Hi, I have two, seven year old, male labs from the same litter. Just recently Nugget has started nibbling on Buddy's ears, like dogs do when they have an itch. Buddy and Nugget have always had a small bald spot on each ear but, as they were four when we got them, I don't know what has caused this. I have checked Buddy's ears and I can't see a wound or any other physical reason for Nuggets' behaviour. This is the first time Nugget has displayed any sort of compulsive behaviour. I'm concerned that perhaps Buddy has some problem with his ears that I can't detect or that Nugget is becoming neurotic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Hi there, I just wanted to welcome you as Dexter who is 3 is my first dog so I haven't got any experience of this....what I would be doing do though would be getting Buddy checked over thoroughly at the vet to make sure he doesn't have a problem,so then you know its more to do with Nugget. sorry to not be more help Best Wishes Angela x
I would take Buddy to vet to see if there is a problem with his ears first. If no problem, then gently dissuade Nugget from nibbling, distract him before it becomes an ingrained habit.
Thanks for the welcome and the advice! I plan to take Buddy to the vet but fingers crossed its just Nugget being funny. As I said we adopted them when they were 4 years old and I know very little about there former home except that they were strictly outside dogs. Given that they are pure bred labs and have a natural inclination to always want to stay close to their humans, i'm not sure this situation was very good for them. When Nugget first came to us he always had to be in the same room as me but he would always stay hidden under the furniture and, for the first few weeks, he wouldn't tolerate Buddy being in the same room as him. He is such a sweet loyal boy and no longer hides or snaps at Buddy, but it does make me wonder if the ear biting is just his own brand of quirkiness.
