# opinions please



## Yoschi's_Pet_Human (Nov 13, 2012)

At my breeders suggestion, I went ahead and taped my five month old's ears.. I was going to order the ear forms and glue, but decided to try foam rollers and tape first.... how bad does this look.... did I do a good enough job to, at the very least, not deform his ears?


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## VanBuren shepherds (Dec 3, 2012)

Is that boxing tape placed directly onto the right ear? 


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

With his ear scrunched like that he's liable to get an infection. And if that's regular tape it's going to take all the fur off when you remove it, and that's going to hurt 
It's probably going to be irritated too.


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## Yoschi's_Pet_Human (Nov 13, 2012)

VanBuren shepherds said:


> Is that boxing tape placed directly onto the right ear?
> 
> 
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Its a lightweight masking tape that'll come right off with baby oil.. the paper tape wouldn't hold at all


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

But the ear cannot breathe underneath and the adhesive is going to be really bad on the ear itself.
Have your breeder show you how...I can't imagine they did theirs like this?


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## Yoschi's_Pet_Human (Nov 13, 2012)

msvette2u said:


> With his ear scrunched like that he's liable to get an infection. And if that's regular tape it's going to take all the fur off when you remove it, and that's going to hurt
> It's probably going to be irritated too.


I used two rollers in each ear to keep from scrunching it even more... should I use three?
I'm going to get some glue on Monday when the medical supply place opens up.... the tape isn't very strong at all.. it barely holds on.


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## Yoschi's_Pet_Human (Nov 13, 2012)

msvette2u said:


> But the ear cannot breathe underneath and the adhesive is going to be really bad on the ear itself.
> Have your breeder show you how...I can't imagine they did theirs like this?


My breeder is too far away... she wanted me to buy the forms and glue... I may still do that, but wanted to try this first...fwiw I cleaned the ears real well prior to taping...


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## VanBuren shepherds (Dec 3, 2012)

The ears are to constricted and bunched up. It would be better to just use plumbing insulation cut to length and wrapped with paper medical tape. You can add any other type of tape on top of that that you want to and it will not hurt the ear as long as its not to tight and the ears can breathe. I would take all that off until I could do it properly. He looks like a west german Showline and their ears can be pretty tall and thin sometimes. With those types of ears I prefer the tee-pee style with tear menders glue more than the taping. With taping I would try 3 days on and 1 day off to let the ear dry out and breathe. Keep that process up until you get the results you are looking for. Plumbing insulation is much cheaper then ear forms and easier to replace when they get destroyed after they fall out. Please make sure you are doing it right or it will cause irreversible damage to the ears!


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## sandee396 (Feb 7, 2011)

I glued my one GSD at 5months old, worked really well and the dog did not mind it at all , I would highly recommend glueing rather than taping up the ears.


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## Yoschi's_Pet_Human (Nov 13, 2012)

Redid them.. look much better... still not perfect .. I called around and couldn't find anyone to do it for me,, this is the best I could do... may still glue them, but for now, I hope this is at least helping more than hurting


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## Yoschi's_Pet_Human (Nov 13, 2012)

Do these ears look good enough now?


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## VanBuren shepherds (Dec 3, 2012)

It does look better. Still a little bulky, but ears do seem to stand a little more natural. Make sure there is at least two finger spaces between the bottom of the ear and the foam roller so the ear doesn't become irritated. Keep ears cleaned and check frequently for circulation problems or infections.
I commend you on putting forth the effort and coming on here asking for assistance. I have the same problem with my GSD right now. It can take months before you see results. Don't give up he is still very young. Our dogs could pass as twins!









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## Yoschi's_Pet_Human (Nov 13, 2012)

VanBuren shepherds said:


> It does look better. Still a little bulky, but ears do seem to stand a little more natural. Make sure there is at least two finger spaces between the bottom of the ear and the foam roller so the ear doesn't become irritated. Keep ears cleaned and check frequently for circulation problems or infections.
> I commend you on putting forth the effort and coming on here asking for assistance. I have the same problem with my GSD right now. It can take months before you see results. Don't give up he is still very young. Our dogs could pass as twins!
> View attachment 25401
> 
> ...


No kidding,,,, your dog looks just like Yoschi!!!


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## VanBuren shepherds (Dec 3, 2012)

Here are some pics of my male with pipe insulation cut to size and glued with Torbot. They've been in for a week. The ears can breathe a lot better like this, and the glue comes off easy once the forms fallout with some adhesive remover.





















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## Yoschi's_Pet_Human (Nov 13, 2012)

VanBuren shepherds said:


> Here are some pics of my male with pipe insulation cut to size and glued with Torbot. They've been in for a week. The ears can breathe a lot better like this, and the glue comes off easy once the forms fallout with some adhesive remover.
> View attachment 25913
> View attachment 25921
> View attachment 25929
> ...


Mine are taped up fairly nice, for now... once they start looking messed up, get crooked or come loose,, I'm doing the pipe insulation and glue for the next round... yours look awesome!


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## VanBuren shepherds (Dec 3, 2012)

Yoschi's_Pet_Human said:


> Mine are taped up fairly nice, for now... once they start looking messed up, get crooked or come loose,, I'm doing the pipe insulation and glue for the next round... yours look awesome!


Thanks! He is 10 months old now and I'm still dealing with the ears being soft. Sometimes a WGSL takes a lot longer. What you feed them is important during this time. Making sure they have something to chew on to work the muscles at the back of the jaw is also key. A lot of work and constant repetition. Hopefully since they are show lines the efforts will pay off, if not he is still one the best GSD's I have ever owned.


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## VanBuren shepherds (Dec 3, 2012)

The moleskin padding has been in Karuk's ears for about two weeks now. They look so much better. The moleskin is just now starting to come out. 
From now on moleskin is the only thing I am ever going to use on my dogs ears!
He went from this to:







This:










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