[dapple]

Hi!
Well...I took Rudolph's puppy cup off two days ago and started to post his ears. I took one ear down tonight to fix it, as the bottom was out a bit....and was surprised to see his long crop stand already. I know it probably wouldn't stand for long....but it was sure up there!
It's been 7 years since I posted Strider's ears....so I can't remember how long it took me to get them to stand.

How long did you post before your pup's ears stood?
How much vitamin C did you give? I hear it helps ears to stand.
Any other tips to get them to firm?

Here is Rudy's one ear tonight. Standing like crazy!!! ha

Looking Dozy....I always do his ears near the end of the night when he's a bit tired.

What do you want mom? Another pic?

 

[PatchworkRobot]

Sometime between 6 and 7 months I stopped posting and moved on to breath-rite strips for about a month. I didn't use any VitC for no reason other than I just didn't know about it.

Rudy is a cutie :]

 

[Beaumont67]

Amy had 1 lazier ear...finally at 7 months old, they stood up nice...for good.
- over a decade ago / what I remember on ears...didn't know about strips then

Rudolph is indeed a cute puppy...great photos.

 

[dapple]

Thanks for the info. You'd think I'd remember, but it was 7 years ago that I last posted ears. ha.
And for some reason I don't remember posting for that long....maybe wishful thinking. I posted his ears with Mole Foam and Skin Bond. I'm doing Rudy's traditionally. He's pretty good sitting for me while I tape. Good thing I bought a lot of tape....7 months!!! ha

 

[SpecialK]

Same here...we posted Rowan until somewhere between 6-7 months, but one ear was lazier than the other so that one had to go a few more weeks. Then the breathe rights for prob another month or more just to firm up the tips.

We gave vitamin C too, can't recall the exact dosing, but more so to help prevent knuckling over (he was starting to show subtle signs when we brought him home so Sandi recommended we give it).

It will be most important to keep posting throughout the teething process, because during that time you will see that even if the ears seem to be standing well now they may start to go a little "limp" since the Calcium is working overtime on getting those teeth going. Otherwise, just being consistent and diligent with posting is the best way to get the fastest results. Don't let the ears down long in between, just 10-15 mins to clean and let them dry. If you have setbacks (infection/irritation or sore spots, etc.) and have to leave them down it will be ok, but you may end up posting longer overall.

Some people on here have posted ears until their dogs were over a year old, so just hang in there. I've read that a lot depends on the dog, their ear leather and the crop. Seeing as our dogs are related I would imagine that would be a decent indicator of what you could expect

Hope that covers it...good luck...ears are lookin' good and Rudy is a cutie!

 

[HarvestMoon]

He is absolutely adorable!!! And I really like his crop.

We posted Lucy until around 8 months old, then used breath rites for a few weeks. It really varies depending on the ear leather. I think the key is just consistent posting. We usually changed them approx every 4-5 days, if we could get 7 days out of it, great. But when you take them down, only give them enough time to be cleaned, aired out / dry, and then post them again. Don't give them time to droop.

Looking forward to more pics of that handsome little guy!

 

[Adara]

Mine have all (KNOCK ON WOOD) stood by 5-5.5 months and I taped an extra 2 weeks until six months. Even with long crops. I had one medium crop done at 4 months. I gave I think 2000 mg of Vit C more for the possibility to help prevent pano than ears though. and one got pano anyway.

 

[Beaumont67]

Thanks for the info. You'd think I'd remember, but it was 7 years ago that I last posted ears. ha.
And for some reason I don't remember posting for that long....maybe wishful thinking. I posted his ears with Mole Foam and Skin Bond. I'm doing Rudy's traditionally. He's pretty good sitting for me while I tape. Good thing I bought a lot of tape....7 months!!! ha

My 1977 dobe ears where posted for 4-6 weeks and then stood perfect.
- show crops back then, where not tapered as much / different vet template, for the times
(now the cut line is more curved, and weakens the middle of the ears...past fuller cuts, where much easy to work with...and still loked great)
Has today's ear crop show standard, gotten a little vain...over the decades...for a competitive edge, until others catch up ??

