# Ear chewing puppy?



## Ana (Apr 19, 2017)

I don't know where to put this! Lila, my 6 month old puppy, has started a weird new trend and I don't know how to respond to it. Is this normal behavior for a poodle puppy and something that she'll outgrow, or if this something I need to stay on top of? I'm concerned that if I stay on top of it, it'll just encourage her, so I'm at a loss.

The problem:

I have no idea why this cropped up out of nowhere, but Lila is now really hyped about chewing on her ears. Specifically the hair on the end of ears. Her ear-tips are now often wet from her mouth, and you can see that she's been doing a good job cutting her hair with her mouth.

She'll look down, and her ears will flop in front of her. Then she'll "viciously" snap her jaws to her left and right, trying to grab her ears. She'll also lay down and smoosh the side of her head on the ground to get a good grab at her ears. and then chew.

She's only chewing the fur, not the skin. I've tried putting bitter apple on the end of her ears, and that works, but it doesn't last very long.

And no, I don't believe it's an ear infection or that her ears are bothering her (other than dangling in front of her face).


She also bites the base of her tail a lot. She did that enough as a young puppy to expose a patch of skin, but then stopped for a while. She started again a couple weeks ago, but I think she's stopped since then.

She's crated in the day for 4 hour stretches while I'm at work. I don't know if boredom alone in her crate could be the cause, but maybe?

I know it's common for basset hound puppies to suck on their ears and they outgrow it, but I don't know about poodles. 

1) Is this typical puppy behavior?
2) What should do?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Boredom could be the cause, but combined with the tail biting it does sound like a possible disposition to compulsive behaviours (http://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/evr_dog_behavior_compulsive_disorder). I would look to decrease possible stress levels - more physical and mental exercise including lots of work on frustration control, less time left alone if she is finding that stressful, generally looking at anything that might be worrying her like changes to routine or her environment. And in the meantime I would manage the ear biting by cutting the hair on them short, so she cannot confirm the habit by constantly repeating it.


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## Ana (Apr 19, 2017)

I don't know, she's such a happy dog who gets a ton of stimulation. We train daily and have multiple classes a week. She gets out a lot, but some days are less exciting than others. I don't think she's worried or has any anxiety - she's a very confident puppy and hasn't had any major or even minor life changes. She only chews her ears when in a playful mood whereas her tail biting isn't (we have a lot of mosquitoes - I don't know if she's just getting bit and genuinely itches. It isn't fleas or ticks). 

I guess I can shave her ears... I'm going to miss the fluff though!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Does she do it when she is alone? Can she be easily distracted with a toy? It could simply be that her ears are an ever present toy, and pouncing on them is fun. Cutting them just a bit shorter, rather than shaving them, might be enough to ensure she can't easily reach them to chew, and make an interesting toy a better choice.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The video in your signature does not look like the behavior of a contented dog, but instead seems really anxious, so if that is your pup and she acts like that a lot I would rethink her behaviors. I agree with fjm on how to deal with this. You don't need to shave the ears, just shorten the feathers to just below the end of the ear leather so there is less for her to grab at.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

It can be really hard to tell playful behavior from anxious behavior. It's still something I'm figuring out with Archie, who skirts that line often. There are a few times that, looking back, he seemed like he was just being overly playful but I now suspect he was trying to find an outlet for nerves. I'm getting better at noticing it in the moment, but it's still hard.

Anyway, all this to say that I would suggest treating this like she's anxious and seeing if that helps. Something that helps Archie calm his more compulsive behaviors is having a very predictable routine to his day. He gets particularly thrown if people are either at home or away at times when he doesn't expect them to be. He also knows what time/circumstances his walks are supposed to happen, and he tends to act out if they don't happen exactly as planned (for example, if I come home and decide to hang out on the couch for a minute instead of taking him out right away). 

He also benefits a lot from doing a mix of "fun" trick training (he loves anything that gets him spinning or jumping) and difficult focus/impulse control stuff. I usually alternate - a long stay followed by some quick spins followed by a leave it exercise, stuff like that. The focus work gets his brain going, but too much of it and he starts dropping cues and other subtle stress behaviors.

The thing is, like I said, if I don't keep up with things and he gets anxious, it just looks like he's VERY intent on getting attention and play. He'll take me his toys over and over again and get agitated if I don't engage with him. He'll climb up and lick my face obsessively. Stuff like that. The only thing that's different from his usual goofy behavior is the focused nature of it - normally, he can bring me a toy, and if I don't play, he'll find something else to do. When he's stressed out, if I ignore the toy he'll start barking and whining and jumping up on me to get my attention.


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## Ana (Apr 19, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> The video in your signature does not look like the behavior of a contented dog, but instead seems really anxious, so if that is your pup and she acts like that a lot I would rethink her behaviors. I agree with fjm on how to deal with this. You don't need to shave the ears, just shorten the feathers to just below the end of the ear leather so there is less for her to grab at.


The video in my signature is Lila playing with the air from an HV dryer when I first introduced it to her. I wanted it to be a fun, non-scary experience to feel the air and hear the loud noise. 

I wanted to update to say that I decided to shave her ears. She looks funny now, but has completely stopped playing with them! I'm sad that her cute fuzzy ears are gone, but turns out, her not-fuzzy ears are pretty cute as well.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Thank you for clarifying what the video is about.


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