Carolyn Pike Roman wrote 09/18/2017 02:02 PM Cleaning ears #404753 - 09/18/2017 02:02 PM
Carolyn Pike Roman Webboard User Reg: 03-20-2007 Posts: 559 Loc: San Antonio, TX Offline	Our female pup Greta has some funky stuff in her ears. We went to the vet; not an infection or fungus, but came home with instructions to clean for a few days straight and then once a week. We're using a "gentle" ear wash from petco https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/well-and-good-dog-ear-cleaner . Greta hates having her ears cleaned... yesterday she refused to come near me for a good two hours afterwards regardless of what treats / food I had. Made me feel like a monster. Any thoughts on making this more tolerable for her? It will only get worse if we don't clean them so we have to keep this up. I can't really blame her either- I had my ears flushed once and it was less than pleasant!
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Connie Sutherland wrote 09/18/2017 04:09 PM Re: Cleaning ears [Re: Carolyn Pike Roman ] #404757 - 09/18/2017 04:09 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	I haven't used that flush product, but I have a question ... Can you describe the procedure you used to flush the dog's ears? I use one that minimizes actual poking into the ear, which I'll detail if it's different from what you're doing.
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Carolyn Pike Roman wrote 09/18/2017 04:38 PM Re: Cleaning ears [Re: Carolyn Pike Roman ] #404759 - 09/18/2017 04:38 PM
Carolyn Pike Roman Webboard User Reg: 03-20-2007 Posts: 559 Loc: San Antonio, TX Offline	Thanks Connie- In lieu of squirting the bottle into her ear, I've been soaking a large cotton ball, squeezing it to release the cleanser into her ear, massaging at the base of the ear for a few seconds, letting her shake, and then gently using the same cotton ball to wipe the visible portion of the inside of the ear. I could definitely be doing this wrong- would be happy to receive other procedures!
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Connie Sutherland wrote 09/18/2017 05:04 PM Re: Cleaning ears [Re: Carolyn Pike Roman ] #404761 - 09/18/2017 05:04 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Nope, that's basically what I do and what I recommend if anyone asks me. Just so we can think about whether the cotton ball part might be distressing her, is that when she freaks out? (I ask this because I do squirt into the ear.) And while you respond to that, I'm going to dig around in "search" here on this board, because I know I posted quite a detailed description of how I like to desensitize for, proceed with, and reward for unpopular "procedures" like ear flushing, claw clipping, eyedrop dosing, etc. It's an old post, but I hope to find it and avoid re-typing the wheel.
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Connie Sutherland wrote 09/18/2017 06:32 PM Re: Cleaning ears [Re: Connie Sutherland ] #404763 - 09/18/2017 06:32 PM
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005 Posts: 31571 Loc: North-Central coast of California Offline	Well, I am not sure if I found the post I wanted, but here are two posts that together pretty much cover the "procedures" M.O. I use. I would add that I eventually settled on warm chopped bacon for procedures. I would never give this "procedures" reward for any other occasion (to keep it extremely special). (I just keep chopped cooked bacon in the freezer and then microwave it on half power to thaw and re-warm.) And I would emphasize that everything needs to be ready. No getting the reward afterwards. No running around for supplies during. The reward is there, smelling wonderful, ready to give, and everything else is right there, so the whole thing is calm and efficient. http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=20940&page=1#211528 (Note that this post includes post-flush ear drops, which you’re not doing.) and more ... http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=26599&page=1#281684 (This post includes a desensitizing routine, ideally done in advance, for all the stuff they hate .... ears, eyes, paws, etc.)
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Bob Scott wrote 09/18/2017 11:36 PM Re: Cleaning ears [Re: Carolyn Pike Roman ] #404764 - 09/18/2017 11:36 PM
Bob Scott Moderator Reg: 06-14-2002 Posts: 7417 Loc: St. Louis Mo Offline	How about taking the dog for a walk or play games on lead before you precede then keep her on the leash when you finish and go ahead. This way you don't have to call her to you and create a negative with the recall. Also no chasing her around to get her. Just a thought. old dogs LOVE to learn new tricks
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Christina Stockinger wrote 09/19/2017 06:08 AM Re: Cleaning ears [Re: Carolyn Pike Roman ] #404765 - 09/19/2017 06:08 AM
Christina Stockinger Webboard User Reg: 01-23-2015 Posts: 1619 Loc: Brazil, Bahia Offline	That's exactly what I'm doing with Charlie, who hated and feared that procedure like the devil. I still have to do it since those bites from Slippie. But he loves walks more than anything else. So I inserted that procedure in a walk. This is his reward. Your desensitizing method, Connie, is very helpful too. I have to squirt a product into his ears. I started to give splash on a paw, where he has no wound, so it doesn't hurt, But it was the sound that frightened him awfully . To desensitze him I began to work slowly upwards to his ears. It is still a little discomfort for him. But in combination with the walk it works fine in between. There is still a little resistance, but not that terrible fright any more. “If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs, then you are a leader” – Rudyard Kipling
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Candi Campbell wrote 09/19/2017 09:20 AM Re: Cleaning ears [Re: Bob Scott ] #404766 - 09/19/2017 09:20 AM
Candi Campbell Webboard User Reg: 03-28-2013 Posts: 1571 Loc: Offline	Quote: Bob Scott How about taking the dog for a walk or play games on lead before you precede then keep her on the leash when you finish and go ahead. This way you don't have to call her to you and create a negative with the recall. Also no chasing her around to get her. Just a thought. BRILLIANT Plus, a good idea to have already had her vent a lot of excess steam ahead of time, cuz we all know that a Tired dog is a CALMER dog...
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Carolyn Pike Roman wrote 09/19/2017 01:10 PM Re: Cleaning ears [Re: Carolyn Pike Roman ] #404767 - 09/19/2017 01:10 PM
Carolyn Pike Roman Webboard User Reg: 03-20-2007 Posts: 559 Loc: San Antonio, TX Offline	Thanks all- I'll try the warm bacon & on-lead activities both for the next application!
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Bob Scott wrote 09/19/2017 10:45 PM Re: Cleaning ears [Re: Carolyn Pike Roman ] #404771 - 09/19/2017 10:45 PM
Bob Scott Moderator Reg: 06-14-2002 Posts: 7417 Loc: St. Louis Mo Offline	!!!"WARM BACON"!!! Do you need a volunteer for practicing?! old dogs LOVE to learn new tricks
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