Training - Touching Ears & Mouth

[krazydog]

One of the things I've been working on with our Sammy/Borzoi mix, Vergil, is trying to get him to allow me to look in his ears and mouth. When we took him in 2-1/2 years ago, you couldn't touch much of anything on him! He would get overly aroused immediately and start trying to mouth your hands and arms. I started off just trying to get him used to being petted. I remember the thrill when I got him to stay still for about 30 seconds while I petted him!! (And that's no exaggeration.) Now, he's a cuddle bug and leans against you for petting and will stand still for as long as you're petting him.

But he still has an issue with looking in his ears and mouth. So, I've decided it's way past time to address this. Since Vergil loves being petted now, I've started adding in a lot of brief touches just inside his ears and on his snout while I'm petting him. I figure I'll slowly make the touches longer and longer, and further into the ears and mouth. I'm sure it'll take some time, but I'm hoping it'll work as it did for overall petting.

If anyone has suggestions on other ways to get Vergil to allow his ears and mouth to be examined without fighting me, please send them!

Beverley

[cujodog]

We also adopted a samoyed who had touch issues. We adopted him at age 5 and he graced our home 8 yrs. We found when his hips gave him pain rubbing the very tips of his ears immediately calmed him. He almost let out an audible sigh of relief. Almost like a mini massage. I read somewhere the rubbing the very tips is very calming for dogs. Well, might be worth a try.

[krazydog]

Thanks, I'll try that. You know, I'll also have to try that with our other male, Niku. He developed fear aggression issues with other dogs after being attacked by another Sammy we were fostering. Maybe that will help relax him when he's around other dogs. (I'm going to start him in a class specifically for dogs with dog-aggression issues, probably later this spring, after our rainy season.)

I love stroking dog's ears, especially Sammies! They're so thick and fuzzy! So it could help relax me, as well!

Beverley

[krazydog]

I've been doing the ear massage with my boy Niku, who gets stressed around other dogs (he's been attacked). I've started out doing it around our other dogs, to get the feel of what works best for him. If one of our dogs gets close to him and he starts growling at the dog, I'll rub his ears and he stops growling. So, I'm going to start working with him on leash with dogs outside our house.

With Vergil, I'm still working with his ear and mouth issues. He's slowly getting better. I use the ear massage at times, as well as an overall body massage at times. He loves it! It's a slow process, but he definitely seems a little more tolerant of having my fingers in his ears and mouth.

Thanks again, cujodog!

Bev

[krazydog]

Major improvement! The last few days, Vergil has been letting me lift up his lips so I can look at his teeth, without fighting me. I can still only do it for a limited time before he starts thrashing, but now that he's letting me do it at all, I figure it should move along more quickly now.

He's also doing much better with his ears. But as soon as I get a finger into the canal opening, as if I were wiping out the ear, he balks. Still, I couldn't even get that far before!

Beverley

[jannermd]

Would this technique work for a dog who refuses to allow you to work in his mouth and brush his teeth?

Jan Young
Alameda, CA

[krazydog]

I started up a separate subject line under "tooth brushing difficulties".

Beverley