Ear Cleaning/running

Barney'spal · 12-20-2011, 10:17 AM

I'm at my wits end...lately Barney refuses to let me clean his ears...as soon as he sees the bottle, he runs. If I manage to get some in, he's gone before I can swab them. I've tried sitting on him but that just makes everything worse. Not even a treat seems to help. Am hoping it's because he's 9 months now and tends to be somewhat goofy. I'm hoping this is a phase but am afraid that I'll set something in motion that won't end. Do any of you have any secret tricks for this?

henry'smum · 12-20-2011, 10:20 AM

I get Henry between my knees and an arm around his chest then apply the cleaner to a cotton square NOT into his ears as thats what upsets him. he gets a chewstick that he watches while i do it and now is quite patient with the process but before he would do the same. I also warm ear drops slightly to make it nicer.

Mikey T · 12-20-2011, 10:33 AM

the thing is th make the experience pleasant. Macey comes running toward me when I have the ear cleaner.

1. take a look at the ears before clean if they are red or irratated avoid a cleaner that has alcoholl or avoid alcohol all together. Witch hazel has the same or better drying properties of alcohol with out the irritation but it is not antimicrobial like alcohol

2. warm the ear cleaning solution to dog body temperature, 100- 102

3. do not spurt solution into the ear soak a cotton pad you can then squeeze out the excess with of the pad when it is in the ear canal and clean out the major debris at the same time . There need to be enough fuild in the ear it makes and feels squishy when you message the base of the ear. You need to do this at least 5 minute before letting the dog shake.

4. use reward like treats to garner coperation bad in ear treat. squish fluid out of pad treat. clean ear with pad treat etc. over time as the dog gets better you can slowly start to reduce the number of treats. Remember with dogs and treats numbers is more inportant than size two small treats are better than one big one.

MollyMcFrecklesMom · 12-20-2011, 11:40 AM

It's a 2-person job here at my house - with Winston more than Molly. Molly has learned to let me do it and get it over with, but Winston is still learning. I need my husband to corral them more than anything else because as soon as they see the bottle, they are gone. My method is treat, clean an ear, treat. Repeat process with other ear. As I am teaching them to allow me to clean their ears, I have my husband give a treat while I am swabbing. And I agree that it is better to soak the cotton ball instead of squirt the solution right into the ear. I don't think I'd like that either

Molly is quite tolerant of ear cleaning now and I can do it unassisted. Winston is a work in progress. Once I get the cotton ball in the ear, they lay down and let me do my work.

Good luck

loopylou · 12-20-2011, 12:18 PM

Monty turned into a teenager and now won't let me use cleaner in his ears. I'm hping that once he passes through this phase he'll be back to normal.... well, as normal as a mad Basset can be....

bubbad · 12-20-2011, 02:58 PM

Exactly,he is in his teenage fase and will protest more than usual, the thing is, if he is allowed to get away from you before you finish his ears it will be three times as hard to do it the next time ,he will protest even more. Teenagers are growing more independant and part of that is putting up a fight to do anything to them they do not want done.

Soundtrack · 12-20-2011, 05:16 PM

A leash works wonders, especially if tied to something immobile.

Wworm · 12-20-2011, 06:28 PM

Heya Barney,

at first, i would let my peeple clean my ears without protest.

then i got ear infections in both ears & they had to squirt this horrid burny antibiotic drops into my ears for 2 whole weeks, twice a day!! that was miserable for me & i let them know it. i ran away and everything, just like Barney is now. my person was lucky because i was being boarded and someone else had to do it for 9-10 days.

since then, it has been difficult for me to let them clean my ears without protesting. very slowly, i am letting them again, because the regular solution doesn't really burn or anything. but i has a good memory about that burning solution stuff.

i think this is my person's strategy, which is kinda mean! if i see the bottle i will run & hide. and so, she waits until i am sleeping on my bed. and pretty sound asleep. she hides the bottle behind her back & puts it on some surface i can't see easily like the table or bookshelf. she first takes a towel and puts it around my neck & covers my body. that actually helps to keep me restrained a bit. although as everyone knows i'm pretty lightweight, so it might be easier for her to restrain me than other bassets. (ah, she shakes up the bottle beforehand away from me).

