[SusaninCali]

Background: 12-week old pup, long crop. He was cropped by the breeder's vet. Stitches taken out by a local experienced cropper vet here. He got a new conehead for the final healing, and crap, when I took him in he had some greenish brown goo on his left ear. No smell or other symptoms. He must've rubbed his conehead in dewy grass. So Sat the vet lightly taped (leaving edges exposed) and looped his ears to let the infection clear. Minor setback she said. Looked great and then yesterday, Monday, the tape started coming off and now there was goop on the right ear too. We cleaned the ears really good and retaped (I had called the vet and she said I should try this if I couldn't get in). An hour later the tape was coming off so I rushed 30 miles away one way and she she retaped them. She said they looked better than on Sat. This am, they looked great; and then about an hour ago I started seeing some goo forming again (this on the non-cropped edges and on the outside flap of the ear). Not as bad as yesterday thank goodness.

He is also on cephalexin 250 mg 2x daily since the start of a staph infection on his belly, diagnosed by our regular vet yesterday.

To me, it would seem best to just take all the tape off and let them heal. But vet says NO, and that if I need to bring him in every day for taping that's what I need to do. But I can't go every day. Vet says leaving them untaped so that he can flap his ears can lead to other problems with blood accumulating in the ear tips. Thinks the cephalexin will be good.

I'd appreciate any opinions on this, specifically if keeping the ears taped is critical.

Thanks

 

[Soleil]

Letting his ears hang while they heal will be fine. It's better to get that infection cleared up first and then tape diligently.

 

[Mephistophelian]

our puppy shoved a post into this ear the first time we posted him and had a small spot where the skin was rubbed a little raw. Our breeder had done the posting that day to show us how to do it and she said just to leave them down until everything was fully healed. By the time we were able to meet up with her again when there were healed we didnt end up posting until he was a little over 3 months (cropped at 7.5 weeks). In the end, leaving them down for a little while to make sure they were fully healed didnt really have any impact on the end result. We stopped posting around 6 months when he had finished teething.
I would rather have been safe then sorry, infections can turn into something nasty overnight.

 

[Adara]

If you can reach Michelle, that is who's advice I'd follow first I know she's busy and may be travelling and you may also get great advice here.

I'd personally lean towards letting the infection heal first but I've not been in that situation before.

 

[MeadowCat]

I'd contact the breeder, too, and maybe the breeder's vet. It seems risky to post, even gently, while infection is present.

 

[SusaninCali]

I emailed pics to the breeder and she was fine with the tape job.
And happily today the vet said the infection is cleared so Londo got his first posting.

 

[SusaninCali]

Another ear infection!

3 days into his first posting, and Londo has developed another ear infection! So out of the posts. He's already on cephalexin.

Seriously, this is worrying us as he has a long crop, he just turned 3 mos old and we need to get this going.

Are there any particular posting methods that are less likely than others to develop infection?

 

[Whiskey]

Let me know if you need help with your posting and you're close enough to Camp Pendleton to travel or I can come to you if you need help

 

[Nubis'sDad]

Personally im no vet or doctor but I think if there was an infection, it should have air dried or bandages changed daily or multiple times.
Think if you get a cut, once it clots and scabs its better to air dry and it will heal faster. Putting a bandage over an oozing infection will soften the other healed scabs and possibly spread more infection.
I would have let air dry, keeping infected area clean and sterile best ya can and supervised outside and a clean crate.
Doesn't matter now, the infection needs to clear before posts.
Best of luck cuz it doesn't sound like fun.

 

[MeadowCat]

Is it possible he's having a reaction to the tape or something?

 

[SusaninCali]

Let me know if you need help with your posting and you're close enough to Camp Pendleton to travel or I can come to you if you need help

Thanks but I'm over 100 miles away.

 

[SusaninCali]

Is it possible he's having a reaction to the tape or something?

I'm wondering that too. I hope between the cropper vet, reg vet, breeder, and minds at DT that this can be figured out. Not only are we losing a lot of time, it's making the dog miserable.

 

[HarvestMoon]

Is it possible he's having a reaction to the tape or something?

I'm wondering that too.

What kind of tape are you using? We used Zonas porous tape, which is breathable, and I forget the type of powder we also used but I think it was similar to Gold Bond. We had to buy both the tape and powder from a local medical supply store.

I'm sorry you are having to deal with this. Poor pupper! I hope the infection clears up soon and you are able to resume posting.

 

[MeadowCat]

I think some others here have had pups who reacted to the tape. I'm sorry I can't remember of the top of my head. Hopefully they'll pop in and let you know what they used.

 

[KCFilley]

Is the infection on the edge or from the canal? If the infection is in the canal, I have posted ears before without running the post all the way into the ear. You might try using a tightly rolled paper towel or the backer rod with the post back wrapped and cutting it before it goes into the opening. That will allow the ear to get air. See how that works.

I have let my Taylor's ears flop for 5 days because she had an irritation, not an infection, and I wanted it cleared. She was perfectly fine and her ears stand great.

The other thing I guess you could try would be a cup again.

Whatever Michelle says is definitely what you should do.

KC

 

[Whiskey]

I had to let Whiskey's ears flop for over a week due to infection and his are almost done now at 5 months (though I'm going to keep posting until he's done teething). He was 11 weeks old when I had to take his ears down for I think 8 days.

 

[fighterboss]

Why don't you do the taping yourself? Its real easy and you can experiment with various materials and methods and find the one that works best for your dog. You will save time, money and you can change the tape as often as you need. I have found that the biggest threat is moisture and I feel you should not let the pup play in dewy grass. Good luck.

 

[feverone]

Is it possible he's having a reaction to the tape or something?

Ding Ding Ding! Change the brand of tape....some have a reaction to the glue on certain tapes.

 

[StarlightDobe]

Bella had her ears cropped at 12 weeks, and a few weeks later got an infection in her left ear which caused us to have to stop posting. Once you have to leave the ear down for a period of time, you can just start posting again after it is completely healed. Most infections should clear in about 10 days max, and as long as it is not an allergy to something you are using, posting can resume as normal. At the most you might have to leave the one ear posted a little longer than what you would have had to do otherwise, but you shouldnt have a problem with getting it to stand. Just be vigilant in keeping it posted, and when you think its done, post it another week or two, just to be sure.

 

[SusaninCali]

Yes, the breeder is also suspicious about the materials and I've given her all the info.

Our intention was to do the posting all along, but then the infections started so a cropper vet has been involved in the aftercare and so it goes.