Hello,
Tika is my 20 month old Ridgeback. She is a truly awesome dog, well mannered with children, other dogs, etc. She is very much in her "pack animal" stage where she's even more interested in "her people" than other dogs (well, except her Weimeraner boyfriend!).
Tika nicked her left ear, on the bottom tip, UNDERSIDE. She shakes her head, flopping her ears back and forth frequently, as its slightly uncomfortable for her. This ear is not healing.
The vet said we could bandage it or put a cone on her for 2-3 weeks and unfortunately, the tear is getting bigger and not healing so it looks like we will have to do this.
QUESTION: What can I do to get her to allow me to touch the sore ear? Another family member once touched it, trying to apply hydrogen peroxide to it (which *I* would personally not use) and she no longer lets him touch her anywhere NEAR her ears
She trusts me most but whenever she realizes I'm going for "The Tear" she freaks and gets skittish. I'm trying to work with her, on leash, and get her to let me mess with the ear so she thinks I might touch the wound, but never getting too close. The first time I did this, I had to make it a short session because she freaked and started trying to bolt...And we all know you can't hold a Ridgeback if they really want to bolt!! I just flopped the ear inside out and back a few times, avoiding the wound on the underside, and then asked her to sit and made a huge fuss over her. She looked confused but was relieved!
Please Help! I need advice...
