# Tape too tight????



## God prefers Diesels

I taped them like on Leerburg. You can see by the pics, that those dogs' ears look taped pretty tight. But after looking at more and more pics, and watching some videos on youtube, I'm wondering how tight is too tight?

Leerburg | Taping German Shepherds Ears

I used pipe insulation and two inch tape. But I got the foamy kind that sticks to itself... After They were taped up, I used a splint with electrical tape to hold them upright.

Have a look for me, and let me know what you think. I'll check back often (every five or ten mins), and adjust the tape if necessary. Thanks!


He has holes that he can hear out of. And I made sure not to stick the insulation down in his ears.



















View from the back of his head.


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## Elaine

How old is your puppy?


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## God prefers Diesels

Seven months, with ZERO indication of them ever coming up. Never even a glimpse of a chance.


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## Elaine

Even with taping, the chance of your pup's ears going up is slim to nill at this point. You can try it, but don't hold your breath.


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## God prefers Diesels

That's fine. But in the mean time, I don't want to cut off the circulation so bad that he's messed up for life.

So, let's just say they are too tight...how would I know? Would he whine, or would they go numb and he'd just forget about them? Or what?

Thanks for the replies so far!


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## KZoppa

They do look a little too snug.


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## Elaine

He should still have good color and warmth in the ear tips. It might be painful briefly if it's too tight, but would go numb fairly quickly.


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## God prefers Diesels

I'll leave them in for another hour and check them.

BTW, he was born in December. So I guess he's only six months old. (Glad I have a wife!)


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## God prefers Diesels

Okay, I couldn't wait an hour. The tips were cold. So I took it all off and the insides of his ears were red! Grrrr....

I going to give him a little while to even out and redo them looser like the youtube video.


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## rooandtree

my pup wouldnt let me tape...he would take it out..im back to using the glue and so far so good  fingers crossed...last time i glued one ear has stayed up..just glued the other one tody after a 2 week break...good luck to you..i feel your pain....even though we will love them no matter what happens with their ears..i still want him to look like your typical shepherd...thats why i wanted a pure bred shepherd....fingers crossed for you and your pups ears


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## God prefers Diesels

rooandtree said:


> my pup wouldnt let me tape...he would take it out..im back to using the glue and so far so good  fingers crossed...last time i glued one ear has stayed up..just glued the other one tody after a 2 week break...good luck to you..i feel your pain....even though we will love them no matter what happens with their ears..i still want him to look like your typical shepherd...thats why i wanted a pure bred shepherd....fingers crossed for you and your pups ears


Same here. Thanks for the reply. How did you prep his ears to be glued?


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## rooandtree

it was real easy..had the breeder tell me about it and watched a few you tube videos..my breeder reccomended tear mender which is fabric glue..and i put small amount on outside line of ear and pressed ears together like a teepee and held them together for a minute until it dried...first time they stayed glued for a month and to my surpirse when they came unglued themselves his one ear was up...and stayed up..the other ear was still floppy...so i gave it a 2 weeks and i just reglued yesterday...he is 5 1/2 months....his ears never stood up on their own at all..never did the flip flop so i knew they needed the extra help...if you go to the forum section and ears up section youll see alot of threas of glueing and differnt ways...i tried everything..taping..like your pics...breathe right strips...moleskin...pipe insulation glued inside ears...but so far the only thing that didnt bother him was just gluing the ears to each other


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## rooandtree

Helping German Shepherds soft ears stand


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## AllyMW

I know this is an odd question, But Is it necessary that you have to tape their ears? Mine GSD/mix has had both of her ears up, but right now shes teething so one is up & one is down. Don't all German Shepherd ears go up?

-I Am only asking so many questions due to being a first time GSD Owner


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## rooandtree

AllyMW there is a small % of purebred shepherds whos ears wont go up. Or have one up and one floppy. Called soft ear.Call it a genetic defect. My german shepherd mix who is 9 now had her ears up by 4 months. Most breeders say if the ears have never gone up by 5 to 6 months then they need help going up with tape or glue or they will not go up.As in my case.My pups ears have never stood on their own.Ive had him since he was 10 weeks.Even though hes purebred and AKC his ears are as flat as a lab.No signs of standing at all.that is why i glued and it did teach one ear to stand up..and thats why im trying again.


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## GSDkid

God prefers Diesels said:


> (Glad I have a wife!)


LOL! Don't you just love those moments?

