Taping Method 1
HOW TO TEACH CROPPED EARS TO STAND
~by D.S.
Supplies
Puppy
Dr. Scholl's Mole Foam
Skin Bond surgical glue (from medical supply)
tape...I prefer Sports Tape or any of the white cloth tapes sold in drug stores. The mole foam comes in a rectangular piece like the diagram below:
1. cut the mole foam on the diagonal
2. peel the sticky backing off and bring the two bottom corners together producing a cone shape.
3. paint glue on the inside of the ear leather
4. paint glue on the back of the mole foam and around the bottom front (where the two pieces form the base
5. easily place the mole foam down in the ear to the little knob and pull the ear up straight.
6. don't stretch the ear, just pull it up like it would be standing naturally.
7. wrap the ears in tape over night....not taped together.. just each one wrapped from base to tip.
8. take tape off next morning and don't worry about it until the foam comes out in about 2-3 weeks.
This works much better than the old tampon applicator method. The tampons would rub sores, get real dirty and cause discomfort to the puppies. The mole foam is soft but rigid enough to hold the ear vertical and it allows the ears to be used independently of each other.
You can also use the foam tubing you put around doors and cracks in your home in place of the mole foam. This can be purchased at any hardware store with the insulation materials. It comes in 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch sizes.
The mole foam works great for large breeds until the pupsters around 9 weeks old. The mole foam isn't long enough for long ears once they pass this age. That's where the foam tubing comes in handy for the big guys.
Once the ears are standing we'll have an occasional tip that wants to curl over. You can take a single piece of tape and tape flat over the tip of the ear to help straighten that out also. Or if one ears wants to fall over at the base you can wrap a single ear at the base to help teach that to stand.
Vitamin C also helps a lot getting ears up early on. It's best to get the ears up before puppy starts to teeth if possible. How quick a puppy's ears stand depends on several factors; ear set, how thick or thin the ear leather itself is, the length and most importantly the age when the ears are cropped.
Permission to reprint and cross post with credit to the author is granted.
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Taping Method 2
My ear taping method of choice is the older tampon method. I have always had a good out come using this method. I find that by using the tampon method the ears stay more vertical & upright as compared to using the foam methods. In my opinion the foam methods are fine as long as you use a stronger type foam that won't bend easy as some. I find with the foam methods that the foam will get bent when the puppy is rolling over ,laying upside down, or just laying on the floor. In this case the ears will not be upright & vertical. When using the tampon method you will notice that the tampon is hard enough yet light enough & a good fit for the ear. In times where I have an extremely long crop that I am taping & the tampon seems to be too short or not quite long enough, I make an extension by using part of another tampon & adding it to the end of the tampon that I am using then cut it down with scissors to the right length. You will need to tape around the extension to hold it together & tape around the middle part of the tampon where it connects. When you do this it will not only hold your tampon together but, you will make the tampon even stronger, so it will stay straighter longer. Then you will need to pull the cotton out about one inch at the end of the tampon & tape around the cotton as well. You want to make sure that you always use cloth tape when doing this. Then when you are finished taping the tampon you will need to run your tape backwards around all of the areas of the tampon except where you have taped the cotton at the end of the tampon. This will help the ear stick to the tampon.
After you are finished making your ear posts & ready to tape. The next step is to clean the puppy's ears with ear cleaning solution or rubbing alcohol. This helps the ear to be free of wax & dirt so your tape will stick even better. Let the ears dry completely out before taping. When taping the ears pull the ear up vertically & place the cotton part of the tampon in the inside of the ear. After that you will need to tape around the bottom, middle, & tip of the ear to hold the tampon and the ear together. When doing this wrap it snugly but not too tight. When taping the bottom part of the ear angle the tape down into the base of the ear where it meets the head.
