# Do I need to tape his ear?



## dchamness (Oct 18, 2008)

My boy Jaeger's left ear has flopped over since the day we got him at 6 weeks. He has LARGE heavy ears and now at 4 months the left has never stood...should I consider bracing it now? I really don't want him to have a floppy ear!! Pic to follow


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

I haven't done this but I've heard breath right strips work for less sever cases - your pup is less sever and it might stand on it's own but if he were my pup I'd do something to help that ear up.


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## brt (Sep 16, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: SunCzarinaI haven't done this but I've heard breath right strips work for less sever cases - your pup is less sever and it might stand on it's own but if he were my pup I'd do something to help that ear up.


Never heard of the breath strips but I agree if he were mine I'd want to help the ear along now. If it had been up previously I wouldn't worry, but in this case I'd prefer to intervene rather than wait. If you do try the breath strips I'd love to know the outcome. Sounds like a less invasive method and if it doesn't work you'd still have time to try a more traditional method.


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## dchamness (Oct 18, 2008)

Thank You...I actually have some braces at the clinic that we use for ear crop dogs...I think I'll try them.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

yes I'd tape them right away... It couldn't hurt. Check out the leernurg website for their taping method. I tried a few different methods but their way of taping works best.


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## frenchie27 (Jan 12, 2008)

Ears will do funny things while dogs are teething. But, I assure you that if that ear was once up, it will eventually go back up. He is too young for all that taping episodes.

I had to tape Charlie's and then got german inserts that finally did the trick, but Charlie was already 6 months old. That's why I underwent all this drama. The inserts were much more effective than taping. They did the trick. But I wouldn't tape his yet.


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## dchamness (Oct 18, 2008)

His left ear has never stood...if it had, I wouldn't be worried about it.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

On a 4 month old puppy with an ear that is already half way up, I wouldn't worry about taping yet.


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## mayapj (Feb 24, 2011)

*I'd leave it alone*

I went through this ear obsession and recounted the whole thing here:

GSD Puppy Ears: Will they stand?? – The Owner Obsession

Hopefully my experience is helpful....


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## Tuckered (Sep 14, 2010)

We were talking to a vet about shep ears. When they're puppies so much of their calcium goes to the development of their bones that there might not be enough for the ears to develop as quickly as we (the owners) would like. This is also the reason when they are teething that sometimes an ear that used to be up, falls down once again (which happened with ours)

She said it's ok to add a small amount of calcium to the top of the dog food to help with development, but give your vet a phone call to make sure. Sometimes it depends on their dog food, genetics, and developmental period.

Samantha's ears for us didn't stand until she was completely done teething around 6 months


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## joe_linda88 (Aug 21, 2009)

BlackGSD said:


> On a 4 month old puppy with an ear that is already half way up, I wouldn't worry about taping yet.


Can I ask what your thoughts are on a 17 week old pup with both ears completely flopped 24/7? We've only had her for a week and they have not done anything whatsoever. Completely flopped as you can see in the Avatar. We never asked the breeder if her ears have ever stood in the past mainly because we thought that her ears were just flopped that day and they will start doing the "dance". Nope, no dance, nodda.

I am in search of some good sound advice and don't want to miss the window of opportunity for her. I would really appreciate all the advice I can get!! Plus, if taping is suggested, please let me know which method (if there are more than one kind).

I'm a new GSD owner and really need help with this....thank you so much!


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## joe_linda88 (Aug 21, 2009)

BlackGSD said:


> On a 4 month old puppy with an ear that is already half way up, I wouldn't worry about taping yet.





dchamness said:


> My boy Jaeger's left ear has flopped over since the day we got him at 6 weeks. He has LARGE heavy ears and now at 4 months the left has never stood...should I consider bracing it now? I really don't want him to have a floppy ear!! Pic to follow


Has her ear ever gone up??? If so, did you tape it or did it go on it's own? What age did it go up? I'm curious because my 4 month old has both ears completely flopped 100% of the time and wondering....thanks!


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

I just gave this answer on another thread:

I prefer forms over taping. I make my own and they look just like these:

www.caniscallidus.com, (do a search product on ear form)

I use perma type surgical glue (do not use regular glue!) and surgical glue remover.

I've also heard Solid Gold Seameal helps (supplement).


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## joe_linda88 (Aug 21, 2009)

Yes, I got the link GSDAlpha Mom. Thank you very much! When you make your own where are you getting the foam from (Walmart, etc.)? And also, do you tape the ears together with like a bridge between them? Or do you just glue the foams in and that's it?


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

I got mine from an orthopedic doc but I bought a sheet of it so I made a number for people I know. You need something copper that you can bend to form and a paint gun to heat (to form it, the foam comes flat). Unless you have multiple dogs it's probably easier to just to buy the forms online. The guys making a killing though at $24.95! His cost is about 10 cents!

The perma type surgical glue you can get online. Make sure the ears are clean and dry. Put the glue on the back of the form and in the ear (will need 2 people), hold the forms in for a couple of minutes, it will then be dry enough to hold (5 minutes and it is fully dried). I suggest having a marrow bone, bully stick, pigs ear, anything that will distract them from their ears after you have put them in.

THe first time you do it they will brush their ears down the back of the couch, or try to scatch at them, hence the chew item mentioned above), so I keep they distracted for a while. They get use to it but initially it can be trying.

I do tape across the tape at first, this won't be needed after they are a while but in the beginning the ears will go straight out rather than up so they do need the additional support for the first week or two. 

When the forms start to curl at the edges just glue them back down. When you take them out (I would leave as long as possible) they may stand a while (an hour, a day, a week) but if and when they fall put them right back up.

Good luck!


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## derekscriv2008 (Jan 30, 2011)

just to let you know I myself was in your shoes about a month ago all worried that my pups ears wouldnt stand up, now he is five months old and its been standing up and down every other day. so at five months and 2 days his ears are up for good! keep the faith they will stand on their own


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