then it's very fast. pet me, which i'm used to. flip my ear over. before i know what's going on, the solution goes down my ear. (we were told by our vet to pour the solution in, so that's what we've been doing).

that's sort of a rude awakening, but i am so dazed & confoosed it doesn't really register for half a minute. soon after the solution goes in, she puts a coupla cotton pads in (before i have a chance to shake my head & get solution everywhere!), and squishes my ear canal around. so if it's my right ear, i usually lean my head right when she does this.

yikes! that's when she goes in for the kill on the other side. quick flip of left ear and in the solution goes quickly followed by cotton pads again. then i tilt my head to the left side. after the solution goes in, it's downhill from there.

i relax & my person relaxes while she uses 6-8 more cotton balls to get all the solution out...

so these days it's a one-person job. she employs sneaky tactics. it's ok. not my favorite.

good luck Barney, and let us know how it goes!
--Worm

henry'smum · 12-20-2011, 07:18 PM

Poor Wormie!!! Tell mummyto try squirting cold stuff in her ears and see ow she likes it lol!!!

miss.abbey.road · 12-21-2011, 03:00 AM

Wow I feel like a bad mom right now I just wipe her ears with a home made wipe my friend makes for me she is to the natural stuff and it works good and I sapsed to be doing more? And how often

12-20-2011, 10:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
Barney'spal Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: northern michigan Posts: 710	Ear Cleaning/running I'm at my wits end...lately Barney refuses to let me clean his ears...as soon as he sees the bottle, he runs. If I manage to get some in, he's gone before I can swab them. I've tried sitting on him but that just makes everything worse. Not even a treat seems to help. Am hoping it's because he's 9 months now and tends to be somewhat goofy. I'm hoping this is a phase but am afraid that I'll set something in motion that won't end. Do any of you have any secret tricks for this? __________________ Properly trained, a man can be a dog's best friend.

12-20-2011, 11:40 AM	#4 (permalink)
MollyMcFrecklesMom Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southeast PA Posts: 1,182	It's a 2-person job here at my house - with Winston more than Molly. Molly has learned to let me do it and get it over with, but Winston is still learning. I need my husband to corral them more than anything else because as soon as they see the bottle, they are gone. My method is treat, clean an ear, treat. Repeat process with other ear. As I am teaching them to allow me to clean their ears, I have my husband give a treat while I am swabbing. And I agree that it is better to soak the cotton ball instead of squirt the solution right into the ear. I don't think I'd like that either Molly is quite tolerant of ear cleaning now and I can do it unassisted. Winston is a work in progress. Once I get the cotton ball in the ear, they lay down and let me do my work. Good luck __________________ Michelle - proudly owned by Molly (21 mos) and Winston (14 months). Molly McFreckles' World: The adventures of a Basset Hound living with Addison's Disease and a baby brother named Winston

12-20-2011, 05:16 PM	#7 (permalink)
Soundtrack Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,582	A leash works wonders, especially if tied to something immobile. __________________ Rosie-Ch Soundtrack Cracklin' Rose CGN AGN RA Am RN TT Melody-Ch Soundtrack Unchained Melody TT Sailor-Ch Soundtrack Expedition Sailor RN TT Chili-Ch Soundtrack Spice Up Your Life Curry-Ch Soundtrack Canadian Brass Pepper-Ch Pennieslogon Living La Vida Loca CGN Vina-Ch Soundtrack Grand Illusion Leila-Ch Soundtrack Almost Paradise Deela-Ch Soundtrack Wink Of An Eye Hermione - Soundtrack Spellbound Eowyn - Soundtrack Rain Dance