I don't really understand the concept of tape or glue for the ears to make them erect. If you tape them, the only thing forcing them up is the tape and not the muscle. Same thing for the glue. So that would make it even more less likely for the ears to go up since there's no activity with the muscle itself.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the ear muscles are linked to their jaws just like us. And by giving them many things to chew on, I'm sure the muscles in their ears would become stronger overtime. At least, that's what I did with my girl. Her ears flopped until she was 6 months. I gave her lots of chew toys and played lots of tug-o-war. Ears went up at 8 months.


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## God prefers Diesels

Not just muscles. Cartiledge too. If they flop around alot, or people always mess with them it doesn't give them a chance to "harden". So you hold them in place for awhile with whatever method you choose, and when the dust settles, they are stiff enough to stay up on their own.


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## GSDkid

True but it's more muscle than cartilage that would be holding the ears up. Just think about how many times the ears would rotate, come down during swimming or when you greet them, when they would flick their ears if flies are bothering them. I would think getting the ears erect would have to do more with strengthening the muscles rather than stiffening the cartilage. I don't know... That's just me.


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## God prefers Diesels

GSDkid said:


> True but it's more muscle than cartilage that would be holding the ears up. Just think about how many times the ears would rotate, come down during swimming or when you greet them, when they would flick their ears if flies are bothering them. I would think getting the ears erect would have to do more with strengthening the muscles rather than stiffening the cartilage. I don't know... That's just me.


I don't know for sure either.


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## rooandtree

i was told by both my vet and my breeder there is a genetic defect that even the top of the line shepherds can be born with where they will have floppy ears if you dont help them out.And you can tell if that is your dog because the ears never ever stand on their own at all not even for a second by 5 months.They usually stand and flip flop when young or teething..but if they have never stood they need help.that is why you can find purebred shepherds with floppy ears.Ive met people with them and ive seen many pics.im positive my pups ears would not of stood had i not glued them..this picture was taken after i glued. you can see his one ear is still floppy..no base or signs of standing so i reglued..before i had glued them both ears were as flat and floppy as a lab ears. im glad i glued and i have at least one ear up but im hoping this time the other will stand as well...and the thing to note is..my pups ears never ever stood up on their own or should any signs they ever would...gluing them helped build his muscle and cartlidge and helped him learn to keep them up...and i give him bones and calcium daily...also a vet told me sometimes when a shepherd is being dominated or is very very submissive he will purposily keep his ears from standing as a sign of his submission although thats def not my pups case...


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## Lucy Dog

Use medical tape instead of electrical tape. Use common sense when taping. Tight enough to hold, but not too tight where it cuts off circulation. Think how tight you'd put a bandaid on a finger. That should be a good reference to tightness. 

Besides the tape and the tightness, I think you've got the idea. Make a couple adjustments and you should be good.


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## rooandtree

and this is him with his ears glued..they will stayed glue for a few weeks then come apart naturally and then hopefully both will stand up all by themselves


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## God prefers Diesels

Lucy Dog said:


> *Use medical tape instead of electrical tape*. Use common sense when taping. Tight enough to hold, but not too tight where it cuts off circulation. Think how tight you'd put a bandaid on a finger. That should be a good reference to tightness.
> 
> Besides the tape and the tightness, I think you've got the idea. Make a couple adjustments and you should be good.


I used medical tape. I only used electrical tape over the medical tape to hold the splint in place.



rooandtree said:


> and this is him with his ears glued..they will stayed glue for a few weeks then come apart naturally and then hopefully both will stand up all by themselves


I went to Wal-Mart and looked at their glue in the fabric section. I couldn't find anything that set that fast other than super glue. I'm going to tape them for a week with the new tape I bought today. It's the normal surgical tape instead of the foamy kind I started with. Then Maybe I'll try out your glue method.

Dog looks good, btw. And I like his ears separate on their own instead of having to separate them with glue remover or something.


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## rooandtree

i had to find tear mender fabric glue at Joann Craft store..if you decide that route i would check out fabric stores and craft stores..although my Michaels craft store did not carry it..when the ears seperate on their own there may still be glue residue which ive was able to take off with baby oil and soap water and comb..good luck!! keep us posted!! Ill let you know if both if Zeus ears stand this time


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## God prefers Diesels

Here's pics of tape job number two!

They're much looser than before, and he let me tape them by myself instead of my wife having to wrangle him like last time. Guess he was worn out from the dog park.

