Buddy's dad, Nak, was a nurturer...he'd clean the other dogs ears...the ones who'd let him, anyways.  it got to a point where the other dogs would put their head between his front paws, begging him to clean their ears!  if Nak ignored them, they'd sniff his ear, and put their heads back down...eventually, Nak would clean their ears. 
here's a pic of Rosie and Nak to prove it:
I think it is a bonding thing...now, Lucy will try to clean Rosies ears like Nak did, and Rosie refuses to let her...she will shake her head and run away (I swear she looks sad when she runs away), BUT Rosie will clean the ratties ears...so maybe it's an alpha thing...Nak was the top dog when he did that.  |