Taping: Aftercare & Taping
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Click here for Eve Auch’s ear taping (PDF link)
Taping: Caulking Rod
submitted by Marj Brooks
Equipment and supplies needed.
- 1/2 or 5/8 inch-caulking rod, depending on the age of the puppy.
- Long Q-tips and/or Popsicle sticks.
- Zonas tape (Johnson & Johnson) or a good quality adhesive tape.
- Rubbing alcohol and cotton balls.
- Having someone to help is great too, but you can do this by yourself.
Clean the ears with the rubbing alcohol and cotton balls making sure that you wipe inside the shell of the ear too. Be sure that they are completely dry before you start taping.
To prepare the posts:
Measure ear from the bump or button to a little past the top of the ear, see photo.
Cut a piece of caulking rod to fit this measurement.
For some strength and so the post doesn’t bend you can then either use a long Q-tip and thread it through the middle of the caulking rod lengthwise or affix and tape a Popsicle stick on the outside of the caulking rod.
Tape the rod (post) sticky side out.
You are ready to tape the ears:
Place onto the ear just above and sitting on the bump/button and affix it to the ear starting at the button and stretching and holding the ear the ear up and out at a slight angle away from the head and bring ear to the top of the post. See photo.
In doing this, it is important that the ear is slightly stretched to prevent pockets at the base of the ear. The brace step will also help to insure that this does not happen too.
Cut three pieces of tape, one to go around the bottom (approximately 8 inches) and a short one for the top (2 inches) and another 11/2-2 inch piece to tape the exposed edge to the post.
Starting at the bottom place the tape across the front and at the bottom of the post and the ear and pull the ear up and wrap snugly and level around the bottom with the long piece of tape. Be careful not to tape so tight that the wrapping does not cut off the circulation of the ear.
With a 2-inch piece, lightly wrap around the post and the tip of the ear at the top.
With the last piece of tape affix tape the exposed cut edge of the ear lengthwise to the post. Go to the other ear and do it the same. (click on any photo to view a larger version)
How to make the brace.
Measure brace to fit the ear and cut-caulking rod.
Cut a piece of tape about 10-12 inches long. Tape sticky side out.
Stretch ears straight up.
Stretch ears straight up.
Put brace between the two pieces of tape between the ears.
Push tape onto brace.
Starting at the front of the ear and at the bottom, stretch ear upwards and take the tape across the front of the head to the other ear and stretch it up and affix tape to the bottom of this ear and around the back and over to the place of the ear that you started with and affix, leaving the space between the ears and the tape over the head, see photo. Place the brace post on the top of the head, stretching both ears up and squeeze the tape onto the post.
Now you are ready for the next step and you are just about finished.
You are ready for the next step.
Cut two approximately 2-inch pieces of tape.
Affix pieces of tape to the brace snug up against each ear, see photos.
Do the same on the other side
Keep the tapes on as long as you can, approximately 1 week to 10 days.
It is important that the ears do not tilt towards each other, in fact it is better that they tilt towards the outside at the top. Keep the tapes straight and in good repair.
Remember: Every day that the ears are left to flop you will have 1 to 2 weeks of extra length of time of taping ahead of you. So when you take th
em down between taping, you can let them air until they are not standing straight up. The moment that they are not standing perfectly and correctly, re-tape then again. At first you may be re-tape within a few minutes.
Feel free to call and ask questions if you need to.
