Our ear
wrapping technique
Nearly every breeder has a technique that they favor
for wrapping Doberman ears so that they will stand.
We have used many ear wrapping techniques in the 38
years that we have had Dobermans. Over the
years we have modified the technique to try to make
the ear wrapping less stressful on the dog and the
owner.
Our
method uses a post is made of backer rod that is
flexible, so it can be bent when the puppy plays,
but it will return to its original shape afterwards.
Rods that are not flexible either bend or break
during play. Stiff rods also cause the
rod to pop out of the base of the ear during play.
Both bent/broken rods and rods that pop out of the
canal require a rewrap. The
flexibility of backer rod minimizes the number of
times that the rod pops out of the ear canal during
play.
We
begin wrapping the ears as soon as the sutures are
removed after cropping. We normally wrap
the ears for 7 days, then remove the wraps and let
the ears "air out" for a day. We wrap again
the following day. As the ears get stronger,
the airing out period can become longer, but
whenever the ear starts to lose its "perfect" shape,
then we wrap them again. The ears will
eventually stand for several days, but don't be
discouraged if they have to be wrapped for several
months. It can be frustrating, but well worth
the effort, since you will have to look at the ears
for the rest of the dog's life.
Sometimes only one ear will drop, or not have
perfect shape. In that case, we
always wrap both ears. We never have a
dog with only one ear wrapped.
Below you will find a complete description of how we
wrap ears.
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Materials
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Foam rod commonly
used by painters and insulators to
fill in large cracks prior to
caulking. Available at
Home Depot, Lowes, and many hardware
and paint stores. The material
is called "backer rod" and is
available in 1/2", 5/8", 3/4" etc.
It is sold in long lengths (10, 20,
50 feet rolls) and is very
inexpensive. We start
with 1/2" backer rod as it usually
fits the ear of the puppy for the
first wraps. We move to 5/8"
as the puppy grows.
-
Tape for the rod
- we recommend 3M Durapore if it's
available at your pharmacy. It
has enough adhesion to hold, but not
so much that it is difficult to
remove. If Durapore is not
available, use Johnson and Johnson
cloth tape.
-
You can use the
Durapore or Johnson and Johnson tape
that you use for the post . If you
have trouble with the tape holding,
you can use 1" Kendall Curity
Adhesive tape. You may be able
to buy it from your veterinarian.
If not, you can buy it at
www.kvvet.com.
If you use this tape, you must use a
tape remover when you unwrap
the ears. Unisolve is one such
remover. This tape will
remove more hair and may cause
irritation of the skin.
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-
First insert the
backer rod into the puppies ear to
measure the required length.
Cut to the required length, leaving
a little extra which you can remove
after the ear is wrapped.
-
Trim off the
shoulder of the backer rod so it has
a taper, which will more comfortable
and will fit deeper into the puppies
ear canal.
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- Thoroughly clean and dry the
puppies ear so that there is no dirt
or oily residue.
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- Insert the rod as deeply into
the ear as possible. You may want
to use a little twisting motion to
be sure that it is inserted as
deeply as possible. This is
VERY important. If the rod is not
fully in the ear canal, it can pop
out of the ear, which will result in
the ear laying over the top of the
head, and will require a rewrap.
- Stretch the ear as far as
possible. This is very important.
Press the ear to the rod so that the
tape adheres to the ear completely.
- At this point, you will need
two people. One person must hold
the ear stretched in the upright
position. The other will apply the
tape.
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- While one person is holding
the ear stretched in the upright
position, the other person applies
the tape.
-
Caution: Do not wrap the tape
tightly. Too tight can cause loss
of circulation. Wrap fairly
loosely. After you are finished,
if you feel that the tape is not
tight enough, you simply hold the
entire wrap in your hand and press.
That will usually be enough to cause
the tape to stick well.
- This is very important.
Start wrapping the tape by starting
as low to the head as possible,
starting the tape on the rod. If
the pup is facing you, start with
the ear on the right side. Wrap the
tape clockwise, and allow the small
fold on the part of the ear
that first comes in contact with the
tape to fold back onto the ear. Do
not make that natural fold "unfold"
and conform to the rod. On the
other ear, do it in reverse.
Using your entire hand, squeeze the
wrap to press the tape to the rod so
that it is firmly held by the glue
on the tape of the rod.
- Wrap the tape around the ear
going first over the head (not by
circling over the outside of the
head first). This is very important
because the flap at the front of the
ear needs to fold back towards the
ear. It must not be flattened out
and wrapped in the opposite
direction.
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- Using the same procedure,
apply the second strip of tape,
allowing the second strip to overlay
the first strip somewhat.
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- Using the same procedure,
apply the next strip.
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- Using the same procedure,
apply the final strip.
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- Cut a small piece of tape and
tape vertically over the ear and
post. This will help hold the post
in the ear so that it will not slip
out when the puppy is very active.
- Press the tape gently so that
all of the tape clings to itself.
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- Wrap a small strip of tape
around the vertical tape to secure
it in place. It will help hold the
vertical strip.
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- Following the same procedure,
wrap the other ear. The ears should
be mirror images when you are
finished.
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- The final step is to place a
cross bar made of the surgical tape
as shown in this photo.
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- This is what the final
picture should look like from the
rear.
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- This is what the final
picture should look like from the
front.
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Removing the wrap
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- When removing the wrap, it is
important to have an adhesive
remover (available at many
pharmacies) to aid in removing the
tape.
- After removing the tape,
remove the core, then clean the ear
thoroughly.
- You're done until tomorrow or
the next day, when they go up again
!
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