CROPPED EARS

When you bring your puppies home after their ears have been cropped, they will be wearing little hats, either paper cups or foam domes. Leave their ears on these cups as long as possible. If part of the ear begins to pull loose, glue it back up with Skin Bond surgical glue.

Keep the puppies apart for a few days until the ears are no longer sore. Then put bitter apple on the little cups to keep the pups from chewing the cups off. Keep the edges of the ears clean and free of scabs until they heal. Your vet will tell you what product to use to avoid infection.

When you take the stitches out, the cups will be a distant dream. You will then need to post the ears to keep them streached out and to train the muscles across the head to hold the ears up. If you are real lucky, some of the puppies ears will be up at this point or may only need to be posted for a short time. There are several methods of posting, put here is a method that is easy to learn and teach the puppy buyer.

SUPPLIES

Dr, Scholl's Mole Foam
Skin Bond surgical glue (from medical supply)
Tape...Sports Tape or any of the white cloth tapes sold in drug stores

1. cut the mole foam on the diagonal
2. peel the sticky backing off and bring the two bottom corners together producing a cone shape

3. paint glue on the inside of the ear leather
4. paint glue on the back of the mole foam and around the bottom front (where the two pieces form the base
5. easily place the mole foam down in the ear to the little knob and pull the ear up straight

6. pull the ear up like it would be standing naturally.
7. wrap the ears in tape over night....not taped together.. just each one wrapped from base to tip.
8. take tape off next morning and don't worry about it until the foam comes out in about 2-3 weeks. If it gets wet it may need to be replaced.

This works much better than the old tampon applicator method. The tampons would rub sores, get real dirty and cause discomfort to the puppies. The mole foam is soft but rigid enough to hold the ear vertical and it allows the ears to be used independently of each other.

FLAT FOAM METHOD

You can also cut the mole foam to fit flat inside the ear. Cut it the exact length and shape of the ear. Put the glue on the inside of the ear and on the sticky side of the mole foam.

Once the glue is on, wait a minute until it is sticky. Then, place the mole foam in the ear slipping the bottom behind the little knob and hold for a minute or so until it sticks well. The flat mole foam will adjust to the contours of the ear.

This is my favorite method. If doesn't bother the puppy, stays in longer, and lets air into the ear. You can wrap tape at the base of the puppy's ear if necessary.

AS THE PUPS GROW

Remember the stitches will need to come out about 8 to 10 days unless you use disolving stitches. Hopefully your pup's ears will still be up on the cups. If not, be careful not to get glue on the stitches or make it hard to get the stitches out. I usually don't post the ears if the cup comes off and the stitches are still in but tape the ears across the head. I then post once the stitches are out.

As the pups grow, the mole foam may become too short and need to be replaced by a longer piece of mole foam. Work the mole foam off carefully using water or oil.

Once the ears are standing we'll have an occasional tip that wants to curl over. You can take a single piece of tape and tape flat over the tip of the ear. Or, if one ears wants to fall over at the base you can wrap a single ear at the base with tape to help teach that ear to stand. The flat mole foam method is excellent for getting the tips up and keeping the ears from curling.

It's best to get the ears up before puppy starts to teeth if possible. How quick a puppy's ears stand depends on several factors; ear set, how thick or thin the ear leather itself is, the length, and most importantly the age when the ears are cropped. If the leather is thin, you might want to go for a shorter ear crop.