Your goal:
Taping: Advanced For Older Dogs
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written & submitted by Carol Petruzzo, Carosel, USA |
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Part 2 of a 2 part series covering Carol’s special techniques for older dogs with longer ears. This is a great technique for older puppies who have outgrown their tampons. It is also more durable, and as such is great if you have multiple dogs in the house, or an energetic pup who routinely breaks tampons or scratches them incessantly. |
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This is a technique that should be used after you have been posting with tampons (see previous article) for a period of time. It is important to use tampons first as they will give shape to the ear that will lend stability and aesthetic appeal. |
Before starting you should make sure you have any and all required supplies:
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| Preparation |
| Clean your puppy’s ears thoroughly with a canine ear cleaner or peroxide. |
| While the ears are drying you can prepare your posts, and your tape. The first step is to measure from the nub of cartilage in your pups ear to the top of the ear (see images). |
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| Mark the length, and then cut two equal lengths of tape measure half an inch longer then when you measured the ears. Round off all of the sharp an potentially dangerous edges to prevent potential injury. |
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| The next step is to prepare the cork (hopefully you have finished your bottle of wine by now). Cut the cork in half twice, once lengthwise, and once splitting it down the center (see images). Again be sure not to leave any sharp edges! |
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| Next take a long piece of tape, and tape it to the inner side of your two posts. Then take that piece of tape (and posts )and tape it to the back of another piece of tape (the sticky side needs to be out on the second tape). Then cut it in half between the two posts. (Thank goodness for pictures…) |
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| Next wrap the pieces of cork in tape using “back taping” in the same manner as in the method. Again the sticky side needs to be out. |
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| Now you are ready for your puppy have your assistant hold him (or her) firmly enough to keep him from squirming to much. |
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| POSTING |
| The first step is to spread Skin Bond liberally on the inside of the ear., then stretch the ear onto the sticky side of your post, and massage it firmly onto the ear. Lastly fold the excess tape over the top of the ear (being extremely careful not to bend the tip). |
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| Now you need to add the cork to the base of the post for shape. Apply some skin bond the ear, and the bottom of the post, and insert the cork so the curve is facing the ear. then wrap a piece of tape around the ear (not too tight) to both hold the cork in place, and provide some shape to the ear. |
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| One ear down one to go, repeat the process on the other ear, and move on to Bracing. |
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| Bracing |
| As a last step you will need to brace the ears. Start by wrapping a long piece of tape around one of the ears a the base of the skull, and taping the tape to itself across the top of the head (see photo). Then wrap it around the other ear in a similar fashion. The ears should be held just shy of vertical by the brace. It is important that they not be pointing in towards each other. |
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| That’s it your done! Your puppy will probably prefer this to the tampon method, as nothing is actually in the ear. It is also lighter and affords the pup more control of their ears then the tampons do. |
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Taping: Advanced For Puppies
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written & submitted by Carol Petruzzo, Carosel, USA |
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Your Doberman Puppy is going to require regular ear tapings for quite some time. He probably won’t particularly like it, but it is a fact of life that he will get used to. You can make it easier on him by being conscientious and by using a good technique as taught here. It is extremely important to clean your puppy’s ears and let them dry before taping! Also please note that this is a reference guide, it is highly advisable that a novice Doberman owner watch and assist someone who is experienced in taping ears several times before going it alone. Their are several photos used on this page. They have been sized to fit easily on your monitor, if you would like to see a larger version for greater detail, click on any of the photos. |
Before starting you should make sure you have any and all required supplies:
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| Preparation |
| Clean your puppy’s ears thoroughly with a canine ear cleaner or peroxide. |
| While the ears are drying you can prepare your tampons, and your tape. Unwrap the tampons, and lay the string flat against the tampon. Then run a piece of tape around the middle of the tampon to hold the string down, and hold the tampon together in the center. |
| The next step is tricky to explain, use the photos as a reference. You have to back tape the tampon, in other words, you need to wrap the tampon in tape with the sticky side out. Start at the top of the tampon, and go around it one time with tape, then flip the tape back over itself, and begin spiralling down the tampon in a pattern like a barber’s pole. |
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| Next cut several pieces of tape about six inches long and place them somewhere within arms reach. |
| Now you are ready for your puppy have your assistant hold him firmly enough to keep him from squirming to much. |
