# Ear Sucking



## amy22 (May 11, 2008)

I have no advice, but ill be interested in seeing what others have to say. I have never heard of this problem before. Man, thats interesting....


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

I'd suspect that the only way you're going to stop this is to put a cone (e-collar) on the 2 year old so that he can't get to the other's ear or start using a kennel for the younger pup.

This is a very strange habit!!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Not exactly the same, but we have 2 cats from the same litter and Louie (who is also oddly the alpha of all the animals, including Jack) used to do that....every morning we'd wake up to find the area behind Petey's ears all wet and pointy from being sucked on all night. It was really weird. I kept correcting the behavior and eventually it stopped with our cats. They are now 5 years old and I think it stopped around age 2.

The only solution I have would be to separate them when you're gone or find something that the 2 year old HATES the taste of. I've heard perfume is a good deterrent, but then your 10 yr old would smell like perfume.


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## Adriennelane (Feb 13, 2008)

My girls check each other's ears from time to time.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Ear sucking is generally believed to be caused by boredom or anxiety. (Perhaps separation anxiety as your dog does it when you are not home...) It is also quite common in herds of calves and pigs, and in those animals (pigs especially) if severe can actually lead to cannibalism of the ear. (So, as gross as it is in your dog, thank your stars that your won't experience _that! _) I've had great success mixing Bitter Apple with Absorbine Junior (a muscle pain rub available in drug stores OTC). Even dogs that had no problem with Bitter Apple abhor this mixture.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

A baby gate would certainly do the trick.

Gate goes in a doorway. One dog on one side, one on the other. Each side has fun stuff to do. Good idea to teach the 2-year-old that it's OKAY to not be right on top of the 10-yr-old anyway.


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 2009)

My Max sucks on stuffies a lot of the time. Perhaps your dog can be redirected to suck on a stuffie when you see him/her sucking on the other dogs ear.


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## 2DogsN3Cats (May 25, 2010)

I agree with PointGold, that it may be some kind of anxiety especially if its while you are gone. Max my GR will steal my stuff (just mine) and sleep with it while we are gone, especially my pjs that are on the bed, shoes if left out, or oddly my dishtowels. The only conclusion we can come up with is that when he lived with my mom he would get stressed being in that room and now having full run of a house and being very very attached to me because Im his primary caretaker causes him to look for my stuff to comfort himself. 

The only thing I could probably think of would be seperating them or if you catch the action redirecting him to a specific toy that he can suckle on. I have one cat who will knead and suckle on a faux fur blanket that lays on the bed but only that one blanket, that we think is caused by her being abandoned at such a young age.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I'd suggest more exercise for both dogs and a crate for the younger dog. Any hotspot or ear infection a dog gets can be made infinitely worse by a well meaning friend.

Comet and Ajax get along like best buds, but I still don't leave them alone together.


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## Caroline 74 (Mar 6, 2021)

brettn said:


> We have two goldens, one is 2 and the other is 10. Our 2-year-old sucks on the ten-year-old's right ear sometimes when we are not home. I would imagine this is some kind of nervous behavior from us not being there. Our vet suggested using the bitter apple spray, tabasco sauce and habanero tabasco sauce to keep her away from the other one's ear, but apparently she likes the taste of those and it hasn't deterred her.
> 
> Aside from being gross (constantly wet/slobbery ear), this is starting to cause problems with the other dog's ear so we really need to stop this behavior. They know this is bad because they are hiding when we come home on the days they do this. We have left out plenty of other distractions for them such as toys, rawhids, etc. but that hasn't done any good.
> 
> I would appreciate any advice that may help us stop this behavior. It doesn't occur every day - probably 2-3 times per week.


My 2 year old does this to my 8 year old even when I'm here. Its caused him to have a problem now. Looks like he's burst a blood vessel in his ear. I have tried all sorts even mustard and lemon juice


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## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

Do you own a crate? Put the ear sucker in a crate when you’re gone with a frozen peanut butter kong or something of the like. Problem solved.


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## Gina Mourning (Apr 28, 2021)

Caroline 74 said:


> My 2 year old does this to my 8 year old even when I'm here. Its caused him to have a problem now. Looks like he's burst a blood vessel in his ear. I have tried all sorts even mustard and lemon juice


My 7 month old does this to my 11 year old Huskies ear... i wonder if it has something to do with the other dog being old... interesting that is the case in each scenario


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## erikahartenberger (10 mo ago)

brettn said:


> We have two goldens, one is 2 and the other is 10. Our 2-year-old sucks on the ten-year-old's right ear sometimes when we are not home. I would imagine this is some kind of nervous behavior from us not being there. Our vet suggested using the bitter apple spray, tabasco sauce and habanero tabasco sauce to keep her away from the other one's ear, but apparently she likes the taste of those and it hasn't deterred her.
> 
> Aside from being gross (constantly wet/slobbery ear), this is starting to cause problems with the other dog's ear so we really need to stop this behavior. They know this is bad because they are hiding when we come home on the days they do this. We have left out plenty of other distractions for them such as toys, rawhids, etc. but that hasn't done any good.
> 
> I would appreciate any advice that may help us stop this behavior. It doesn't occur every day - probably 2-3 times per week.





Gina Mourning said:


> My 7 month old does this to my 11 year old Huskies ear... i wonder if it has something to do with the other dog being old... interesting that is the case in each scenario


Same! My 8 month old Beagle does this to our 11 yr old Beagle. While we are home and obsessively! I can't find online as to why but my theory is some kind of dominance. He does it when the 9 yr old beagle (we have 3) tries to hump him. Maybe he's wanting to get away from our humper? I have to split the 3 apart when this happens. But... sometimes he'll do it just because. It's a mystery!


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