There is no harm in trying. If the pup is good with the posting process (and he appears to be) you don’t have anything to lose. He may not be through teething, which may help, and at the very least you have a very cute boy with floppy ears who is good with having his head touched due to your ministrations.

My worries would be if they didn’t even bother to post him, did they breed him with any concern for his genetic well-being or socialize him as a small pup?

Good luck and he sure has a sweet face!

 

There is no harm in trying. If the pup is good with the posting process (and he appears to be) you don’t have anything to lose. He may not be through teething, which may help, and at the very least you have a very cute boy with floppy who is good with having his head touched due to your ministrations.

My worries would be if they didn’t even bother to post him, did they breed him with any concern for his genetic well-being or socialize him as a small pup?

Good luck and he sure has a sweet face!

Thank you for the kind words. The breeder did post his ears but his ears aren't standing so I'm guessing they weren't posted for long. He is great with other dogs and absolutely phenomenal with other people, he can figure out the difference between someone sneaking around the house and someone just visiting. He's a eat dog but the ears are the only ting worrying me right now. He's not fully done with teething but the breeder told me that his ears should be ok by the time he is 8 months old, his sister on on the other hand who is currently in the USA has perfectly straight ears. Would you recommend keeping them on for 7 days a week? He did have his ear posts off for about 2 days because he was on the plane so maybe that's why his ears are completely down in the first picture. I'm preying for nice ears tough but I'm still happy with the dog, Dobermans rock!

 

I am not an expert but if it were me, I would post them for 3-4 days, take them down, clean the ears and put them right back up. Not down for longer than it takes to clean and keep that going until the end of his 9th month. His crop looks fairly long so the posting should be longer (in my novice opinion). Keep going!!

 

Thanks for your reply, ill try my best!

 

I'm in the same camp as MMc - Go for it , I will say that it will take more than a few months - Also as MMc said , as soon as they are dry and ready to re-post , get them posted - I had a very good breeder tell me once that for every day you leave them down you lost 3 or 4 days going forward , So you want to get them up , Genetics also plays a roll in ears standing

In the top picture - if you did the posting , the brace needs to be lower - just above the head where it don't rub his head , Also looking at that picture , the left ear nean the top , you can see the ear is not pulled up - there is a bend in the ear , when posting - keep the ear pulled up when taping , that will solve that problem , another also lol But after posting and he shakes his head a lot , most likely you you did not get the posts all the way down in the ear and lay the tape across the top part of the ear and don't pull it to tight , the way you did it looks ok , just feel the ears and make sure they are warm , all the way up .

There will be others jump in here and good luck

 

I'm in the same camp as MMc - Go for it , I will say that it will take more than a few months - Also as MMc said , as soon as they are dry and ready to re-post , get them posted - I had a very good breeder tell me once that for every day you leave them down you lost 3 or 4 days going forward , So you want to get them up , Genetics also plays a roll in ears standing

In the top picture - if you did the posting , the brace needs to be lower - just above the head where it don't rub his head , Also looking at that picture , the left ear nean the top , you can see the ear is not pulled up - there is a bend in the ear , when posting - keep the ear pulled up when taping , that will solve that problem , another also lol But after posting and he shakes his head a lot , most likely you you did not get the posts all the way down in the ear and lay the tape across the top part of the ear and don't pull it to tight , the way you did it looks ok , just feel the ears and make sure they are warm , all the way up .

There will be others jump in here and good luck

Oh ill make sure to do that, and yes he was shaking a bit at first but he stopped after a little bit. Ill put the bride lower and make sure the ear is pulled a bit more, he slept on the ear and bent the backer rod a little bit so ill have to do it again anyways lol. Thanks for your help.

 

Definitely go for it. There is a member here who didn't even have the ears cropped until 16 weeks, which is pretty much outside the suggested window of opportunity and they are coming along nicely. Sometimes, injury or infection unavoidably delays posting and the general consensus is almost always to keep posting.

