I feel sooooooo HORRIBLE!

[KayAnn]

Ok well ive been not washing Simba's ears because he gives my trouble with them. So today i did it and he growled and bared his teeth. And i finally got thge flush in after i had to get my dad AND mom to hold him down. And i was getting the stuff out with a paper towel and he whined and then snapped. He did not get my hand.. but i yelled at him and told him to go to his room. I wanted to punish him sooo much, but i just broke down. I started crying, and still am right this moment. I went in my room with him and laid on the floor and just stared at him. I broke out in tears. I kept saying " Im sorry Simmy , Im sorry." I feel so horrible. Why does such a wonderful dog have to have problems that hurt him. And as i was laying there with him i felt a bump. Aren't syst normally like kinda soft?? or are they hard. This thing is rock hard. Im very scared. I told my mom and she said it was probably a syst but we have no idea. :( :( :( :(
It is located like near his left shoulder blade. God, I Love dogs to death, but at times, i hate them. :( Well im just kinda trying to drain all of this, had to talk about it to someone, and well you people are the sweetest people i "know" and you guys always give me a smile on my face.

[carrie]

Nobody ever said it was easy - but try to remember that every time it gets a bit hard you are learning heaps! All this is going to be so great in later years - not just for you but for all the animals you don't know yet.
As for right now...try to think of your anger and frustration in a different way. Be angry that Simba is in pain, but reassure yourself that YOU can help. Put yourself in his position - if you had a very sore and infected ear and someone esle started to make the pain worse without being able to tell you that it would make it better in the end what would you do? Not let them anywhere near you, right?!

As for the hard lump on his shoulder, very, VERY rare that any hard lump in that position is anything at all to worry about. Relax, get the vet to take a look at him and while you are there get him to show you how to put a tape muzzle on so you can treat the ear without any upset. It will hurt him for a few days but it will only get better if you keep the treatment up.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

Kay Ann, Carrie is so right. We all know how much you love him and how much he loves you.
He would never bite you, he was trying to tell you he didn't like what you were doing,
and maybe it was a little painful right then.
He understands you are trying to help him.
You just give our Sweet Simba a big hug and big kisses from Daisy and Perry and me and from yourself.
:) :) :)

[carrie]

Please don't take any chances - Simba PROBABLY won't actually bite you - but if I was him and it hurt that much .... I would!
Learn how to do the tape muzzle, it will only be for a few minutes a day and it is a lot, LOT, better than struggling with the fact that your dog was forced into biting you (from his point of view) but he hates his ear treatment which hurts but has to be done to make him better (your point of view).

[Daisy's Mom]

Kay Ann, you poor thing! Don't worry about anything. Simba only snapped because his ear hurts and he doesn't know you are trying to make it better. Take Carrie's advice and muzzle him while you do it. Tell him it's for the best, and soon our favorite little Simba boy will be A-okay! As for the bump, I feel your pain. I found a bump on Daisy's chest and have been freaking out over it. But hey, you heard Carrie! It's probably nothing serious. So don't worry about it! We love you both!

[Gio]

Kay Ann, I know that it is hard to give medication or treat our pets when you seen that they don't like it or it causes them some discomfort. But if you left Simba's year untreated this could lead to much more serious problems that would cause him more pain. If you are worried about the bump talk to your vet about it, I'm sure that he would be more than willing to reassure you.
Take care

[ShepherdLover]

If it has to be done, it has to be done. You do have to clean his ears. Next time, I'd suggest putting a muzzle on him. You don't want to put down your best friend because he bit you!

If he did try snapping at you, he might deserve some punishment. I've never been through this, but it sounds like "the dog snapped, you tell him to go to his room, then you tell him that's it's okay."

The dog might get out of that that it was okay to snap. Next time, put a muzzle on him and while he's not snapping LOTS OF PRAISE! Only do a little bit at a time for now.

I might be wrong, because I've never been through this, so you don't have to pay any attention to me!

[3-greys-and-a-mutt]

I agree with what everyone else said - that his ears were hurting and he wasn't thinking straight!
My cocker spaniel used to get ear infections all the time, and my mom couldn't deal with it. So I did all of the ear cleaning. One thing that I found was that cotton was gentler and kinder to her than paper towels. Paper towels are often rougher and noiser, whereas cotton balls or squares are very soft. Just be gentle, but also keep your willpower!
As for the lump, I agree with Carrie that it is in an unusual spot for anything serious. It probably is a cyst of some type.. BUT TALK TO YOUR VET!

[KayAnn]

Thank You all for your comments and useful suggestions. This is one down in owning a dog or pet of any kind. Today he was a good boy when i was cleaning his ears. He sat there, he did jerk around some but he didn't growl or bare his teeth. I was very happy of how he acted, i gave him a snackie and gave him *scratcherz* and kept saying over and over good boy, gooooood boy! And i didnt even have to have my parents hold him down. Once again Thank You all! :)

[Daisy's Mom]

Good boy Simba! Kay Ann, just know that you are doing the right thing. Even though you may be hurting him now, it is preventing him from even worse pain later on, and sooner or later his ear problems will be all gone, and he will be the happy, carefree, sweet boy we have all come to "know" and love :) Keep up the good work!