dog to rest his/her chin in her hand (for which they got a reward) then she said ears...and just touched an ear with a finger tip..She did not move, after 2-3 seconds she moved her hand away (and treated again) or if the dog moved its head then she removed her hand. Gradually with this trust system we were able to build the length of time we were able to touch and then look into ears eyes and mouth but the rule was clear ..If at any time the dog moves away its a stop... This way the dog learns to trust you and knows that he or she is the one in control its ok for him/her to say stop.

 

[Dibbythedog]

You can start desensitising her now . Use lots of high value yummy treats . I use cocktail sausages or chicken which my dogs love.

Once she is more comfortable with you touching her ears , you can start to desensitise to the ear drops . Leave them out all the time , pick them up and throw a treat to her etc.
My dogs arent keen on having their claws cut. I leave the trimmers out and they get a treat if they touch them with their nose. Also a treat for letting me lift a paw.

 

[JoanneF]

Just to add to the good advice, ear infections can be really hard to shift if they are deep in the ear canal, so as well as not being happy about her ears being handled she may also be in pain. Hopefully a good exam while under anaesthetic will get to the root of it.

 

[Tova]

Thanks everyone! She’s not too bothered about them being touched or looking but you can’t linger too long and if she gets a whiff of the solution she instantly freaks. I’ll definitely try the touch and treat and leaving the bottle around ect. Hopefully we can get this sorted as it’s not nice to watch her dig it out grunting.

 

[JudyN]

Make sure you work on this with the bottle open so she can smell it and realise that the smell doesn't mean something horrible is going to happen.

 

[Tova]

I tried it this morning, put the bottle with the lid on, (she panics if she sees the bottle or smells it, I forgot to put that too), on the table and had a little bowl of chicken. She initially ran, wouldn’t let me touch her so I threw a little chicken in her direction a couple times. Then she came close enough for me to hand feed her, I gradually added my other hand to the mix. Leaving it flat and open for her. She ate the rest of the chicken from my hand and I’ve left the bottle out.

She’s napping right next to me now so I’d say this is definitely a big step forward. I will do this again later on and continue to do this, a couple times a day until she’s comfortable with me touching her with the bottle top on and then eventually off. Hopefully in the near future I’ll be able to deal with her ears without any hag. Thanks!