Current Amy, was a head skaker and then the tampon would fly, across the room...lol.

 

[lemon]

we only posted Jaguar's ears for 2.5 months, but he has a shorter crop!

the ears look fantastic though, love the shape!

 

[LindaH]

I had one show pup that I only taped one time and they were done. Parker I taped thru 7 months. The upper third/tips were still leaning and I quit, dont do that, and gave them some time to strengthen. Went back at 1 year and used masking tape to wrap around the part of the ear where the break was. Did that for a month and they were done. I have always given him vit c, except when I ran out and it was a bit before I got more. I really only remember totally running out once and he got pano during that period. Vit C is a good antioxidant and benefical for the heart. Parker was 9 1/2 when I started him on 500 mgs immediately after his morning meal. I added another 500 mgs after the evening meal when he was probably 5 or 6 months of age and he still gets that amount now at 4 yrs 8 months. You might have to start with 250 mgs if 500 causes stomach upset resulting in soft stools.

 

[Jenny]

Vader ears stood at 6 months. Never gave vit c.

 

[eighmie]

Wow Rudy is cute!

We posted Dexter until he was just over 6 months and then used Breathe Right strips for a while after that. We never used vitamin C.

 

[d007domo]

did not use vit c, posted ears for 3 months

 

[dobbie luv]

ok dumb question.. What are the Breathe Right strips used for?

 

[saraheg55478]

When your almost done and all that's left are tips of the ears floppy. I used breathe rights on one of dantes for a while he had about a half inch of the end of his ear that was stubborn.

 

[dobbie luv]

When your almost done and all that's left are tips of the ears floppy. I used breathe rights on one of dantes for a while he had about a half inch of the end of his ear that was stubborn.

oh ok so what are breathe rights? don't believe I have heard of these before. what do you do just stick them on the ear itself?

 

[Axel's Mom]

oh ok so what are breathe rights? don't believe I have heard of these before. what do you do just stick them on the ear itself?

"Breathe Right strips" are used to prevent snoring. You can find them in a pharmacy.

I haven't figured out how to get them to stick longer than 30 seconds.

 

[dobbie luv]

"Breathe Right strips" are used to prevent snoring. You can find them in a pharmacy.

I haven't figured out how to get them to stick longer than 30 seconds.

oh ok got cha. so what do you do just stick em to the ear? who would have thought of that. lol

 

[Phoenix321]

Phoenix has medium crop. He was posted til 6 months then tip taping for a little over a month. He had calcium pills ( 1 for every 20 lbs.) he also got yogurt. I would not recommend yogurt because some dogs get use to it and will not eat their food without it. Phoenix will eat his food with or without it but my brothers dobie will not even look at it without his yogurt.

 

[CashKO]

Breathe rite strips are like a stiff bandaid, you pull off the paper on the back and stick it to the top inside of the ear when just the tips are wobbly or falling. Some have said that they have just used these strips with no other adhesive... They fall off for me within minutes. Others have used duo eyelash glue... again, no luck with my pup. You can stick them on with torbot bonding cement... they will stay for awhile like that. But again you only do this at the end of posting when just the tips are being grumpy I recently started to half post my pups ears... he is nearing 5 mos and the bases are strong enough to support a lightweight half post glued to the inside of the ear. This is working fantastic for me... easy, comfortable for him and stay in for a lot longer than the taped posts. I fabricated my own half posts with zephyrs method with a twist. I inserted a stiff plastic zip tie in the middle of the backer rod. When the posts become bent, i can pull the zip tie out from the top and insert a new stiff zip tie or two. I dont know, it works for me and my pup has a long show crop. I was trying anything to not have to stick any more posts in his ears. He had an infection at the beginning and his inside bell was rubbed raw. H