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| POSTING |
| Take one of the tampons, and insert it into the ear well as deep as it will comfortably go. Then stretch the ear and massage it onto the post |
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| Before going any further take note of the natural fold in the ear being pointed to in the next photo. Find this fold on YOUR puppy. This fold is very important, and lends strength to the ear. It is very important that you do not unfold this when taping the ear. Your puppy’s ears need the strength provided by this to stand properly. |
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Begin taping your puppy’s ear to the post. Start as low as you can (this is important as it will keep the tampons from popping out of the ear), wrap in towards the head, and around the back as shown in the photos. Be careful not to tape to tightly, it is important that the tape makes good contact and sticks well, but it does not need to be very tight. |
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| Next you will need to wrap around the top of the ear, being careful not to bend the tip, and again don’t wrap to tightly as you could cut off circulation and lose a tip. As a last step wrap your hand around the ears and gently squeeze them to make sure the tape is holding well (see photo). |
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| OK, your done… well your done with one ear anyway, repeat the whole process on the other ear, and then move on to bracing the ears. |
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| Bracing |
| As a last step you will need to brace the ears. Start by wrapping a long piece of tape around one of th e ears a the base of the skull, and taping the tape to itself across the top of the head (see photo). Then wrap it around the other ear in a similar fashion. The ears should be held just shy of vertical by the brace. It is important that they not be pointing in towards each other. |
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| That’s it your done! Your puppy will probably make a sad face and you will feel compelled to play with him (or in this case her). Which is fine, because isn’t that one of the reasons you have a puppy anyway? |
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Protecting The Cups
If you use the cup method here is a little secret aide for you. Buy large men’s tube socks, cut them up the middle leaving approximately 5 inches at the toe. Put the toe part over the cup using the dangling pieces to tie around the puppies’ necks. It looks like a little bonnet and acts as a buffer against dirt and flies getting at the cut edge of the ear. This allows the puppies to play with each other without any damage to their ears.
courtesy of Carolyn Irvine, Royolyn, Canada
Cleaning The Ears
- blunt nosed hemostats hydrogen peroxide
- 2 x 2 sponge squares
- mini flashlight
Cut the 2 x 2 sponges into quarters (they grab the wax better than cotton balls and don´t leave cotton fuzz to clean out). Take one of the squares (cut into ¼), wad it up and clamp it into the hemostats. Dip this in peroxide and squeeze out. Hold the mini flashlight in your mouth so that you can see inside the ear thus allowing you to locate the wax and dirt in the ear and it´s folds, and simply pull it out. DO NOT slant the hemostat towards the nose or you will enter the ear canal.
submitted courtesy of Sam Moceri, Absolut, USA
Tipping Problems
I use the Breathe Right Nasal strips (large size). These can be found at most drugstores and places like Walmart. Trim the hair on the inside of the ear using a #30 or #40 blade in your clippers. 2.Take a large nasal strip, remove the backing and coat the adhesive side with Skin Bond. Allow it to sit for a couple of minutes in order for the glue to firm up a little. Stick the nasal strip vertically, starting at the very tip of the ear and in the middle, allowing it to go as far down the inside of the ear flap as the strip will permit. (there is no bending it over or folding it around the ear; just one strip on the inside of the ear from the tip down). Depending on the length of the dog´s ears you may need to go one size larger or smaller in addition to your first strip. Change the strips every 2 – 3 days, when they fall off or are loosened or scratched off, whatever comes first.
Taping: Folding The Ears
This method of taping ears is so very simple and yet it is somewhat of a daunting one. It certainly is NOT for the faint of heart. However, Jude swears by it and has certainly made her partner Sue Brown a believer….
After cropping lay the ears flat over the top of the head. Put a little Skin Bond surgical glue on top of the bottom ear (staying well away from the cut edge of course), lay the other ear over it and hold it for a few minutes until the glue has set. When the ears start to heal they may come apart and if they do simply leave them hang or glue them back again. They do become very crusty and curled but Judy never removes the crusties or puts anything on the ears. When the stitches are removed the ears are left as they are until well healed. Once the bases are well healed she uses rolled napkins or tampax, reverse taped of course.
Put the plug of your preference deep into the ear. Pull the crimped ear as straight as you can from the tip. Make sure the plug is way down into the ear so that it can’t pop out. Apply the one-inch tape from the base to the tip of the ear. Using a long strip of tape, apply the brace at head level from one ear around the back and front to the other ear and squeeze it together in the middle Leave up for three to four days, no more than that. Take down and *Most* ears will be standing PERFECTLY STRAIGHT.
If the ears drop in a couple of days or at teething, DO NOT re-post using plugs or anything else. Simply put a strip of one inch tape at the base of each ear (not all the way up) once around and leave on for three days. If both ears should fall (which is highly unusual) do the same for both but make certain that you apply a brace.
