[HaggardTheDobe]

Hey guys, new to the site. I'm on my second week of rolling the ears on my 16 week red male. My vet rolls them on Saturday, I leave the, up until Tuesday, take them down and then go back on Saturday. Basically, three days up, three days down.
The first week went fine, he doesn't like the cone or bandages, but what dog does right? Minor scabs at the base of the ear that fell off naturally a couple days after taking them down. The second week, I started to unroll the left ear and there is a large open scab about half the size of a penny, there are also much smaller open wounds on the top of his ears on the front and on the back. Four total open bloody wounds. The pup does not care about them at all, thank goodness. He just wanted me to stop holding him down so he could go play.
I called my aunt who has limited animal health knowledge, she suggested I wipe away the blood with peroxide and then apply neosporan and put the cone back on, so I did and the pup is chewing his bone and playing around the house as normal. The wounds are not bleeding anymore.
Questions:
Is this a normal problem? Did the vet roll them wrong causing this? Is my aunts advice correct?

 

[bigfootlives]

If the ears have wounds you do NOT put any sort of bandages on them! They should not be covered in any way shape or form until they are 100% healed!

You vet is an idiot

Please do not cover open wounds. Let them flop until 100% healed, then learn to post them yourself. You're asking for an infection by covering them. I've never heard of open wounds on any ears, that is not normal at all. They should have stitches.

 

[melbrod]

It is unclear to me from your post whether the pup is still in stitches, or if the ears had finished healing and you are now in the process of posting his ears to make them stand upright.

They should not be posted with tape or gauze over the stitches or until they are healed completely (stitches removed) with no scabs on the cut areas.
They can be taped to a cup, or simply allowed to hang down until the stitches are out--SO LONG AS THE STITCHES ARE NOT COVERED OR TAPED OVER.

Also...

1. Don't put hydrogen peroxide on open wounds--it damages the tissues and slows healing. You can use an antibiotic ointment to help the ears heal.

2. Once you start posting again, NEVER leave the ears down for more than 20 or 30 minutes between postings. You don't want to give them the chance to flop--just dry them out and post them again.

3. Learn to post the ears yourself--it's awkward at first, but you'll soon get the hang of it. Then you can repost if there is a problem (his ears get wet or dirty, for example, or the bottom of a post pops out) without having to make a trip to the vet. We have a good tutorial in our puppy forum: http://www.dobermantalk.com/ear-cro...ting-directions-photo-tutorial-my-method.html

4. Most importantly, NEVER tape or put gauze over open sores or wounds on the ears. Let them heal and then resume posting. You can post them if you can run the tape around the ears without taping over ANY sore areas, but they heal better when exposed to the open air.

 

[Gretchen_Red]

The tape can not get wet or even damp. One time it was misting outside and I thought Gretchen would be fine but she had similar looking sores as well. Since you're from Texas is it still very humid there? Not living in humidity I'm not sure if you need to change them out more often because of that. When the tape gets damp or wet it turns into cement!

 

[HaggardTheDobe]

Thanks for the quick response

The pup is not in Stitches anymore and we waited to post them until the ears were fully healed!

I did put a small amount on peroxide on a pad to wipe the blood away before i read these comments, i hope i did not do any damage. I for sure did not put any bandages over the ears, he's at home now with a cone on, most likely sleeping in his cage. The large wound has already started to scab over. i used Bandaid Brand antibiotic ointment once last night, and once this morning when we woke up.

I wanted to take him to the vet, but i am nervous that i will get more WRONG INFO. I am for sure going to start rolling the pups ears my self after this "three up, three down" BS! It was weird to me when she told me that, but it's my fault for not doubling checking her methods.

i am going to post two photos that i took last night while i was freaking out, they have healed over night and started to scab, so these photos are slightly worst than they are now.

i just can't help but feel like a horrible owner, i just pray he is not in any pain from this ...

thank you so much for the feedback guys!!! the vet will not answer the phone, return my calls or emails, so you guys are all i have right now lol

 

[melbrod]

Your pictures didn't come through. I think there is a way to use google to host pictures for forum use, but I'm not sure how to do it.

