[MMcCown]

Hi, all and Happy New Year!
Beau is 5 months and a couple weeks and has all his adult teeth (canines finished just before Christmas). I don’t plan to stop posting just yet but did want to solicit some expert advice.
Firstly, I searched a ton of ear posting posts and found that:

1. All dogs vary in posting length (with some needing to be posted upwards of 18 months).
2. If the ears stand before teething they will likely be finished.
3. Breathe Right strips can be used when the bells are done but the tips are not done.
4. Ears are likely finished when they can stand for 4(ish) days without falling.
5. When in doubt, keep posting.

Now, here are photos with various angles of Beau’s ears. Please overlook the tape residue. I removed the posts during a conference call and couldn’t do a thorough clean. What say you, expert ear people? I appreciate all input and feedback. If I have jacked up this poor pup’s ears, please go easy on me. 🙂

 

[dobebug]

His ears look pretty good and are probably "finished". The very tip of his right(?) ear in the head on picture looks like it bends over just a little--because of his age and because stopping posting and starting again often creates some issues because the dog doesn't want stuff stuck in his ears any more--I would probably post another couple of times to straighten out that tip but then I'd think you were basically done (or his ears are).

Good job they look great and yes, your list of collected information is generally correct especially the last one--"when in doubt, keep posting".

dobebug

 

[MMcCown]

His ears look pretty good and are probably "finished". The very tip of his right(?) ear in the head on picture looks like it bends over just a little--because of his age and because stopping posting and starting again often creates some issues because the dog doesn't want stuff stuck in his ears any more--I would probably post another couple of times to straighten out that tip but then I'd think you were basically done (or his ears are).

Good job they look great and yes, your list of collected information is generally correct especially the last one--"when in doubt, keep posting".

dobebug

Thank you!!! Yes, that tip is odd. It does bend ever so slightly and has a hard little knot in it, which I can’t figure out and don’t want to fuss at. My plan was to post until his 6-month mark (Jan 24) and then move to BR strips for the tips for a few months. This whole process has ME in knots and is so daunting, as he is my first Doberman, and it involves tender flesh, plenty of chance to injure the ear, and a whole lotta anxiety (Did I do this? Did I forget that?)

 

[Gretchen_Red]

Just an fyi, molars come in after canines, due to their size and proximity to the ears, that tends to be what makes the ears fall. When we say teething we aren't just talking about losing teeth, we're also talking about the teeth coming down. The molars are the last to come in and they take forever to come down. Most dogs are teething until at least 8mo. Hence all of the chewing.

 

[4x4bike ped]

Hi MMC! Beau is sure looking handsome. His ears look nice
So... What GR said ^^^^^. My McCoy's ears are not too dissimilar from Beau's. He teethed into his 8th month.So, I posted through 7 months and then firmed up his tips using mole foam and skin glue for a couple of weeks. It might have been overkill, but honestly McCoy could not have cared less and I've always felt "Better safe than sorry". Plus, I kind of like posting. Seriously. LOL

John Lichtwardt
Portland OR

 

[alan j.]

OHH BOY Is he a nice looking Dobe!
Looking forward to seeing more of this guy.
I agree with dobebug... more pics in a couple weeks

 

[MeadowCat]

Ears are looking good.

I personally never found breathe rights very useful. I simply post with "real" posts until the ears are done.

 

[MMcCown]

Just an fyi, molars come in after canines, due to their size and proximity to the ears, that tends to be what makes the ears fall. When we say teething we aren't just talking about losing teeth, we're also talking about the teeth coming down. The molars are the last to come in and they take forever to come down. Most dogs are teething until at least 8mo. Hence all of the chewing.

@Gretchen_Red Thank you! I didn’t know that about molars. He appears to have all of them but do let me know what you think based on these ridiculous photos I snapped this morning. Beau loves his yak hard cheese stick and thought this exercise was quite silly.

***I am getting a message that these photos are sensitive content - I promise they are just photos of the inside of Beau’s mouth with lots of teeth.

Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18 Show Content

Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18 Show Content

Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18 Show Content

 

[Gretchen_Red]

It looks like they are there but they are def. still coming down.

 

[MMcCown]

It looks like they are there but they are def. still coming down.

Thank you! I appreciate you weighing in on this!

 

[dobebug]

Just an fyi, molars come in after canines, due to their size and proximity to the ears, that tends to be what makes the ears fall. When we say teething we aren't just talking about losing teeth, we're also talking about the teeth coming down. The molars are the last to come in and they take forever to come down. Most dogs are teething until at least 8mo. Hence all of the chewing.

