[Exafiz]

Hello forum, I know that somewhere exist a post similar to this, but i cant find it!!

Happens that I have a 4mo dobe and I cropped her ears 20 days ago. I use the backer rod method... But 2 things are going on here.

1)_ everytime I change her post, I take them out smelling bad and with a brown kind of wax. Is that normal??

2)_ everytime I put the post in the ears she starts to shake the head

Am I doing something wrong? :frown3:

 

[melbrod]

I take it her ears were completely healed from the crop before you started posting??

The brown stuff probably is wax produced inside her ears; that’s fairly normal unless you start seeing a lot of goopy stuff, or if the amount of goop increases suddenly.

But if her ears smell bad, you should take her to a vet to check for an infection. Do you see any red or swollen areas, raw spots or open sores?


She is probably shaking her head because the posts are irritating her ears. The posts may be loose in her ears (not snugged into the ear as deeply as they need to be) which is causing them to ride up and down--uncomfortable for her--and the posts rubbing up and down can lead to irritated skin which can get infected easily. Or she may be sensitive to the tape; that can be a cause for reddened or raw irritated skin.

It is possible you are putting the tape on too tight. Wrap the tape loosely around her ear when you post, and then squish it together to make it stick to her ears.

And remember, do not wrap the tape across ANY open sores or raw spots. You need to let them heal before putting her back in posts again.

If you post some pictures here, we might be able to tell you if there is any obvious problem in the way you have posted her.

And besides, we LOVE pictures here.

 

[RMcIntyre]

clean the ears real good each time you take the posts out. Let them dry completely before reposting. shaking their head right after reposting isn't abnormal but should stop after about an hour as they get used to it. The stinking could because the ears aren't clean or dry when reposting.

 

[Exafiz]

I take it her ears were completely healed from the crop before you started posting??

The brown stuff probably is wax produced inside her ears; that’s fairly normal unless you start seeing a lot of goopy stuff, or if the amount of goop increases suddenly.

But if her ears smell bad, you should take her to a vet to check for an infection. Do you see any red or swollen areas, raw spots or open sores?


She is probably shaking her head because the posts are irritating her ears. The posts may be loose in her ears (not snugged into the ear as deeply as they need to be) which is causing them to ride up and down--uncomfortable for her--and the posts rubbing up and down can lead to irritated skin which can get infected easily. Or she may be sensitive to the tape; that can be a cause for reddened or raw irritated skin.

It is possible you are putting the tape on too tight. Wrap the tape loosely around her ear when you post, and then squish it together to make it stick to her ears.

And remember, do not wrap the tape across ANY open sores or raw spots. You need to let them heal before putting her back in posts again.

If you post some pictures here, we might be able to tell you if there is any obvious problem in the way you have posted her.

And besides, we LOVE pictures here.

Yes, after 10 days from surgery I take her to my vet (cause the vet that cropped her ears is in another city 300km from where I live) So, my vet cleans her ears and take out the stitches after that 10 days (the vets knows each other)


I dont know how deep the post must be, I see many videos I cant see too much but i think im putting them in the right place. And when I remove the post I clean the ears, let her stay with out the post like 1 or 2 hours then i clean them again let them dry for 30 mintes and after all of that I put the post back on her. Also I put the tape a little loose.

Anyways in a few days I'll will take out the post, take photos and I will upload them here so you can see.

 

[Exafiz]

clean the ears real good each time you take the posts out. Let them dry completely before reposting. shaking their head right after reposting isn't abnormal but should stop after about an hour as they get used to it. The stinking could because the ears aren't clean or dry when reposting.

Hello! yes, I clean the ears very well and I do it 2 times. Cause I remove the post, clear the ears wait 1-2 hours, clean again, wait 30 minutes and after all of that i put the post back in place. Yes, she shakes the head for an hours after I put the new posts. I will upload photos soon!

 

[dobebug]

How long do you leave the ears posted after putting in new posts?

The brown stuff is just wax and moisture--it's normal for it to be slightly smelly. Sounds like you are keeping the ears clean enough and letting them dry after cleaning and the head shaking really sounds like you aren't inserting the post all the way down into the ear canal. Or you may be using backing rod of a size a little too big--try trimming the backing rod a little where it goes into the ear canal. When you insert the post twist it a little as you are putting it in the canal. It can't be put too far in since the ear canal actually take a turn of 90 degrees before anything could get to the ear drum--but if you don't get the post all the way down into the canal to the point where the canal actually turns it will feel loose to the puppy and they will shake their heads--sometimes enough to dislodge the post.

Also you should pad the very bottom of the post with a small pad of cotton--and I use a dab of an ear ointment on that pad as well. (I use Otomax but there are dozens of products that are used to treat ear infections--they usually have an antibiotic and something to treat yeast--it just helps to prevent infections. The active ingredients in Otomax are gentamicin sulfate; betamethasone valerate; and clotrimazole--anything similar works. It's prescription here so you'll probably have to get it from the vet.