One suggestion: Your posting job looks really good, except your tape bridge is too high. I would skip the tape and put the bridge right at the base off the ears (at the top of the skull). If you are using backer rod as posts, you can use a piece of that to bridge the ears. You don't want to hold the ear directly upright, pointing straight up. You want to separate the tips a bit more, so the ears make a slight V. If the ears were the hands of a clock, ideally you want them at the
11 o'clock - 1 o'clock or 10 o'clock - 2m o'clock position.

So... What MMc said ^^^^^^^. 3-5 days up and then down just long enough to gently clean the ears and allow them time to dry. Maybe 1/2 hour or so.

Also after a few postings, it would be really great if you would take a few quick photos and put them up here.

Best to you and your handsome boy

John L
Portland OR

Edit to say: I just saw ECIN's comment and he is correct. You need to gently pull the ears up so they are taut while you are taping. However, he mentioned the left ear, when I believe he was referring to the puppy's right ear. Notice how the ear is gathered between the bridge and the top strip of tape. You want that to be smoothed out.

Also, what is your puppy's name? Does he have one yet?

 

Definitely go for it. There is a member here who didn't even have the ears cropped until 16 weeks, which is pretty much outside the suggested window of opportunity and they are coming along nicely. Sometime, injury or infection delays unavoidably delays posting and the general consensus is almost always to keep posting.

One suggestion: Your posting job looks really good, except your tape bridge is too high. I would skip the tape and put the bridge right at the base off the ears (at the top of the skull). If you are using backer rod as posts, you can use a piece of that to bridge the ears. You don't want to hold the ear directly upright, pointing straight up. You want to separate the tips a bit more, so the ears make a slight V. If the ears were the hands of a clock, ideally you want them at the
11 o'clock - 1 o'clock or 10 o'clock - 2m o'clock position.

So... What MMc said ^^^^^^^. 3-5 days up and then down just long enough to gently clean the ears and allow them time to dry. Maybe 1/2 hour or so.

Also after a few postings, it would be really great if you would take a few quick photos and put them up here.

Best to you and your handsome boy

John L
Portland OR

Edit to say: I just saw ECIN's comment and he is correct. You need to gently pull the ears up so They are taut while you are taping. However, he mentioned the right ear, when I believe he was referring to the puppy's left ear. Notice how the ear is gathered between the bridge and the top strip of tape. You want that to be smoothed out.

Also, what is your puppy's name? Does he have one yet?

Yes he does! His name is Rico, Ill try the backer rod as the bridge, sounds like a great idea!

 

To me, they look better!!
Two notes:

1. Be sure the tip is taped down or you may end up with a flippy tip.
2. Be sure to loosely lat the tape around the ear/post and then scrunch it with your hands. The tape looks like it may be a little tight around the ear. Hard to tell.

 

To me, they look better!!
Two notes:

1. Be sure the tip is taped down or you may end up with a flippy tip.
2. Be sure to loosely lat the tape around the ear/post and then scrunch it with your hands. The tape looks like it may be a little tight around the ear. Hard to tell.

I added a few pieces of tape on the tips just now, thanks! And I will double check the tape on the ears.

 

The bridge should be just above their smart bump - Like MMc said tape tips of they will lay over .

download_LI (2).jpg

• ECIN
• Feb 8, 2022

I personally like to tape the whole ear and I might shorten the brace just a little it will straighten the left ear a little

 

Will do that ASAP.

 

I think it looks great. And yes... gently lay tape over the tip to hold it to the post. Ditto to what ECIN said about the bridge height. But just to prove that GREAT minds don't ALWAYS think alike, I like your ear spread (V) the way it is and I like the amount of tape that you are using. After a few posts, you can leave the bridge off and see how the ears position themselves without it. If you are not satisfied, you can quickly toss a bridge back on for a while longer.

That being said, I will be really curious to see the results of your efforts in a month or two. Just for reference, even though our lasted pups ears were up at 5 months, we still ended up in full posts through his 8th month. So, don't be in any hurry. And make this a good experience for Rico. Posting with a positive and upbeat attitude is a really nice bonding opportunity for the two of you

Keep up the good work!