A lot of folks use photobucket or flickr to host pictures for them.

The one I'm familiar with is photobucket. Register, upload your pictures to them from your computer and then copy over the IMG code (from the list of code formats on the right-hand side of the page) to our forum and your picture should show up. If you're worried about privacy, put the pictures you want the forum to see in their own separate album on photobucket and set only that album for public view.

 

[MeadowCat]

I would suggest you find an experienced local Doberman person to help you out. I know we have a lot of Texas folks here on the forum and there is also a pretty active Texas Doberman club. You'll probably avoid a lot of ear heartache that way.

 

[Rosemary]

Where in Texas are you? There are four AKC Doberman clubs in the state:

The Doberman Pinscher Club of Dallas http://www.dpcd.org/
The Doberman Pinscher Club of Houston http://www.doberman-houston.org/
The Doberman Pinscher Club of San Antonio Doberman Pinscher Club of San Antonio | Willkommen dobie lovers
The Greater Austin Doberman Pinscher Club http://www.greateraustindpc.com/

You can also try contacting DT members Dobiwankenobi and AuraDobe, to see if they can find someone to help you with posting.

 

[Dobiewankanobi]

Yes. Need to know where you're located. Pix would help. 3 days up and 3 days down is bad advice.

I'm in the Houston area but could probably put you in contact with someone depending on your area of Texas.

 

[HaggardTheDobe]

Working on posting the pictures, setting up a photo bucket account now.

i live in Deer Park, TX -- 30 minutes south of Houston

 

[Dobiewankanobi]

Working on posting the pictures, setting up a photo bucket account now.

i live in Deer Park, TX -- 30 minutes south of Houston

Have you talked with your breeder about this? Are they local to you? Don't want to step on any toes...

I have a relative in Deer Park. You're not too far from me.

 

[HaggardTheDobe]

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x29/poopmaster06/20150901_193924.jpeg

THIS IS FROM PHOTO BUCKET, CAN YOU SEE THESE ??

 

[CRDobe]

Tape allergy??

 

[Darkevs]

Poor little man, that looks sore.

Did the ears get wet when they were taped up?

Hope someone with posting experience can help get those ears healed up.

 

[Rosemary]

Tape allergy??

That was my thought, as well. Do you know what brand of tape the vet used? If not, I'd see if they could at least tell you that, and then try a different tape once you are able to start posting again, and see if he does better.

 

[HaggardTheDobe]

I used a local breeder in Houston. He rolled the ears too early and they got infected, so i took him to the vet and they were really upset that he rolled the ears in the state that they were in.

So i put him on antibiotics for a couple weeks and brought him back to the vet, like the told me too. That's where they informed me to do the "3 days up, 3 days down" routine. And on the second set, the scabs appeared.

That is why i am thinking i will try to do them myself and do my research on this website, because i feel like i'm getting mixed and wrong information.

i'm lost ...

 

[HaggardTheDobe]

my aunt also thought it may have been a tape allergy. from my understanding the breeder and the vet used a type of "SPORTS TAPE" because the adhesive is stronger and is made to stick with a lot of movement.

my breeder gave me two rolls, but they were already outside their package so i do not have a brand.

i believe there are tapes made specifically for people/animals with this allergy, does anyone know any websites or stores that sale this tape?

thanks again guys for all the feedback, i'm starting to feel better about the situation lol

 

[greenkouki]

Leave them down and open to the air and take the Elizabethan collar off. That is just rubbing on the ears and will slow the healing process.

 

[Rosemary]

There are, sadly, a lot of not so great breeders in the Houston area.

Most people here use Zonas tape for ear posting. You might want to try a latex-free tape when you start posting again.

 

[Gretchen_Red]

Are there bumps on the ears at all?

I agree to let them breathe and heal and find someone that can help you out. I think the tape you're using might be TOO sticky. It looks like it's pulling off the hair and the skin.