Hi. I have a beagle-mix with chronic ear infections. He has been getting drops in his ears 2-3 times a day for years. He still hates it. He's bigger than your yorkie, but...he used to fight and even tried to bite me. The vet wanted me to use a muzzle, but I wasn't anxious to do that. So, I took him to Ginger's trainer and this is what we worked out:
When I walk him, I keep his leash on him when we come in(he seems to be more subdued and less likely to fight when leashed). I keep the drops by the door, and just hang on to him those times when I want to do his ears (it's not everytime we go outside, just 2 times a day).
Then, I hold onto his collar (but the harness would do) with one hand, and straddle his body with my knees. I don't squeeze, just used my knees to hold him still and facing away from me. Then, with the other hand (it is possible) I fold back an ear and put in the drops. With a little one, you could actually kneel on your knees. Again, you are not squeezing, just creating a space for them where it's hard for them to turn around. When we first started this, I really had to hold on pretty tight, now he just knows whats coming. He just stands there and lets me do what needs to be done. Also, in the beginning I had to hold my ground. Once I gave him the idea that fighting would get him out of it he would've had no reason not to do battle. We've gotten really good at it over the years and the whole thing takes less than a minute. Oh yeah, as soon as we're done, he gets a treat!
He does so well that occasionally I think I can just reach down, flip back his ears and place the drops. Oddly, if I don't follow the above routine EXACTLY he still fights and tries to snap.
It took some time, but we worked it out.
Another advantage to having a specific routine for drops...before I started doing it the same way everytime, he'd started to get snippy anytime I reached for him. He never knew which time I'd be using the drops. Now we can snuggle and play and he never seems nervous that I'm getting ready to do his ears.
Good luck! You'll get there! |