12-20-2011, 06:28 PM	#8 (permalink)
Wworm Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Left Coast Posts: 1,972	Heya Barney, at first, i would let my peeple clean my ears without protest. then i got ear infections in both ears & they had to squirt this horrid burny antibiotic drops into my ears for 2 whole weeks, twice a day!! that was miserable for me & i let them know it. i ran away and everything, just like Barney is now. my person was lucky because i was being boarded and someone else had to do it for 9-10 days. since then, it has been difficult for me to let them clean my ears without protesting. very slowly, i am letting them again, because the regular solution doesn't really burn or anything. but i has a good memory about that burning solution stuff. i think this is my person's strategy, which is kinda mean! if i see the bottle i will run & hide. and so, she waits until i am sleeping on my bed. and pretty sound asleep. she hides the bottle behind her back & puts it on some surface i can't see easily like the table or bookshelf. she first takes a towel and puts it around my neck & covers my body. that actually helps to keep me restrained a bit. although as everyone knows i'm pretty lightweight, so it might be easier for her to restrain me than other bassets. (ah, she shakes up the bottle beforehand away from me). then it's very fast. pet me, which i'm used to. flip my ear over. before i know what's going on, the solution goes down my ear. (we were told by our vet to pour the solution in, so that's what we've been doing). that's sort of a rude awakening, but i am so dazed & confoosed it doesn't really register for half a minute. soon after the solution goes in, she puts a coupla cotton pads in (before i have a chance to shake my head & get solution everywhere!), and squishes my ear canal around. so if it's my right ear, i usually lean my head right when she does this. yikes! that's when she goes in for the kill on the other side. quick flip of left ear and in the solution goes quickly followed by cotton pads again. then i tilt my head to the left side. after the solution goes in, it's downhill from there. i relax & my person relaxes while she uses 6-8 more cotton balls to get all the solution out... so these days it's a one-person job. she employs sneaky tactics. it's ok. not my favorite. good luck Barney, and let us know how it goes! --Worm __________________ see what the Worm is up to: http://bassetworm.blogspot.com/

12-21-2011, 03:00 AM	#10 (permalink)
miss.abbey.road Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: centralia washington Posts: 176	Wow I feel like a bad mom right now I just wipe her ears with a home made wipe my friend makes for me she is to the natural stuff and it works good and I sapsed to be doing more? And how often __________________ Fetch? Sit? Stay? Those are some weird names for a treat... Can I just have it already?

12-20-2011, 10:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
henry'smum Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: arkansas Posts: 686	I get Henry between my knees and an arm around his chest then apply the cleaner to a cotton square NOT into his ears as thats what upsets him. he gets a chewstick that he watches while i do it and now is quite patient with the process but before he would do the same. I also warm ear drops slightly to make it nicer.

12-20-2011, 10:33 AM	#3 (permalink)
Mikey T Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: West Warrwick, RI Posts: 7,729	the thing is th make the experience pleasant. Macey comes running toward me when I have the ear cleaner. 1. take a look at the ears before clean if they are red or irratated avoid a cleaner that has alcoholl or avoid alcohol all together. Witch hazel has the same or better drying properties of alcohol with out the irritation but it is not antimicrobial like alcohol 2. warm the ear cleaning solution to dog body temperature, 100- 102 3. do not spurt solution into the ear soak a cotton pad you can then squeeze out the excess with of the pad when it is in the ear canal and clean out the major debris at the same time . There need to be enough fuild in the ear it makes and feels squishy when you message the base of the ear. You need to do this at least 5 minute before letting the dog shake. 4. use reward like treats to garner coperation bad in ear treat. squish fluid out of pad treat. clean ear with pad treat etc. over time as the dog gets better you can slowly start to reduce the number of treats. Remember with dogs and treats numbers is more inportant than size two small treats are better than one big one.

12-20-2011, 12:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
loopylou Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Scotland Posts: 616	Monty turned into a teenager and now won't let me use cleaner in his ears. I'm hping that once he passes through this phase he'll be back to normal.... well, as normal as a mad Basset can be....

12-20-2011, 02:58 PM	#6 (permalink)
bubbad Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Boiling Springs,Pa Posts: 1,347	Exactly,he is in his teenage fase and will protest more than usual, the thing is, if he is allowed to get away from you before you finish his ears it will be three times as hard to do it the next time ,he will protest even more. Teenagers are growing more independant and part of that is putting up a fight to do anything to them they do not want done.

12-20-2011, 07:18 PM	#9 (permalink)
henry'smum Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: arkansas Posts: 686	Poor Wormie!!! Tell mummyto try squirting cold stuff in her ears and see ow she likes it lol!!!

Remove Advertisements Sponsored Links
Basset.net Advertisement