I am part of a lovely Facebook group (yes, there are some!) and Ginny one of the members there, is a Vet Tech instructor who has made this video to help with owners cleaning their dog's ears. If you have been advised to do this by your vet, then this video may help. Normal ear cleaning, just everyday cleaning, should just be a wipe of the outer ear area. If you have a dog with a sore ear, then this might not be too comfortable for your dog, but I hope it might help those that need a little extra help. I count myself among the lucky ones who haven't had to do this. [video]https://youtu.be/30NdhlG1jFE[/video]
Thanks Jac, a very useful video. June is gorgeous and such a nice vet too. I maintain Hattie's ears exactly this way but Charlie's just need a a wipe out. xx
Just to build on Jac's post... Charlie has had dreadful ear trouble, it was a complete faff (let alone expensive) to get them cleared up. I'd say if your dog doesn't have ear trouble, leave well alone and clean in line with your vet's advice. I cleaned Charlie's ears at first handling him as in the video, and it was fine - for a bit. And I'm sure it's fine for loads of dogs who don't have a lot of trouble with their ears. But over time, because we had to do so much, Charlie started hating his ears being cleaned more and more, and it risked starting to become a bit of a battle with him, and I didn't want that. My absolute top tip for pouring ear cleaner in a dog's ear is decant it into a small bowl, suck it up in a clean syringe (obviously no needle) and use the syringe to put the ear cleaner into the ear. This is because the bottle makes a squeeky sound as the air gets sucked in when you release the pressure on the bottle, and this is right by the dog's ear (unless you pour cleaner everywhere by keeping the pressure on the bottle while you move it away), and I'm sure it was this that made Charlie hate it so very much. So I spent a long time with my clicker getting Charlie to stay still while I approached with the bottle etc. He got much better like this, although he'd look like I was killing him he at least stayed more or less still. But it wasn't perfect, and I found myself putting my hand on his collar and so on, or getting someone just to hold his head still. When I was at ClickerExpo, I saw a video of a dog "giving permission" - I saw a few different versions of this. A dog would put his head on a cushion to say someone could touch his leg, a dog would put his teeth on a bit of wood to say someone could clean his teeth, and so on. It's a bit like this (no-one is "making" this hyena stay still.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3jno42YJ8&list=PL9ED9KAZdfjYHkZbaAsRsYql-gfLeDPSu&index=1 And really popular at the moment is Chirag Patal's bucket game (for those on facebook https://www.facebook.com/thebucketgame/?fref=ts Anyway....the idea is that you prompt your dog to do something. Mine is Charlie place his chin firmly on a folded towel. I pay for that. If he keeps his head on the towel, I try to go about whatever it is I want to do (clean ears) and I pay for this too. If he moves off the towel, I just stop. On the towel, I carry on and he gets paid. Off the towel, I stop. In the vid the bottle isn't the ear cleaner....I'm building up to that. I also intend to use this for teeth cleaning, eye drops and I hope eventually to allow the vet to examine his back legs and him stay still. I'm glad to do this, I was messing about with a few different things (calm chin rest, stand still in the vet's, another routine for teeth, a different one for ears). This is just choosing one thing and sticking with it for me. [vid] towel game by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
I like that. He doesn't look thrilled, but he's deciding whether to let you touch his ears with the bottle. I think that could work for lots of things.
Yes, I hope so. I'm going to stick to exactly the same routine for everything - I was chopping and changing before I saw the examples at ClickerExpo which meant that I didn't nail anything. I'm hoping this will work. Well, if someone can get a hyena to stay still while they draw blood, I can get a Labrador to stay still while I clean his ears. In theory....
Hmm just been thinking about this, when I last cleaned Hattie's ears she saw me with the bottle and hid behind the curtain, so she clearly is starting to dislike ear cleaning which wasn't the case previously . I have to do hers once a month due to hair growth in the ear which I have to pluck too so double procedure. I could clicker train her to to put her head on my knee with high value treats. I don't want her to be worried about anything Charlie only has to see the wipe and he sits and lets me clean them whilst he makes Whale noises, he enjoys it Just to add I don't have anyone to help or hold their heads as in the video, I didn't like that part of it.
I'm sure you can get them on Amazon, yes. I asked my vet and he gave me a few. I do reuse them, I just wash them really well and then pop them in boiling water. I hope that's ok.... It seems a bit extravagant to throw them out if they have just been used for ear cleaner....
That is great Julie. You have such patience with Charlie. Your video is great. I remember having to give Lilly doggy Gaviscon. She was like Hattie, hiding in a corner. This is a really good exercise for all dogs.
I give doggy Gaviscon too I do this thing with a syringe. I fill the syringe with yogurt and squirt a few times then swap with medication and squirt it in they love yogurt and they hardly notice the drug any more and get really excited about the syringe instead of hiding. Every once in a while I do a trial run they love it. I've had to give Doug a lot of medication and I have also used baby food too when the stuff he has been given was vile. I used to syringe ear cleaner into my dogs ears but have swopped for a cotton wall ball absolutely soaked in the stuff then I gentle rub the ear until i get into the right position and dribble a load in. I didn't know if id get enough in at first but it seems to be working and my dogs are a lot happier about ear cleaning now. More relaxed. I don't know if it would work with everyone because my dogs ears have been ok over the years, I been very lucky in that respect. Rory was easy though he having his ears clean as a reward, he gets really excited when he sees the cleaning stuff and squeals until its his turn. He loves having his ears touched and always has, if you just rub them gently he does a big arr noise and falls on the floor in a big soppy boneless pile of fur. I just have to be gentle with him so that he doesn't come to dislike the cleaning. I had to clean his eyes last night which he hates but I pretended that it was ear time and it went really well. He was happy and relaxed and I got the job done without any fuse and he got his ears rubbed.
I see Nando Brown has posted his version of the permission thing now - it's very popular.... https://www.facebook.com/Incredimal/?fref=nf
Charlie is a doll. I have to warm Otis up to me being near his ears with lots of clicks and rewards every single time I do his ears, it's quite the process but eventually he does let me do it.... Sort of.
Some brilliant advice which I will be using as Mabel is on daily ear wash. She's happy to have her ears wiped but hates the wash. Thanks for sharing.
