Re-taping See See’s ears

See See’s left ear tape got messed up, and the ear started to lean way in, probably because I let Winston babysit her. They must have played a little too hard. So, I took the tape off that ear, which happened to be the one that had stopped standing on its own. And guess what? It stood up! I re-taped it anyway. I really need to get someone to shoot video of me taping ears to demonstrate how to do this exactly.

It isn’t perfect, but it is standing!
You can see I put the tape further down on the ear, and when I put the bridge on, I will put it further down the right one too. I will have to be extra careful with making sure those ears don’t get yeasty.
The bridge looks actually better than last time. I hope this holds until Friday!

Taping 4 month old GSD Ears

The Jane and Cash litter of 2/6/2021 turned 4 months old yesterday. Time to start thinking about taping ears. The female I kept, See See, did have both ears up, but one has flopped back down. I am showing her this Friday in a puppy show, so I decided to tape today. Unfortunately, I had no one to help me. I think I did a pretty good job with these instructional videos in spite of going solo!

See See pre ear taping at 4 months old
Get the skin glue at a specialty drug store or online. Make sure the pipe insulation is the rigid kind, not the bendable kind. There are different sizes. Buy two or three different sizes if you aren’t sure which will fit best, they are cheap.
Dampen a cotton ball with witch hazel, and go down in the ear, no further than you can see, to clean it. Do this with as many cotton balls as you need until they come out clean. Then dry with more cotton balls, and allow to air dry further as you are setting up.
You can see where I put tape on the edge of the table so it is already torn off the roll and ready to grab.
One ear taped so far!
Both ears!
All done!

Here are some more tips:

Really important: Smell the ears each day. If it smells yeasty or bad in any way, don’t let it go, that can get bad real fast. Take off everything and let them air out. If your puppy is digging at them you may need a vet to treat them. Make sure the canal stays open. You should be able to stick your finger down in the ear. Make sure the tape is NOT covering the ear canal.
Along those same lines, don’t let the ears get wet. You’d be setting them up for a yeast infection. Take your puppy out with an umbrella if necessary.

Don’t let any other pets chew on the tape! They will be attracted to the adhesive smell.

Buy lots of tape and moleskin. With a wiggly puppy, it’s easy to mess up and then you have to start over. Have the tape already torn off the roll and ready to grab. If it’s windy, don’t do it outside.

Make sure the puppy is somewhat tired from playing, but not thirsty, squirmy, leave me alone tired. He will be easier to handle. The less restraint you have to use the better.

With a long haired puppy, you may have to use clippers on the inside of the ears to trim the hair off, to make a smooth surface for the adhesive on the moleskin to stick. You may even have to trim the hair around the ears so the tape stays in place.

And yes, I know this would have been better if you could see it actually being done. Hopefully I can get some help next time.
And yes, there are many ways to do this! Every breeder has their own favorite way. This is my favorite way! I have used other methods and taken from each to come up with this.
Also, and I want to stress this, the puppies’ dam, Jane, had weak ears. I had to tape them for what seemed like forever. That’s one reason I bred to Cash, because he has such nice ears. So Cash doesn’t get the blame for the puppies’ weak ears, Jane does, which is my bloodline. See See’s ears are way better than Jane’s, and Clyde’s are really good. So, definitely an improvement with Cash’s genes.

Reclining Together

This is Pony, although he has a new name now. He is with his Golden Retriever buddy all crammed onto a recliner. He’s got a nice dark face! And his feet are bigger than the Golden’s!

Many of Jane’s puppies went to homes with children of all ages, other dogs, and other pets, including horses and chickens. All reports have been good and puppies are getting along with everyone just fine. Yay!

GSD Puppy Ears

This video illustrates how a GSD Puppy’s ears might look at just under 4 months of age. Especially note how sometimes this puppy’s right ear is flat and pointed hard backwards, and sometimes it is flopping. The left ear is up nicely. This is all within the range of normal in my experience, especially based on what I know about my own bloodline. Particularly because that right ear is sometimes pointed back hard, that means the muscles are working, and in all likelihood that ear will stand. A good rule of thumb for me is, if they haven’t been up by 4 months, consider taping! Thank you to Connie’s new owner, for this great video of Connie playing with her Jack Russell family member. We will re-evaluate in one week!

GSD Connie and her a Jack Russell

Playtime with Brother Winston and Ears are Up!

Left to right, Clyde, See See, and Winston
  • Check out the nice ear set on Loosy! They just came up this week.
Clyde’s ears give him that cone head appearance. Sometimes See See’s ears do the same, and sometimes her left one sags to the side. But they are up most of the time, so it doesn’t look like tape is in their future. I heard from Connie’s owner too, and hers are also up.

Puppy training

A couple of the puppies that went to homes in the Richmond area came over on Saturday for some informal training. We worked on walking on a leash and coming when called. Of course, we had to have play sessions! My two short coats, Clyde and See See, got to play with Chief (formerly known as Mustang) and Loosy, both longhairs. Here are two videos to mark the occasion.