Hey Gretchen, Occasionally I might have a puppy who didn't sprout his molars before his canine incisiors. But it's only happened a couple of times. Generally the order of loss of puppy teeth to the replacement by secondary teeth would be upper and lower incisiors--the itty bitty incisors upper and lower between the canine incisors. Next thing to go would be the upper and lower premolars and then the molars. The very last thing in most of my dogs has been the canine incisors.

I show all my dogs in 6-9 puppy classes and all of them have had all of their adult teeth, without exception by 7 months. And that was the exception of only one puppy.

Talk to a vet dental specialist. All the chewing after the secondary teeth are in is because of a process called "setting the teeth"--the chewing as if they were little beavers is designed to "set the teeth"--it sets the permanent teeth firmly in the jaw bone

I think if you look there is a fairly complete dissertation about the order in which teeth are normally lost in canines and the process of "setting the teeth" if you poke around in google a bit.

Sometimes the real molars are in when some puppies produce yet another set of smaller molars behind them--usually referred to as "popcorn molars"--I've had two puppies from the same line who had those. Most judges aren't expecting them so even the tooth hunters don't always find them. And anyway, my dental specialist says that missing teeth and extra teeth are not produced by the same gene set.

dobebug

 

[Gretchen_Red]

I'm not saying the molars aren't in but they are the last to fully come down and set (as you mentioned) and they are most certainly the ones that pull the most from the jaw and the ears, hence why ears tend to fall around the 6-7mo. of age.

But because I could be wrong I did google, as you mentioned, and upon the first two sites I went too both said exactly what I was saying, the molars are the last to come in. In fact, I couldn't find a site that said otherwise. Perhaps you're getting confused with the baby teeth? Often times the canines will be stubborn and fall out last even though the adult teeth have come down. Or perhaps we're saying the same thing just differently?

Puppy Teeth: Everything You Need to Know | PetMD

 

[greenkouki]

I would probably switch to half posts vs doing full posts at this point. I don't think you're ready for breathe rights and to be honest sometimes they can just weigh the tips down and work against you. To make half posts I wrap 1/2" or 5/8" backer rod with double sided shurtape (rolling a zip tie between the tape and foam rod for stiffness) and leaving about 1/4" of the foam exposed at the bottom. Remove the double sided tape's blue backing then place the end with the exposed foam onto the "nodule" on the ear and squeeze the ear around, then tape with the tape you like to use- I like Zonas. Make a "soft" tape bridge between the two ears and you're done. I do think I have a video somewhere of this method if you need.

 

[MMcCown]

I would probably switch to half posts vs doing full posts at this point. I don't think you're ready for breathe rights and to be honest sometimes they can just weigh the tips down and work against you. To make half posts I wrap 1/2" or 5/8" backer rod with double sided shurtape (rolling a zip tie between the tape and foam rod for stiffness) and leaving about 1/4" of the foam exposed at the bottom. Remove the double sided tape's blue backing then place the end with the exposed foam onto the "nodule" on the ear and squeeze the ear around, then tape with the tape you like to use- I like Zonas. Make a "soft" tape bridge between the two ears and you're done. I do think I have a video somewhere of this method if you need.

I think I’ll need the video.

 

[[email protected]]

Hi, all and Happy New Year!
Beau is 5 months and a couple weeks and has all his adult teeth (canines finished just before Christmas). I don’t plan to stop posting just yet but did want to solicit some expert advice.
Firstly, I searched a ton of ear posting posts and found that:

1. All dogs vary in posting length (with some needing to be posted upwards of 18 months).
2. If the ears stand before teething they will likely be finished.
3. Breathe Right strips can be used when the bells are done but the tips are not done.
4. Ears are likely finished when they can stand for 4(ish) days without falling.
5. When in doubt, keep posting.

Now, here are photos with various angles of Beau’s ears. Please overlook the tape residue. I removed the posts during a conference call and couldn’t do a thorough clean. What say you, expert ear people? I appreciate all input and feedback. If I have jacked up this poor pup’s ears, please go easy on me. 🙂

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I don't think your male has all his teeth yet. He may have lost his baby teeth but his molars probably aren't in yet. That can effect your post. That is a show crop. If your showing him, you still have work to do, but if he's just a companion dog, they look good. Not an AKC fan for Dobermanns, or American show standards for the breed. Not much can be done at this point. He's a cute boy! Good luck!

 

[greenkouki]

Shoot me a pm I'll send you the video