Cauliflower ear + shy dog - advice needed

flower_lover

We're considering adopting a 2 year old whippet / lab mix. She sounds great and we will meet her this weekend. Only things that may (or may not) be issues are first that she has cauliflower ear. It sounds like she is fully recovered from a past ear infection, and just the cauliflower texture remains. Does anybody have experience with a dog in this state of recovery? Is it anything to worry about? Apparently the rescue's vet said we would just have to watch her ears, as you would with any dog, and get her treated for any future infections.

 The foster also said she is extremely shy with new people and other dogs, and probably was not properly socialized. I have read about how to help her overcome shyness, and it sounds do-able, although I'm not certain how long it will take her to feel more confident. Anybody have experience with a shy dog? Would you hesitate to adopt a shy 2-year-old?

ATexasBelle

IDK about the ear thing, but do you have other dogs? Are they nice? I think with enough love and attention, she would be able to overcome her shyness, but if your other dogs are hyperactive or mean, it would be more of an issue. Personally I wouldn't hesitate to adopt a shy dog! They just need more love! 

Angelicteardrops

Hello, I am a lurker, but I wanted to comment.  We adopted a puppy from a rescue group and when we first got him he was very shy and timid around us, our other dog and was terrified of my father (we don't know why). After socializing him and giving him lots of love and affection he is miles from where he started.  He loves my father, he is not afraid of new people, when we introduce him and he is so much happier than when we first got him.  Our rescue was a puppy when we got him so the change was quite quick, but I woudn't trade him for the world.  I am not a dog expert by any means but I think with lots of love and some training I don't think you will have a problem at all.  I don't know about the Cauliflower ear thing though, so I dont' know if that would be different.

kellbell1919

I do not know about cauliflower ear.  DH and I have a fair amount of experience with shy dogs.  We got ours when he was two and thanks to Nothing in life is free, positive reinforcement training, lots of exposure to dog parks and walking, you would never know it now.  He loves everyone and everything and we've considered training him as a therapy dog.  It took 3 months for him to be comfortable around us and in the house and then maybe another 3 for him to start acting "normal".

We also had a foster puppy who was a mill rescue and started out relatively shy.  Once he got into the routine and learned what we expected re. behavior he blossomed into a rockstar.  He'd still get freaked out and hide from new people for an hour or so and bark at everything new that he saw, but he was so sweet and affectionate with us.

I'd say NILF, positive reinforcement training, a very consistent schedule, another dog to follow and learn from and a DAP collar are all really helpful.

flower_lover

ATexasBelle:

IDK about the ear thing, but do you have other dogs? Are they nice? I think with enough love and attention, she would be able to overcome her shyness, but if your other dogs are hyperactive or mean, it would be more of an issue. Personally I wouldn't hesitate to adopt a shy dog! They just need more love! 

We do not have another dog. If we adopt her, she will definitely get exposed to other dogs at the dog park and when we are out walking. I'm thinking this might be a good situation, as she can meet other dogs on her own terms. As I understand it, she is also very shy around new humans too.

spalko

The cauliflower ear is the result (most likely) of the dog having an ear hematoma which is secondary to a bad ear infection. The ear infection causes the dog to shake their head repeatedly and it can (with enough force) cause the cartilage in the ear to rupture which creates a hematoma - blood filled pouch basically. If the hematoma isn't drained and properly taken care of, cauliflower ear will be the end result. This doesn't mean anything is wrong with the dog, it's ear will just have a different feel than what most people are used to. This happens more often to dogs with really floppy ears usually around the tip. The recovery is quite simple, pain meds and anitbiotics, but I would imagine the dog is past the just had surgery phase and it already recovering nicely. In order to prevent this from happening in the future, you would just need to keep a close watch on his ears - clean them weekly, dry them out if he's a swimmer, keep ear medication on hand to prevent ear infections instead of treating one. It's nothing too serious to worry about but fixing one can be quite costly and having to do it repeatedly can add up.