Tips for Dogs That Don’t Like Eardrops

For this LA dog training session we worked one year Cattle dog mix Kodak, sharing tips for dogs that don’t like ear drops.

It’s not unusual for dogs to be particular about us touching some parts of their body; specifically their paws and their ears. Part of this comes from these being sensitive parts of the dog’s body, or in the case of the paws, holding them. When we hold a dog’s paws it can make them feel trapped or powerless.

As humans, we usually make matters worse by thinking “I have to get the eardrops in, so I’m going to restrain my dog to get them in” or do the same thing when trimming nails. But if you don’t listen when your dog is communicating its uncomfortable, scared or it doesn’t like things, it’s either gonna continue to resist, or in some cases may bite to get you to stop.

As one of LA’s Dog Behavior Experts, I am always watching dogs for signs of consent and cut off signals, a dog’s way of saying that disagrees or is uncomfortable with something.

Tips for Dogs Who Don’t Like Eardrops

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If your dog does not like you touching its ear, or if your dog resists when you try to put in eardrops, it’s important that you make this into a positive situation for your dog. Same thing if your dog doesnt like ears touched. It’s actually pretty easy to do, it just takes a little bit of time. All you need are some solid dog handling tips and fortunately, im about to share some.

If your dog hates having its ears touched or if your dog will not let you put medicine in its ear, you should check out the free positive dog training video below.

Helping a dog get over a fear of having its ears touched is easy to do if you go with the dogs pace and use this method. The key is to watch the dog’s body language and to back up a step and make it easier anytime the dog communicates that it is uncomfortable. This is one of the most basic dog ear drop tips. This isnt the first time a client has requested some dog ear drop help.

I find that it’s a good idea to use a dogs kibble for this exercise to help a dog feel comfortable having its ears touched. You end up giving the a lot of treats if your dog really hates having medicne put in their ear. And since this exercise requires a lot of repetitions, kibble is often a good alternative, provided the dog enjoys the kibble. If that isnt the case, be sure to get treats your dog loves.

Once the guardian can touch the ear and raisr the bottle to the ear, she should simulate putting the tip Kodak’s ear, but not spraying anything in. After touching the tip inside the ear, she will need to say the marker word then give him a treat. The idea is to work up to putting the tip of the bottle in his ear and holding it there for 2-4 seconds before saying the marker word and treating Kodak.

I recommended the guardian practice this secret to helping a dog feel ok having thier ears touched for one meal a day for the next week or so. This will help Kodak feel relaxed and comfortable when his guardian touches his ear. That way, if he develops another ear infection down the road, his guardian will be able to apply the medicine instead of instead of having to practice at that time.

Anytime your dog has a behavior issue, it’s always best to address it when you don’t need to. Waiting until the dog is reactive is the worst time to try to fix a dog behavior problem.

Fortunately, Kodak really loves his guardian. If she’s able to practice this exercise to help a dog get over a fear of having its ears touched every day for a week or so, she should be able to put it into the problem once, and for all. Next post, we will share tips to help Kodak learn to stop barking at strangers in the building.