Dog is annoyed with me!

[DragonMamma]

Hi all

My DDog1 is 18 months old. She’s been my pride and joy. I got her sister from a different litter a few months back and aside from the usual puppy play fighting, they seem to be getting along together very well.

DDog2 is like a bull in a china shop and will butt in a lot of our interactions but we’ve made a conscious effort to put DDog2 away and have some normal time with her.

I only say this for background. DDog1 was spay a month or so ago as she really suffered with her first season - depressed and phantom pregnancies etc.

Anyway, DDog1 is a poodle mix and has really narrow ear canals - the vet has commented on how small they are. She likes to go underwater so we use Epiotic ear cleaner to help keep things clean buys because she’s got a poodle coat, she has hair ears which need tending to.

In between grooms she’s been shaking her head a lot and scratching at her ears - it smelled fine but was very hairy and she seemed bothered by it.

I bought a hemostat to pluck the excess out. DH held her and I gently pulled out some excess to relieve the hair blocking her ear canal. She went to the groomer 2 weeks later and they did the same and said it was really congested.

Anyway (sorry for the long OP), since I used the hemostats she’s really annoyed with me - she backs away regularly and is generally not the dog I am used to. I feel gutted. I didn’t hurt her and followed the advice given by my vet on how to move the hair away from her ear canal etc. but she’s just fearful of me going near her ears, even to pet her.

I’ve tried positive reinforcement- given her bits of cheese (her favourite!) when I’m petting her head and she’s OK but she’s not the same and I don’t know how to put it right.

Any advice would be much appreciated as I’m worried she hates me for either plucking her ears or getting a sibling who’s far more gregarious than she is.

I really do hate to say it but I'm afraid you probably did hurt her a little bit, although I know you won't have done it on purpose. Ears are a sensitive part of a dogs body, especially inside and if you've been poking and prodding around in there quite a bit recently and she has matted hair etc. then I suspect they're quite sensitive and sore.

I would go back to the vet and explain she's clearly in quite a bit of pain and ask if they can recommend anything else. It could be that you need to take her to the vets or groomers more regularly to have them deal with her ears rather than you attempting to do it at home for now.

Oh my dog runs away from me frequently after I’ve annoyed him. You get used to it.

Having a dog has been an excellent exercise for me in examining my attachment issues…..

Doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you. Keep going with giving her a treat every now and then when you’re near here. She’ll get over it.

Oh also I’ve just seen she’s 18 months. She’s a teenager!! Nuf said. They go through an annoying stage then!

Thanks both. @icedcoffees I’ll be gutted if I hurt her but I suspect you may be right and she’s a bit sore in that region now. I’ll leave the hemostat for the groomer from now on and just comb the hair away as best I can.

@FFSFFSFFS ‘attachment issues’ I hear you I wish I could ask her why she’s annoyed with me . Hopefully she’s just being a stroppy teenager. I’ve send DDog 2 downstairs with DH so she’s in bed with me now, having some 121 time.

Why do dogs turn you in to weirdos?!

My dear departed dog hated me clipping his nails so I took the decision that I would pay the vet or the groomer do it rather than put our relationship at risk.

My elderly Springer Spaniel has had many ear issues and when he was a puppy became very head shy around me, would run away when the make up pads and Epiotic came out. Now he is 13 and just accepts it, I think because he’s had so many infections and so many vet prescribed ear treatments he is used to it. He has a regular groom to sort out his hairy ears and feathering ( we keep him short as it can be hot where we live).

It will take a while for your dog to become used to having her ears cleaned and hairs removed. I have always left the hair removal to our groomer and she seems to be able to do it without him being head shy or wary of her ( in fact he LOVES his groom ) and I would advise anyone else to do the same. I know it hurts when you are doing the best for your dog and they act like you have removed their leg on the kitchen table. I also always ensure that I give mine an ear clean rest for a few days a week ( clean him out twice a week) I also make a point of stroking his ears etc so he became used to having them touched in a nice way, not just me poking syringes of medicine down there or cold cleaning solutions.

I feel your pain but honestly your dog will become used to the routine, my spaniel also had a new very bouncy boxer puppy ( sister) introduced when he was 18 months ( he’s alway been a very lazy, sedate show line spaniel) he was quite huffy for a month or two but she is now devoted to him and he quite likes her … it just takes time …

It's so easy to hurt them by accident so please don't beat yourself up about it OP. My dog was once limping and I was checking his foot for thorns and cuts.

Anyway, it turned out he'd sprained his toe and when I moved his toes apart to check his pads he screamed like I've never heard him scream before it was horrific. He did the same noise at the vet a few hours later so he must have been so sore.

He did forgive me though, and your lovely girl will forgive you too

Dogs don't get annoyed with people.
More likely you hurt her, and/or she's struggling to adapt to you getting another dog.

Stop ascribing human motivations to an animal. It doesn't help you or the dog. The Facebook group called dog training advice and support is very useful for understanding dog behaviour and gentle ways to approach issues like these.

The first time I trimmed dpups nails she was horrified and didn't speak to me for about a week. I just carried on as normal with her and each time I did her nails used the highest value treat available - dried liver, chicken, sausage, ham now it's these little freeze dried raw treats from pets at home that she goes nuts for. Over time she sulked for less and less time and now she still marches off to my bed in disgust immediately afterwards but it's forgotten in minutes. She does willing come to get it done too knowing she'll get the best meaty treats. I don't think cheese would cut it although obviously all dogs are different. Try to make the experience as nice as possible (food bribes) and do a tiny bit little and often, even go through the motions without actually removing hair so she learns it doesn't hurt. Atm it was a new experience for her from you it will get better

I don't blame your dog. Ouch!