Hi, My pup (7 mo) has an ear infection but hates having the drops put in his ear. He snapped at my hands twice as I tried to administer the drops. I am afraid to pin him down because I feel like that will just make him even more upset. So I have been using bits of frozen canned dog food to distract him while I put in the drops. Even with the all the treats, he still tries to nip me. I understand that he is irritated because of the ear infection and that he is scared. The problem is that he has tried to snap at me on other occasions since this whole situation started. For example, this morning he tried to nip my hands away while I tried to wipe his paws after a walk this morning. And while my mom tried to buckle him into the car harness, he tried to nip her face. He never made a fuss about being handled closely prior to this. I am worried that he has learned this new behaviour and quite frankly, I am scared that he will continue to become aggressive towards us. Is this something he will likely continue after the infection? Or do dogs usually go back to themselves after going through a medical situation such as this? Has he lost trust in us?
Here is a thread that may help you. http://thelabradorforum.com/threads/scared-of-eye-drops.16798/ It explains how best to teach your dog to have things like drops administered, and the principles can be used when there's anything that the dog finds unpleasant. The upshot is that, through training, you teach the dog that he has a choice, so he doesn't feel forced into the unpleasantness. And, as luck would have it, this means he is more and more likely to make the choice to accept that unpleasantness.
