# Taping German Shepherd Ears



## dGr8Prasad

The Taping Process that I am going to tell you is being applied by myself, tried and tested and worked very well for me till now. I have done lot of research over it, consulted various dog owners and few vets. I have got most of the material from pet forums and blogs over internet and youtube videos. I am writing all my experience and do not wish to make any harm or hurt your puppy. 
Before going for it please prepare your mind that thought erect ears is a physical feature of GSD you will accept him as he is and will never turn back on him, will love him, will attend him like you are doing now or may be more than that in yrs to come. 
NOWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD YOU WILL GET SUCH SHOWER OF UNCONDIIONAL LOVE EXPRESSED THROUGH THOSE EYES AND WAGGY TAIL. I BET ANYONE ELSE IN THIS WORLD WILL NOT LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOUR PUP IS IF YOU CONNECT TO HIM.
DON’T KEEP THEM AS STATUS SYMBOLS OR SOME COMPANY FOR YOUR LOVED ONES ALONE AT HOME OR A TOY FOR YOUR CHILDREN.
So to start with I have a 9 month old male GSD. I feed him Royal Canin Junior, curd, egg white and sometimes icecream to cool him. As every other pup he is reluctant to eat during this summer time and many times skips his meals. After consulting vet I am giving him bone calcium tables twice a day, and multivitamin supplements since the time I brought him home. I take him out for long walk twice a day early morning and late evening.
During every visit to vet for his vaccinations and all I used to keep him asking when will ears go up and he used to say like around six months of age after teething so I waited hoping they will go up one day. But till 7 months no luck L. So I decided to take it upon myself to help him get his ears up. My entire family loves him so much so all of them were against this to tape his ears as everyone was happy as the way he was. I had very hard time convincing everyone that I will not hurt him in any case. And now finally we won… I got his ears up as eifel tower 
So keep yours pups diet up to the mark and feed him regular dose of calcium and vitamins at least up to age of 10-12 months. De-worm regularly and give him lot of love all the time. J
Patience is the key in this process, every time you will feel to take tape off and see the result or other way will give up half way saying it will never go up. So I will advise you to have patience and have faith. 
Everyone is different, Having height of his Dad doesn’t make Abhishek next Big B  but he got his own presence , I mean to say stop comparing or rating your pup with others. It makes no sense to me. If every parent start expecting their child will become next Abdul Kalam, Indira Gandhi many of us would have been in **** by now. Accept your pup as he is, give lot of love. SO PLEASE DON’T EXPECT ME THAT I WILL SHARE MY BABIES PICTURES HERE AS HE IS NOT LAB ANIMAL USED IN SOME RESEARCH. My parents do not allow me to do this. But I will help you anytime.
So here we go:
For Supporting: You can use the insulation pipe that we have in split air-conditioners, that soft one which is usually white or black in color, you can get that pipe at any ac repair shop in your town. PLEASE BUY NEW ONE IT COSTS AROUND 60 BUCKS PER METER.
For Taping: visit a medical store and ask for paper surgical tape, it comes in various width, you should buy one which is 1.5 to 2 inches wide. You will need lot of this so better ask storekeeper to get at least half a dozen in stock. It costs 30 to 40 bucks per tape roll. 
Instructions: 
1) Make sure that foam pipe is clean, it contains some white powder on inside walls, please clean it thoroughly, do not bend it in this process. 
2) Please note foam pipe should not be inserted into the ears but you have to cut a piece of it which is usually equal to the length of your pups ear measured from its bottom.
3) Cover those pieces of foam pipe with surgical tape nicely, it should not loose original shape/diameter/thickness of pipe. Close both the ends also with tape.
4) Make sure your pups ears are clean from inside and he got no teaks on ears or the area around ears.
5) Your pup should be very calm and relax during taping as gentle pulling may damage ear cartilage and you may not get them up, I preferred time after walk in the evening/night for taping as they do not resist much.
6) Get someone for holding his head firm and steady. Apply some gentle powder on his ears not much very light. So that while taking off the tape it will not hurt his ears by taking hairs off. Make sure ears are 100% dry and healthy no wounds or something like that.
7) Lift the ear up by holding bottom gently, you may see slight resistance from pup as he will drop his ears back. If this is the case STOP IMMEDIATELY. Pet him and cheer him. After holding the ear from bottom it should be straight up as it will be when it will be up in normal case for any other GSD.
8) Once this is done put that tape coated pipe inside erect ear from bottom of the ear keeping some slight open space between skull and pipe. Then take surgical tape piece usually around a feet and nicely tape the ear at bottom first. DO NOT APPLY TOO MUCH PRESSURE WHILE TAPING DO IT WITH SOFT HANDS. Leave the ear it should be standing slightly tilted but almost straight.
9) Once this is done you can cover rest of the ear with pieces of tape nice and firmly up to the tip of the ear. Repeat these steps carefully on other ear also. Now both the ears should be up slightly tilted.
10) Hold both the ears straight up by holding bottom; take a piece of tape and tie both the ears from middle in the same position as you are holding them. It will make a H on your pups head. Please make sure this is done correctly as after releasing your pup may shake his head vigorously or scratch it by leg and taking the supporting tape off. You can reapply tape one over other so that it will be stronger and will not be taken off easily by your puppy. That’s it, its done!
11) You can keep the tape on for a week or upto 10 days and then take them off carefully IN ANY CASE YOU SHOULD NOT HURT YOUR PUPPIES EARS. Take your time, keep hands soft do not rush into. Once you take tape off his ears, make him play and engage in some activities which makes his ears up. I used to grab my pup and scratch his neck and chest from behind to do make his ears erect and make him playful. 
12) Take a day off, upto 24 hrs to see the progress. THE EARS WILL DROP DOWN AFTER SOME TIME FOR SURE DON’T LOOSE HOPE. Keep on repeating this till ears are up. Once you start realizing that its working you can shorten the duration of keeping tape on. 
12) During the tape is on make sure your pup doesn’t get wet in any case. Puppies have habit to find cool place to relax in home like bathroom or in garden, Keep him away from these places. In worst case IF TAPE GETS WET REMOVE IT IMMEDIATELY VERY CAREFULLY. 
13) Keep the supporting tape(that H shape) on his head all the time do not let the ears tilt or drop sideways. If he removes it or tears it off, reapply it carefully.
14) MOST IMPORTANTLY, Keep your pup happy, playful, alert all the time, you can give him some toys that makes sound, cola bottles are excellent - remove the plastic wrapper and give him to play, you can allow him to mix with other puppies as long as they are vaccinated , clean and will not hurt your pup. Try to do this on regular intervals till the tape is on or till ears stand up on their own.
15) DON’T USE SAME FOAM PIPE PIECES FOR MORE THAN TWO TIMES. They get sticky. Get a fresh pair for every third occasion. 

