LeighaG81

Apollo's ears aren't as sturdy as I would like them to be. His right ear, for example has a bit of a gimp to it. I suspected it could be the muggy hot weather maybe doing it but it seems that it might not be the case. At the age of four months, can they still potentially become sturdier if I tape them again?

If yes, do you guys have any informative ways of doing so? The breeder showed me how to do the soft way, and I found a site to use tampons. I tried the tampon way and both times the base would unattach on one ear and I'd just give up.

Any ideas? He's mastered the whole shaking of the head and getting them off. It's a bit frustrating but if there's a good way of doing it, I'm all ears!


Thanks in advance!

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Leigha & the pack




RIP Little Louie-10/07
www.myspace.com/littlelouie1

Lexus

Does it "gimp" and hang down? Or does it just seem to sag? You may be about to get away with using a Breath right strip on his ear to keep it in place as the cartilage hardens. Then you wouldn't have to worry about him getting a whole brace off.

Edited to add, Better ear experts will chime in soon I'm sure, but I rechecked the pictures you posted of him, and it does not look to me, IMO, like his ears have even been posted correctly all along possibly, or definetely the posting was stopped too soon. Does he always seem to carry them that way, where they seem to bend outwards from the middle to the top of the ear? He would benifit from using a full posting for a while, especially at his age, It would help for sure. Setting the ears is something that is hard and lengthy to just describe over the internet, can you take him back the breeder that sold him to you and have her post them while you watch so you know how to do it?

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doberkim

at 4 months old, i would definitely expect most dogs ears WOULD need to be posted - many (most?) dogs are posted until well over 6 months, some need posting until over a year old.

if the ear sags (and from his past pics, i cant tell if they just have pockets or just the ears tip - in different pics they each look different), then they need to be posted. breathe right strips are only going to help for ears that already stand up straight, but the tips are weak.

the ruleof thumb is post until the ears stand and you think you are completely done - and then post them one more time.

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crxman321

Doberkim Couldnt of said it any Better it just takes time hang in there

dobebug

If you haven't already gone to the DPCA website and looked up the instructions for posting ears you should do so. There are practically as many ways to post ears as there are people who have ever got more than one pair of ears standing.

Kim is right on--at four months most puppies are just starting the teething process and even pups whose ears have been standing perfectly will need to be posted while the teething process goes on.

I'm raising a puppy right now for a breeder and he has a very long show crop--his left ear will sag in hot weather and if he's been playing very hard and he's hot. So his ears are posted most of the time--even though his right ear has been standing for two months.

The trick to keeping posts in ears is to make sure that what ever you are using to post the ears on (I used fairly tightly rolled papertowels--taped once and then back taped sticky side out) I make sure that when I'm rolling the paper towels that the part which goes into the ear is rolled tighter and is smaller than the rest of the post--makes them look a little like narrow funnels--wider at the top. Make sure that you are making the post longer than the ear plus the length needed to insert it into the ear.

Insert the post into the ear. Start the tape so that the little fold will lay properly back against the outside of the ear--looking at the dog that is right to left on your right hand side and left to right on your left hand side. Start the first wrap down in the ear--where you can see the first bit of tape--I use narrow (3/4") strips rather than wide--easier to control. Pull up on the ear and tape toward the center of the head--it will be very angled--it should be. Wrap it around the ear snugly but not tightly and pull the ear back toward the front--you'll be making the ear curve more--angle the tape down to meet the point where you started. Fold the tape--this is at the outside where you first started--it'll look sort of like a herringbone pattern and slightly overlap the second row over the first--after about three wraps you can level things out but you'll see that there is virtually no space for the post to pop out of the ear--if there is enough room you haven't started low enough. By the time you are just ave the top of the head you should be wrapping in a spiral. Tape all the way to the tip--leaving tips untaped at this stage is a great way to get ugly curls in the tips.

Reverse the process and tape the other ear the same way. If the weather is hot--take them down everything three or four days. In cool weather they can stay up a week. If an ear starts to look anything but perfect. retape them.

Put in a bridge 1/2 to 3/4" above the top of the head setting it so the ears are perfectly upright.

Don't roll papertowels for posts rock hard--they should have some give to them--they will act as absorbant for the dampness that forms under the tape.

I use either the Johnson & Johnson tape which you can get from your vet--fabric, breathable. low tack. Or I use the Johnson & Johnson Coach Athletic tape which on the West Coat Walgreen's carries in four packs of 1-1/2" (I split it and use it as 3/4" tape) for about $15. The two products are virtually the same but buying through your vet is often more expensive.

Plan on using a whole lot of tape during this process. There is no short way to do this--persistence is the key.

gatehouse

http://www.greatdanelady.com/article...e_ears_txt.hml

Our dane pup's breeder showed us this and my dane has an very long show crop. They were up at 5 months. Now, we used it this time without litter in March and most are up - I would agree that at 4 months usually you would still be taping anyway. Depends on a few things, including the length of the crop. Don't leave it now! Keep on it. These next few times are very very important.

We use only medical tape that we buy from our vet and we remove them and leave them off until the start to fall. Then it's right back up again. When they don't fall - you're done....of course then they teeth and you're back to taping LOL but right now I have a female in my house 4.5 months who has been done for a couple weeks, and her brother who we just took the tapes off tonight. here's hoping!
Maura

DaKari

gatehouse, the link won't work for some reason.

Leigha, go to http://www.greatdanelady.com then choose Articles on the left hand side and then you will find the ear posting under "My Puppy - Large/Giant Breed Info" or go all the way to the bottom and the link is there too.

dobie lover

What kind of tape are you using??

I use either Zonas or Luco tape. The Luco tape is very strong tape and trust me he will have a hard time getting it off. To get that brand of tape you must go to a sport medicine store.

You must also remember that at 4 months he is still teething.

BackInBlack

Regular Athletic Tape works great, so does vet wrap.

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LeighaG81

I'll check sports stores, if any, locally. But prior to my post I was using reg. adhesive medical tape and adhesive pet bandage tape which wasn't working at all.

Like everyone said, he's teething at four months so he's pretty NON-tolerant at things he could chew on, such as his ear bandages lol. I'm glad to hear he's in the clear with helping his ears stand up with bandages, maybe I should just call my vet to help me with applying them correctly to see if she has a better judgement on the correct way of putting them on? Like I said before, he base is the promlem-he seems to always "shake" that part off before any other, and IMO that part is the most important for secureness.

Thanks again for everyones input, I appreciate it!!

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Leigha & the pack




RIP Little Louie-10/07
www.myspace.com/littlelouie1