John L
Portland OR

 

I think it looks great. And yes... gently lay tape over the tip to hold it to the post. Ditto to what ECIN said about the bridge height. But just to prove that GREAT minds don't ALWAYS think alike, I like your ear spread (V) the way it is and I like the amount of tape that you are using. After a few posts, you can leave the bridge off and see how the ears position themselves without it. If you are not satisfied, you can quickly toss a bridge back on for a while longer.

That being said, I will be really curious to see the results of your efforts in a month or two. Just for reference, even though our lasted pups ears were up at 5 months, we still ended up in full posts through his 8th month. So, don't be in any hurry. And make this a good experience for Rico. Posting with a positive and upbeat attitude is a really nice bonding opportunity for the two of you

Keep up the good work!

John L
Portland OR

Thanks, I will update you guys after a few posts and let you guys know where we are at.

 

Looks pretty good. I would just make the bridge out of tape though.

 

MY12 - When asking about how to Post a Dobermans ears - It's like anything else - there are hundred's of way to achieve your goal = great looing ears : ))

John has done this a LLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG time , I have seen pictures of his Foxfire Dobermans and WOW , There ears always look great !

Kouki - His boy Hugo - Protocol Dober - Great looking ears !

I have to throw in Meadowcat on here - If I remember right , she never used a brace on any of her Dobers = Great looking ears !

Spocksdad - Another of Bug's students did - used a different method and Neo's ears look outstanding !

Then there is me : )) I have always used a brace - I think our ears look ok .

Every dog may need a different way to post them up , For the little girl I have now , she came with a full show crop , After all these years , I have not had a full show cut and needed advice a mentor and Bug Russell filled that spot for me , I have never worked so hard at posting as I did with this girl and it shows , I would take pictures , send them to Bug , then call her and we would go over what we were seeing or not seeing and go from there to make any adjustments that we thought were needed .

What I'm trying to say is don't get overwhelmed with all the advice on here , try different things that work for you and your dog , always ask for thoughts , ideas and then use that info for better or worse , lol

It is always better to have a mentor , no matter how long you have done it , My best advice to you and your Dober , is IF there is a Doberman club close to you , see if somebody can work with you , showing you the different things to doing the posting , seeing in person is always a plus for me : ))) Then there is us , lol I'm sure I can speak for the others on here , But somebody on here will do what they can on advice to you .

I'm excited about your pup ! I really think you will get it done

Best of luck !

 

New here, and no expert but when did that ever stop someone from giving their opinion.

I think you got great advice from everyone here. To give your an illustrative example, my girl and her 2 sisters all had their ears cropped at the same time, and my breeder helped with my girl's ears while I helped her do my girl's sister's ears many of the times, so they had a fairly similar experience. I got VERY lucky, my girl's ears were very perky and wanted to stand....but I kept posting until the end of teething. One of her sisters took about the same amount of time, but the third continually had an issue with 1 ear and needed posting for a couple more months. I guess I'm telling you this to let you know to not give up! Sometimes dogs, even from the same litter, will take wildly different amounts of time to have their ears stand on their own.

Also for the cleaning, keep your dog's ears clean and dry! I used cotton balls/makeup pads and my finger to clean out the outer ear (straight up and down, not "in" towards their brains"). This part I'm sure I'll see some disagreement on, but I used a very light dampening of rubbing alcohol if there was any noticeable wax, but do not put enough to get this into the ear. It can cause pain and discomfort on any broken or irritated skin, so if there is any chafing from the posts...skip it. I did check this with my vet. Once I week I would use a keto-chlor ear wash solution to clean out the inner portion of the ear, followed by a dry cleaning with a cotton ball or makeup pad and a couple hours of "down time" to let the ear fully dry. Any time the posts got wet, I would replace them. If they were popping out of the ear canal, I would redo them.

So my only real input is keep those ears clean and dry. Don't pick at scabs. And keep the ears clean....and dry.

My girl absolutely loves having her ears cleaned. In fact, you can "massage" the inside of her ear and she'll lean into it and give the happy groans, and I think all of the attention to them helped with this.