Youtube Link: 



 Watch this very carefully it helped me a lot.
Good Luck! Happy Petting!


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## Riley_404

I did this but even when tapped together making the "h" they go to one side or the other or backwards. any suggestions?


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## abhishek

This worked for my 7.5 month old male GSD as well. However, material I used was different and lighter in weight. his right ear was like a wing of an aeroplane which is up now. Thanks for all the information.
I taped his weak ear only for 4 days. It is still a bit weak but for the first time in life it stood up on its own for more than 24 hours. I hope that the ear will become stronger in coming days.


-Abhishek
email- [email protected]


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## Draconwolff

My pup's ears wouldn't stand strait when he was younger. One would flop then straiten up, then the other would do it, or they both would flop. I too was concerned about this, but after researching the matter, I found it best to just let nature run its' course. Blitz is now 9 months old as his ears couldn't be any more perfect.


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## NancyJ

Taping GSD ears is the exception, not the norm.

I gather it is largely genetic. I have no experience with taping because I have never had ears fail to come up before teething.

BUT I do know there are plenty of studies showing that high calcium in the diet can influence the development of hip dysplasia and *NOT* in a good way. We have plenty of threads on that as well as links to those studies as well.


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## MountainGSDs

I cut the foam a little different and use ostomy glue on it and then non allergenic tape. Make sure the ear gets plenty of air or you'll wind up with an ear infection.


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