Before splint:

























































After splint. I put it close to his head so when he shakes, the splint and tape will build up less momentum since it's traveling at a slower speed on top of his skull than at the tips of his ears. Hopefully it will help keep the tape on. Although, this time around he doesn't seem to mind as much.





























Cheyenne made it into this pic.





















And now my wife distracting him so I can get a shot of the back:


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## rooandtree

can you post a before pic so we can see how floppy his ears were?


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## God prefers Diesels

For your viewing pleasure:


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## rooandtree

thank you!! he is very handsome!!! and that made me feel better because our pups have the exact same floppy ears...fingers crossed for both us!! not that we will love them less..but its just nice to have a german shepherd that has german shepherd ears


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## God prefers Diesels

You're welcome. Thanks! Yeah, I know what you mean.


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## rooandtree

how are his ears doing? Zeus's ears came unglued today and theres a huge improvement!! im so happy 
first pic is before glue...second is after


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## God prefers Diesels

Bad. I'm going to have to glue them. We took the tape off, and one ear was perfect like I had never taped it. Even seeming to be responsive the the tape. But the other is swollen and red on the inside, and pusy(sp?) on the base of the outside. Since it is swollen and fat, it actually hangs down LOWER than it did in the first place.

Once it calms down, I'm going to try your method. If that doesn't work, I'm going to let it be. If he has floppy ears, he has floppy ears. After the next try, I'm done torturing the poor little pooch.


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## msvette2u

The ear is infected. Please take the puppy to the vet. 
It may need antibiotics now, to get over the infection. It could damage the ear for life if the infection does not get under control.


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## God prefers Diesels

msvette2u said:


> The ear is infected. *Please take the puppy to the vet. *
> It may need antibiotics now, to get over the infection. It could damage the ear for life if the infection does not get under control.


Thanks for your concern. But you don't have to plead with me to take care of my dog. If I didn't want to take good care of him, I wouldn't be on this site in the first place...


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## rooandtree

well it was good while it lasted..but after a week or so of being up..they are floppy again  i dont know if i should reglue or not ...how is your boy doing?


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## God prefers Diesels

Ha Ha! I think he's good. At this stage, won't they take care of themselves?

Course, gluing them to be safe probably won't hurt anything.

Mine is doing fine. Giving the back of his ear a little more time, and then going to glue them.


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## koda00

rooandtree said:


> well it was good while it lasted..but after a week or so of being up..they are floppy again  i dont know if i should reglue or not ...how is your boy doing?


yes, do it again,again,again! if they stayed up for a week your on the right path for success!!


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## rooandtree

koda00 said:


> yes, do it again,again,again! if they stayed up for a week your on the right path for success!!


 thank you!!! ive gotten some negative feedback here and there...i honestly think its because his ears are so big..he is a big puppy...and i want to help him out if i can...the one ear stays up no problem...so i have hope this time it will work


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## msvette2u

God prefers Diesels said:


> *Thanks for your concern.* But you don't have to plead with me to take care of my dog. If I didn't want to take good care of him, I wouldn't be on this site in the first place...





> But the other is swollen and red on the inside, and pusy(sp?) on the base of the outside. Since it is swollen and fat, it actually hangs down LOWER than it did in the first place.


In your description it didn't seem like you were concerned about the pus and swelling, and the fact it was hanging lower than the other which indicates irritation at the least and often infection - and infection could also cause permanent damage to the ear flap if not treated. 

I apologize if you were and it didn't come across in the post.


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## God prefers Diesels

msvette2u said:


> In your description it didn't seem like you were concerned about the pus and swelling, and the fact it was hanging lower than the other which indicates irritation at the least and often infection - and infection could also cause permanent damage to the ear flap if not treated.
> 
> I apologize if you were and it didn't come across in the post.


It's okay. When I made the post, I was irritated as a miss-taped ear!

BTW, he's doing good now. Lost a little hair off the back of his ear though. Not sure why...it just FELL OUT!


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## rooandtree

when you glue and the ears come unglued after time..some of the hair falls out..but it grows right back very quickly!


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## God prefers Diesels

rooandtree said:


> when you glue and the ears come unglued after time..some of the hair falls out..but it grows right back very quickly!


That's cool, I expect it. But right now, on the bad ear, where the sore was the hair just started falling out day before yesterday.

And to clear the air about the pus....it was just a small sore on the outside of his ear, and the pus was able to travel through the hair under the tape and make it look like a nasty mess. After I cleaned his ear, I couldn't tell where it was even coming from.

The entire inside of his ear was swollen and red, but returned to normal after two days.


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