One ear up, one ear down?

[thylacinu]

My pup's ears are doing great so far. I never leave the posts out longer than it takes to clean his ears and let them dry, and he's only 14 weeks.

I usually don't use a bridge anymore, because he can usually hold them up well on his own, but I noticed that after a couple of days without a bridge, one ear will stay up really well whenever he's alert, while the other one is always in airplane position. Even when he sleeps, one will pound forward and up, and the other is way out to the side. It's been like that for about a week. I've tried putting the bridge back on for a day, then taking it off, and he'll go back to holding both of them up for a few hours before the right ear falls down again.

I'm basically wondering if I should let it stay down all the time and he'll eventually be able to lift it up, or if I should continue to just use a bridge for a few hours a day to help him build those muscles? It seems like the longer the bridge is off, the worse the right ear gets, but maybe I'm just not waiting long enough.

I try to keep the bridge thin and keeo the space between the ears fairly wide because I don't want him to develop pockets. I'm also just using vet wrap for the bridge since I'm putting it on and taking it off so often. The vet wrap also provides a bit of stretch so they can lean out instead of being stiffly in place. I take the bridge off whenever I notice any slack & I can tell he's holding his ears up by himself.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Panama]

Bridge through the entire posting. Each time it falls, you set yourself back days & possibly weeks of posting. At 14 wks, and you know one is weak... support them both. Post him 2 or 3 times before you consider leaving the bridge off. Then I would still bridge every other posting. (JMO)

 

[Ddski5]

Good question.

14weeks is still pretty early, put bridge back on.

The more time goes on and the more experience you gain with posting, you will get a feel of what you need to do.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

The only thing I can think to add at this point is: Is there possibly something irritating the ear that is being held in the low position? In general, they will hold an ear low/back/airplane if something is irritating it, or feels off. Make sure it's nicely clean in there and doesn't show any unusual redness or wetness or other maladies.

 

[thylacinu]

Bridge through the entire posting. Each time it falls, you set yourself back days & possibly weeks of posting. At 14 wks, and you know one is weak... support them both.

14weeks is still pretty early, put bridge back on.

Thanks so much for the advice! I do feel a lot better about it when he has a bridge, but I started to get nervous that I was relying on it too much. This makes me feel a lot better.

The only thing I can think to add at this point is: Is there possibly something irritating the ear that is being held in the low position?...Make sure it's nicely clean in there and doesn't show any unusual redness or wetness or other maladies.

We had an issue with some irritation in the ears a couple weeks ago, so now I'm being extra careful and they're doing pretty well. I just reposted yesterday and cleaned everything out, let it dry, even looked in there with a flashlight to make sure it was all healthy before putting new posts in!

That's a good tip, though. If I ever notice any other issues with his ears laying low in the future.

Thanks y'all!

 

[Doberman Gang]

Is it a long show crop? What are you using to post with? Make sure post is in as far as it will go and you are stretching the ear up tight to post before taping. I personally never use a bridge after the first couple of weeks, the puppy needs to learn to hold the ear up. If you have a very long show crop bridge may be necessary for the first month or so.

 

[thylacinu]

Is it a long show crop? What are you using to post with? Make sure post is in as far as it will go and you are stretching the ear up tight to post before taping. I personally never use a bridge after the first couple of weeks, the puppy needs to learn to hold the ear up. If you have a very long show crop bridge may be necessary for the first month or so.

I'm using a basic backer rod method that Ali taught me. I always make sure to push it down as far as possible and pull the ear up tight. It's a long show crop, so I think I'll keep using a bridge for another week or so and see how he does. He's been posting for almost four weeks but a little over a week of that time has been without a bridge.