The golden I used to have did similar things w/her ears/eyes when I approached w/a leash. It was a habit formed from years of me sliding a new collar on with the leash attached. She'd squint and pull her ears back in anticipation of the collar being slid over her head.
It is so true - everyone asks why we have 3 dogs. When I got Hemi, people thought he was too big. Then we got Cyrus (the B), and he was too bad. When we adopted Oscar from an animal shelter, we had too many. We get so much love and companionship from our dogs. I enjoy them more than most people I know. I wouldn't trade any of them! I would actually like to get another. Shhhhh!