How warm are the temperatures in Argentina now and are you where you have a lot of humidity? In warm damp areas I don't leave posts in longer than 4 days--that also helps limit how much of that brown goopy wax accumulation you'll get. The only time I leave posts in for longer than 4 days before reposting is when temperatures are staying lower than 50 degrees (sorry that's Farenheit--not Centigrade--you'll have to translate it) and the weather is dry. If the posts get wet at all you should take them down and repost.

You could take a Q-tip and gently put it into the base of the ear until it won't go any further down and mark it and use it to make sure you are getting the post all the way down into the canal but that's what it sounds like is happening to make her shake her head for so long after reposting.

Good luck...

 

[RMcIntyre]

Hello! yes, I clean the ears very well and I do it 2 times. Cause I remove the post, clear the ears wait 1-2 hours, clean again, wait 30 minutes and after all of that i put the post back in place. Yes, she shakes the head for an hours after I put the new posts. I will upload photos soon!

sounds like you are doing it right so unless it is a real strong odor I wouldn't worry. As stated a certain amount of odor is normal. Just the same as a person who has to wear a cast or splint for a period of time it will pick up odors also.

 

[Exafiz]

How long do you leave the ears posted after putting in new posts?

The brown stuff is just wax and moisture--it's normal for it to be slightly smelly. Sounds like you are keeping the ears clean enough and letting them dry after cleaning and the head shaking really sounds like you aren't inserting the post all the way down into the ear canal. Or you may be using backing rod of a size a little too big--try trimming the backing rod a little where it goes into the ear canal. When you insert the post twist it a little as you are putting it in the canal. It can't be put too far in since the ear canal actually take a turn of 90 degrees before anything could get to the ear drum--but if you don't get the post all the way down into the canal to the point where the canal actually turns it will feel loose to the puppy and they will shake their heads--sometimes enough to dislodge the post.

Also you should pad the very bottom of the post with a small pad of cotton--and I use a dab of an ear ointment on that pad as well. (I use Otomax but there are dozens of products that are used to treat ear infections--they usually have an antibiotic and something to treat yeast--it just helps to prevent infections. The active ingredients in Otomax are gentamicin sulfate; betamethasone valerate; and clotrimazole--anything similar works. It's prescription here so you'll probably have to get it from the vet.

How warm are the temperatures in Argentina now and are you where you have a lot of humidity? In warm damp areas I don't leave posts in longer than 4 days--that also helps limit how much of that brown goopy wax accumulation you'll get. The only time I leave posts in for longer than 4 days before reposting is when temperatures are staying lower than 50 degrees (sorry that's Farenheit--not Centigrade--you'll have to translate it) and the weather is dry. If the posts get wet at all you should take them down and repost.

You could take a Q-tip and gently put it into the base of the ear until it won't go any further down and mark it and use it to make sure you are getting the post all the way down into the canal but that's what it sounds like is happening to make her shake her head for so long after reposting.

Good luck...

I leave the posts for 3 or 4 days. And about temperature here we got now like 28-32°c and its dry heat.

But I think the problems comes from backer rod. About how deep they go and also I bought a 5/8" rod, maybe I should have bought 3/8"
I always put the posts afraid of damage her ear.

Well dude, your reply really help me a lot. now I have the things clear. In the next posting I will try to trim the bottom of the rod to see what happen. Thank you!!

 

[Roxxy]

My puppy shook his head yesterday when I first posted his ears. I took it down after 3 hours because I wasn't sure I did it right. I reposted again today, it looks so much better. He did shake his head a couple of times and try to scratch his ears.

So, from what I read above, he should stop shaking his head after some time as he gets used to it. What if he shakes his head from time to time (not often, tho). Is that okay? I mean, he's got tampons in his ears, I do expect to see some shaking couple of times a day.

 

[dobebug]

My puppy shook his head yesterday when I first posted his ears. I took it down after 3 hours because I wasn't sure I did it right. I reposted again today, it looks so much better. He did shake his head a couple of times and try to scratch his ears.

So, from what I read above, he should stop shaking his head after some time as he gets used to it. What if he shakes his head from time to time (not often, tho). Is that okay? I mean, he's got tampons in his ears, I do expect to see some shaking couple of times a day.

Shaking the head when ears are first posted (either after the edge is healed so it's the first time they are posted or after posts have been removed, the ear cleaned and reposted) is normal--what isn't normal is for the puppy to keep shaking their head.

Yes, basically after a fairly short time, especially is distracted by food, toys or attention the puppy usually stops paying attention to his ears. It's also OK if the puppy shakes his head occasionally--it's continuous shaking, rubbing or pawing that should send you a signal that something is wrong.

Ear posting is one of those things that the old saying about "practice makes perfect" describes perfectly. You'll get better at posting and your puppy will get used to having you do stuff to his ears and will learn to ignore the posts.