Desensitizing a dog to cotton balls probably makes little sense to the average owner. It’s easy to understand why a dog might be afraid of a pair of nail clippers or even a brush—but surely a soft, fluffy white cotton ball wouldn’t bother a dog!
It’s not the cotton ball itself that bothers a dog typically, it’s the cleaner being applied to it, and the action of cleaning an ear that sometimes bother dogs.
Ear cleaner can have a strong smell, and if your pup has ever had an ear infection, cleaning the ear may have been painful. They may have learned to associate pain in their ear with the sight of the cotton balls and the smell of the cleaner.
Even if their ears have never been infected, getting your ears cleaned probably feels like a wet willy. Imagine a cold wet object swirling around in your ear!
By building up positive association with a dry cotton ball first, we can work up to the smell and feel of a wet cotton ball.
What We’re Not Desensitizing
We will not be desensitizing the medication bottle in this series. The reason for this is that virtually all dog groomers clean ears by carefully wiping with a cotton ball moistened with cleaner, even when the directions say to flood the ear canal with fluid.
The reason why is that dogs often go home shaking their heads from the fluid, and if their ears are long and floppy this can lead to a hematoma from all that head shaking. It takes paying for the vet bill just one time for most groomers to change their mind on that tactic.
If you want to desensitize your dog to things like medicating ears, we highly recommend taking Deb Coopers Cooperative Care course. You can read our interview with here and review of her book here.
Introduce the Cotton Ball
We will be starting out with a dry cotton ball, followed by a moist cotton ball, followed by one with cleaner on it. Breaking them up into three distinct phases helps make it easier on all dogs, but particularly those who are fearful of having their ears cleaned.
As always, place the cotton ball on the floor and reward for any positive interactions with the cotton ball.
It is common for puppies especially to attempt to consume the cotton ball, so watch out for those who want to experiment by eating it. If your dog is a compulsive eater, working with a muzzle on or behind a baby gate might be a good idea.
Positive interactions can simply be looking at it, moving closer, or simply relaxed behavior. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.
Reward your dog several times with the cotton ball present. Read your dog’s mood. If they are happy and relaxed around the cotton ball, move on. If not, keep rewarding your pet, over several sessions if needed, until they look forward to seeing the cotton ball.
Touch Cotton Ball
Now that your pup is fine with seeing the cotton ball, it’s time to desensitize cotton balls in human hands. The bridge to this is touching the cotton ball.
To desensitize touching the cotton ball, touch the cotton ball without picking it up, and at the same time (with your other hand) give the dog a treat. Read your pet’s mood. Were they suspicious of you reaching for it?
If they have a poor reaction, you may have to break this up into smaller segments. Reach half way to the cotton ball and reward until the pet is comfortable, and then almost all the way, and finally touching.
It is likely however, that unless your pup has had a bad experience with their ears, they’ll be fine with the cotton balls.
If they are fine with it, and are simply expecting treats when you touch the cotton balls, complete the session (10-15 repetitions) and feel free to pick up the cotton ball on the next session.
Pick Up The Cotton Ball
When your dog is relaxed and happy when you touch the cotton ball, go ahead and pick it up. Read your pet’s mood. Did their mouth snap shut when you picked it up? Did they suddenly get tense? Did they make space between themselves and the cotton balls?
These are all hints that your dog doesn’t love the idea of you holding it. We want the dog to be completely happy and comfortable with the situation before moving on to the next step. If you ignored signals and try to push through, at best it won’t work. We’re trying to change the dog’s feelings, and their feelings are not changed.
At worst, you may set yourself up for a bite. Many dogs bite because they have offered a progression of uncomfortable signals (tight lips, ears swept back, making space, etc.) and these signals were ignored. They bite because every other warning signal failed. Don’t get bit!
If your dog shows signs of discomfort, you can break this part up into smaller sections. Grasp the cotton ball but don’t lift it off the ground. Lift it only an inch, etc. Work at the pace your dog is comfortable with.
If they appear relaxed, repeat picking up the cotton ball, giving your dog a treat, and setting it down 10-15 times.
Similar Posts:
- How to Clean Your Chihuahua’s Ears
- Introduction to Ear Desensitization
- Nail Trim Desensitization: Part 2
- A Crash Course in Reading Body Language
- How to desensitize your dog to mouth handling
