They bred fox always selecting the most tame of each generation. Over time they became increasingly docile and friendly towards humans. An unexpected outcome was that through successive generations their ears went from upright to floppy - the tamer the fox, the more its ears hung down.
So that leads us to the breed that is arguably best known for its friendly disposition, Labrador Retrievers. I must say that just touching those velvety soft ears brings a smile to my face.
But floppy ears are not without issues, especially in a breed that loves the water. Moisture is trapped under those adorable appendages leading to chronic ear infections. This means that aCappella carries a stash of items to deal with canine ears.
We have ear drying solution which is placed in all four ears after any contact with water whether a bath or swimming. There's several different cleaning solutions to flush wax and any other debris from their ears. We have a variety of ear ointments for those occasions when our efforts aren't able to stop an infection. We even have an otoscope to peer down the ear when we suspect something is wrong. Ears are checked on a regular basis around here.
You would think with all these manipulations the kids would adjust and let us get it over with. Shoot, they always get a treat afterwards. Dyna shows her distaste with her look. Dylan goes over the top.
He runs through the boat doing his "mad man" or pirouettes as we also call them. Tight little circles with his tail tucked in. He "hides" in the corner of the pilothouse settee or frantically runs to the door wanting out. And this is just when we do something with Dyna's ears.
To date he has never escaped. I mean, we're on a boat, how far can he go?
Today as he was sleeping with his head across my lap I flipped each ear flap up for a quick look. He eyed me cautiously. Both were pink and dry and pretty. Fortunately, Dylan escaped the ear terrors for just one more day.
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