The only time that Judy or Sue will re-plug is if an ear leans over the head or has a deep dimple in it. The only way that a dimple might occur is if a plug comes out of the ear during the first taping.
According to Judy and Sue all that is ever required are a couple of tapings. Also, the ears apparently DO NOT crinkle or cauliflower.
As always, use whatever method suits you best. Like the various dog foods, if it works for you, use it…
submitted courtesy of Judy Doniere, Toledobes, USA
Taping: Telfa Pads
Purchase the large (probably 3 x 4 or 3 x 5) Telfa *Non-Stick* pads. After the vet crops the ears, put a bead of triple antibiotic along the cut edge. Take the Telfa pad, turn it so that it looks like a kite and place it on the ears taping it loosely with masking tape. Twenty-four to forty eight hours later remove the Telfa pad and the edges of the ears are perfect.
When the puppies recover from the anesthesia they tend to scratch at their ears and shake their heads. This method protects the ears.
Easy Tape Removal
Fill a small, soft plastic syringe with mineral oil and inject the oil gently between the tape and the hair. If the tape is so tight that you cannot do this, simply saturate the exterior surface of the tape, leave for 5 to 10 minutes, and then remove the tape. The tape practically falls off on its own thereby causing no unsightly bare spots on the ear or possible infections. A little rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab removes any traces of oil thus enabling the new tape to adhere to the ears.
courtesy of Michael Waite, Canada
Taping: Backer Rod
Ear Posting Recommendations,
Dog ear posting is a bit of an art form, that everyone does a little differently but there are a few absolute do nots and a few absolute yes do!
For all the longer ear crops, Dobermans, Boxers, Great Danes and Giant Schnauzer, I recommend they all start out with the backer rod method.
There are good YouTube videos on this method but if they show wrapping the ear to the post with stretchy bandage wrap such as Coban or Vetwrap. I would absolutely NOT do that! Some very experienced people use it with great success, but I have seen too many ear posting vet wrap tragedies to ever recommend, and I don’t use it myself!
If you get the vetwrap or any stretchy tape even just a bit too tight and it will act like a tourniquet, the ear will lose circulation. When posts are changed a few days later you will find a dead and dying ear, all or a portion of it, wherever the pressure was too much to allow blood flow the tissue will be dead and slough out/off…remember the arteries in the ear are small and it doesn’t’ take much pressure to block blood flow.
Here is a quick overview of the backer rod method.
Backer rod is a foam tubing that can be purchased at any Hardware store or online. Most Doberman puppies start out needing to use the medium or ½” sized rod.
I cut my pieces so that they will be longer than the ears themselves to protect the eartips.
I then roll my backer rod in long direction with duct tape, this stiffens the rod just a little and it will then lie straight.
I roll each duct taped rod with 1” white cloth tape in a spiral fashion so that it is smooth and this adds additional strength but the rod is still flexible. I can make several pairs up to this point and keep them in my posting supply bag ready for posting at a moments notice!
When I am ready to post I get out all my tape and supplies (including treats for the puppy) and then “back-wrap” my premade posts with a second layer of 1” white cloth tape with the sticky side outward.
I like to use an adhesive enhancer such as “skintac” wipes and wipe the length of each ear, this makes the stickiness of the tape just a little stickier and the posts really stay in.
I then insert the posts into the ear and gently pull the ear firmly up onto the posts.
I first apply one short length of white 1”tape and go around the tip of the ear and post, this tape is not tight. I then use strips of “Guard-Tex” finger tap and wrap the around the ear and the post together going in a direction that keeps that natural fold of the ear at the base folded inward, Guard-Tex tape is not sticky nor stetchy and is not wrapped at all tightly around the ear. Once I get to the bell I finish the post with another strip of the white 1” cloth tape. I then gently squeeze the post and ear together. The beauty of Guard-Tex tape is it sticks only to itself but has no adhesive, its light and breezy, you can even see the ear through it. It will not pull the hair off the back of the ear as it has no adhesive. I use this method whether I am doing half or full posts. See below for explanation of full vs half posts.
