Question:
Hi all, I took Odin to the vet today and it turned out he had an ear infection. So we came home with two bottles of stuff (one is an ear cleaner and the other is ear medication). How do I get Odin to stay still long enough to clean his ears and what not? I tried this morning and he just goes nuts when he smells the stuff. Thanks.

Answer:
I have an 80 pound golden who does not like having his ears cleaned either. He smells the ear cleaner and is gone. It takes some stern commands and a head lock (sometimes) to get him to let me clean his ears. I have started opening the bottle of solution and bringing it close enough that he can smell it. Then I close the bottle. He is learning that when he smells the solution, it does not necessarily mean the ears are being cleaned. That gives me a second or two delay before he realizes that I really am going to clean his ears this time. I make the most of that delay to get him standing between my knees and the ear flap up.

good luck

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Thanks! I'll try that.

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If it is a small dog you can also try holding it in your lap--one hand with a treat locked in place to distract and the other hand (or other person) ready with the cleaning solution. Be sure to keep the treat locked in your hand though so the doggie has to keep trying to lick and win the prize all the while not paying attention to what you are doing!

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can't hold him with one hand.... he's 88 pounds. I would need a pretty big hand to do that.

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You might want to bath him to get the worst of the crud out. Then you can squirt in the cleaner - mush it around and give it a good rinsing. After that it's easier to keep clean.

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uh... how does a bath help get crud out? I thought he wasn't supposed to get water in his ears......

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Ah yes...he is too big...

Maybe this is a two person job...or you'll have to wait until he is knocked out to do one ear and the knocked out again to do the other--naturally he will wake up after each ear is done...so this could take much time...

sorry i cant offer any better help!

Answer:
Why can't he have water in his ears??? Did I miss something. And how big is he??

Bathing just helps because if you use the ear cleaner - squirt it in and massage it around then you can rinse more easily with a sprayer (assuming you have a sprayer) Also you can use a wet rag to get in and get the crud out of the crevices. With my springer spaniel, I just always found it easier to clean them in the tub.

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I have been having the same problem. i spend a half an hour twice a day playying WWE raw with my pit. He does not like this stuff at all. He doesn't bite but damn is he mad when we do this. He flails around and squirms out of every hold we get on him. Im really having a hard time with him. Even with the sleeping he must smell it because he wakes before and once one drop is in then forget about it for while. He will let me clean his ears with ear wipes no problem. I just wrestle him for 20 minutes and I am able to get atleast the minimum amount in his ears but at the end of it me and capone are both out of breath. So if anyone has any suggestions I would welcome them too. Another thing is he has to take some antibiotics for his ear too. He eats the deli meat we wrap it in and spits out his pill. he just started doing this. Honestly I was late for work today just trying to give him his pill and his drops.

Answer:
Buddy gets ear infections all the time and probably will for life. He has had surgery on them but one will always be a problem as soon as he sees drops or cleaning solution he tries to hide. I live in a loft with almost no interior walls Buddy is 160 pounds he thinks I can't see him sitting behind the bed. Before I even get to him his back leg is shaking. Now I leave the cleaner and drops in the kitchen so that I can just slide the bottle in my hand and walk in and sit down on the sofa and he comes over and I start rubbing his head and playing with his ears then I start lifting them up and putting them down then when he is starting to relax I go in for the kill with the cleaner and I have him between my legs I wear a lot of the cleaner but I get it in then I massage his ears again and then I use warmed up wipes I find it does not bother him as much if they are not cold but room temp. to clean out all the crud. Then I headlock him and put in the drops. Can you believe the things we do for our kids.

Answer:
Well having had a very sick dog and a chronically (sp?) sick cat I am DA-QUEEN of pilling LOL
Plus about 12 years of pediatric nursing didn't hurt!!!! LOL
disclaimer - do NOT try this on your two legged children

Approach from behind- animal between your legs, (so they are sitting or lying) grasp their lower jaw and lift their chin (pretend you're going to do CPR) Deftly grab the upper jaw which opens the mouth; in dominant hand the pill is b/w pointer finger and thumb and quickly slides WAYYYYYY to the back of the throat at the end of your finger - give it a shove hold their mouth closed, and stroke their throat. If the tongue comes out you know they've swallowed it.

Another option for a big dog is putting it in peanut butter and shoving that in their mouth - they can't get rid of it then. ( wouldn't suggest that for a cat)

Also you can get 'pillers' at the vet - but I found the finger trick better and faster.

You can use the same technique of holding for cleaning the ears - (but I still think the tub works better - besides then they are confined and you can hide behind the tub wall when they shake all that crud out of their ears ) LOL

I have a written out technique for pilling a really unruly cat too if anyone needs it I can dig it out.

I'm getting a lot of smiles out of the pictures in my head as I read the escapades

Answer:
Im gonna try that finger in the mouth thing. I was just nervous about shoving it in their in case he chokes but hes swallowed much bigger things whole so I am sure he will be fine. Thanks Meow

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Oh gosh he won't choke, but you will end up with a very slimy hand LOLOL
Don't be tentative - be very confident and QUICK!!

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Thanks for the replies! We sort of figured out a way to clean his ears. We soak a cottonball with the cleaner stuff and then put that into his ear. He doesn't have as big a reaction to the soaked cottonball for some reason. But he still goes nuts when I go near him with the bottle of stuff.

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