Posting After Ear Cropping

This topic is always a sensitive and controversial one. I won't go into the different arguments about ear cropping but for those with dobermans who are either considering surgery or are in the healing process and want research different ways of posting, hopefully, this will help. I am no expert so I am speaking from personal experience. After your pup heals from surgery, you'll usually go into the vet to remove the sutures and post the ears for the first time. As all vets are different and will have different methods of posting, posting at home will be a series of trial and error. Personally, we love our vet and how her ears came out. Their method of posting however, didn't last an hour even with her cone on. There are many methods of posting and this is just what we found has worked best for us.

• Ear Cleaner
• Cotton Balls
• Zonas tape (we've only been able to find it online)
• Shop towels
• Scissors
• Lots of treats and hugs!

Shop towels seem to be sturdier than backer rod for us. They're also good for absorbing moisture in the ears.

 Depending on how big your dobe's ears are, you can either fold one sheet in half or cut it in half width wise to make two. Here, I cut one sheet into two pieces. 

 Start by folding one end up about 1".

 Fold the 1" of material in half.

 Fold that half in half again. Doing this helps keep shape while your roll your post. 

 Roll up the rest of the towel. The thickness you get with half of a shop towel works best for our pup. If you find this too small, you can always use a whole sheet, fold it in half and then roll.

 Using the tape, start it at one end at an angle and tape the entire post. This will make it more sturdy.

 We will trim the ends later. 

 With the Zonas tape, this time, you want to wrap the post with the tape STICKY side out. This will help the post stick to the ear and the tape. ONLY do this 3/4 of the way down ( you don't want the sticky tape deep in their ear).

 Trim off the end of the post that does not have the sticky side out tape at an angle. This is the end that goes down into her ear and the angle helps with the fit of the post.

 Prep your tape by pre-ripping your tape. You'll need different sizes from short to long for the tip of the ear to the bottom  of the ear. I don't really measure the exact length. It won't take long to figure out how long of a piece you'll need. Note: I ran out of Zonas tape and had to resort to medical tape you find at the drugstore. It was a bit wider so I split it into two pieces.

 Before posting, clean your pups ears with ear cleaner and cotton balls. Make sure the inside of their ear is dry before posting. An alternative to ear cleaner is rubbing alcohol since it dries quickly. 

Position the post with the angle towards their head. Gently insert the post and wiggle it down into their ear. If you do this gently, it will not hurt them. In fact, it may feel good since your sort of scratching their ear. 

 Once the post is comfortably in, gently pull up on the ear so it's straight. If the post is too long, trim it now. If your pup's ears are a longer cut and the post is too short, play with the width of the shop towel when you roll your posts. Don't forget to use treats!

 Use the shortest piece of tape and wrap tip of the ear. Try getting into the habit of starting the tape on the post wrapping towards the back and around instead of the tape going towards the front (this will make sense in the next step). Make sure to leave the very tip open and don't wrap too tightly. Not too loose and not too tight which is hard to explain but you'll feel it. Press the tape onto the sticky post. When you first start posting, reward after every piece of tape!

 Here, I am showing the natural fold in their ear. As you're wrapping the middle and bottom of the ear, make sure you keep the ear folded like this.  

 Now, we go back to starting the tape on the post and wrapping in the direction of the fold (going towards the back and around). Again, wrap securely  but not too tight.

Here, I am wrapping the bottom of the ear and you can better see the direction the tape is going. 

Some like to make a "bridge" connecting the two ears to keep them erect. We did this once but decided against it since that is not the resting position of the ears. Leaving the ears to fall naturally allows them to learn to use the muscles that stand their ears straight up. This is the best picture I have of Isis when we used a bridge. 

This may not be the prettiest but it withstands her head shaking and playing. It also uses the minimal amount of materials. So I hope this helps in some way. Again, this isn't THE method of posting, just what works for us.