Dog ear drops cost 45£ but can't get them in

[spanieleyes22]

Took d dog to vet today for his ears. Got ear drops but he won't let me near him. Cocker spaniel usually pretty chilled. Any tips? Have ordered a muzzle as I'm scared he will bite me. He starts turning up his lip and growling if I even lift his ears.

Obviously I’m not sure what the war drops are for. But my old cat had recurrent ear infections which required drops and we had absolutely no chance of getting them in. So the vet used to clean out her ears and put ear drops in for us - the effect lasted 4-6 weeks.
They were always very clear that actually these ear drops were for dogs- and I had to agree to them being “off-licence” for my old girl. But they worked a treat.
Could you ask the vet about something longer acting and get them to administer it at the surgery . That’s presuming the ear drops are for infection.

His ears are probably very sore. I'd call the vet in the morning and explain - they might be able to give him a steroid injection to reduce inflammation and make him feel better or put a long last drop in under sedation if all else fails.

I posted something very similar about my dog and eye drops a couple of days ago. Someone mentioned The Bucket Game which led me to Chirag Patel on YouTube, there’s a great video on desensitising the dog to the ear drops. I’m trying a similar approach with my dog and it’s working.

This is a great technique (although admittedly easier to train with healthy ears). Another tip is to keep the bottle squeezed until it's out of their ear so it doesn't make a wheezing sound in their ear when you release the pressure on it

I think he is too cute or I'm not doing it right as he starts to "know" and starts growling at me when I'm doing the bucket game. He doesn't want the treats after a few goes. He senses I'm trying to trick him.

He might need sedating and ear irrigation. Ear infections in people are agonising, imagine having fur and floppy ears that make the pain so much worse.

You are risking being bitten because he is in a lot of pain?

When he’s asleep? If not either a muzzle or vet. I think Neptra might be what @RunnerDown is referring to. Amazing stuff!

Yes there is a chance he will
Bite . Just cos he is scared. I have a muzzle and he doesn't mind it tho I haven't used it for ages. I think if I'm more confident he might be more calm. I'm nervous cos of a bite . I should have asked vet to put in first dose but he wasn't a very friendly vet tbh

Does your dog guess what you're trying to do? Mine is too clever or I'm just not very good at tricking him!

I think I am just taking it very very very slowly and we are practising several times a day. If he moves away or I think he’s showing a small sign he’s uncomfortable I take it back a step. I think maybe don’t look at it as you’re trying to trick him, you’re trying to make him comfortable and get his consent if that makes sense. That said, if his ears are sore it will be more difficult.

You're not trying to trick him with the bucket game - it's a way of him trusting that you'll listen if he's really uncomfortable. Like humans, dogs are more willing to try something they find hard if they know they won't be forced to do it if they get worried. So you teach him to that if he signals he's had enough you stop, and if he is happy to stay put he keeps getting treats.

Thanks I'm going to look at the videos again probably I'm moving too fast and am anxious