One of the best things with the backer rod method is that you can do full posts, or half posts. Full posts are where the post goes down into the bell and really promotes being able to pull the ear up onto the post firmly taking out all the slack. then the two posted ears are bridged with a strip of soft tape that can be varied in length to position the ears in a 10 & 2 oclock or 11 & 1 oclock positions. This soft bridge does allow the pup to pull his ears up and use the forehead muscles somewhat. Being able to pull the ear up onto this full post helps get the ear into the straight off the forehead position.
The other backer rod method I like is 1/2 posts. In this posting the rod sits on that lump of cartilage in the middle of the ear on the hairless or ventral side….. this lump has a name, its the anti-helix…(but don’t worry there is no test at the end of this message!). Then the post is wrapped to ear the same as full posts, this method requires that the bridge be a third piece of backer rod (or what we call a solid bridge) or the weight of the posts will cause the ears to fall over as they don’t have the support of the post going down into the bell. Half posts’ advantage are that they allow the bell to breath and the solid bridge can be varied in length to position the ears straight up, or just a little outwards if the ears are trying to fold over inwards….
Alternating between full and half posts is a good way to get the benefits of each and allow the bell to breath while in half posts, then back into full posts to help pull ear up straight. I realize without visuals this may be hard to picture.
Posts should be changed every 3-5 days, checked each day for smell or any oozing (and of course removed immediately if any off smell or discharge found or if ears/posts get wet). Ears stand from the base/bell upwards and once the bell is ‘set’, basically holding ear upwards (though tips may still be weak and floppy) then other often recommended methods can be used such as the “ziptie” method or breathrite nasal strip method (where the strip is trimmed to fit, extra adhesive added and it is tapped to tip of the ear downwards to provide light support to last 1″ or so of ear as it matures….
Ear cartilage will not fully mature until the dog is completely done with adult teething. What I consider “adult teething” is the eruption of the last 8 adult teeth. The four canine or fang teeth and the large premolar/molar pair on each side of the jaw, called the carnassial pair. These teeth start to erupt into the gumline at ~ 6 months and start to be finish up about 8 months or so, though roots of these large teeth are still developing for several more months… so ear posting even for a modest length crop will need to assumed to continue until at least 8 months. If you finish early, Lucky you!!! For the longer ‘showier’ ear crops assume you will be providing some support to the ears until 12 months. During this “adult teething” at 6-8 months or so some dogs have regression in cartilage maturation and ears appear to get floppier! Do Not Dispair!!! Puppy posters just need to post past it and not worry, Mother Nature will remember that ear cartilage as soon as she is done with the teeth…….
Posting is not a light switch all on or off but is backed off as dog matures, take ears down and leave them as long as they are standing and then post again as soon as any sagging is observed. Older puppies they can often go 2-3 or more days with ears down before being reposted, as long as they are not down and are posted ASAP when any sagging starts. Letting the puppy run around with flopping ears in the 6 month + ages is very counterproductive to getting ears to stand, whereas the first week or two after the crop it is more important to let ears be completely healed before posting rather than post ears that are still scabby or have any irritation on them.. at this stage I just recommend folks massage/stretch the ears several times a day by gently pulling upwards with the ear between thumb and forefinger…
There are of course many very experienced posters out there and the statements above are just my experiences. Learn what works best for you and help others become confident ear posters!
I have mentioned several products that I purchase on Amazon (sorry folks!) that I can’t find anywhere else.
- There are now several light 1” white cloth porous tape brands out there that rival the class J&J Zonas Porous, those include Pivetal, and Covetrus brands, even the Kendall Covidien brand isn’t too bad..
- SkinTac, the adhesive enhancer is a lot less messy and easier to remove than rubbery Torbot glue. It can be dissolved with rubbing alcohol. But there are times I still use turbot.
- Guard-Tex tape is amazing, though if you lose the end of the roll it can be frustrating to find it again, leave a folded angle courtesy tab for yourself to prevent excessive cursing and swearing…..
Sincerely
Kay A Backues, DVM DACZM
DPCA PEC member
Taping: Dry Cleaner Cardboard
Some use the round hard cardboard that comes from the cleaners (for pants). Just insert a large cotton-ball in the bottom (so no sores form), back-tape it, brace it around both ears close to the skull, and one round of tape at the top.
submitted by Judy Bohnert, Equinox, Canada