Injured ears, feeling like a failure

[cldhrdtrth]

(sorry for my spelling mistakes, I am not a native english speaker and too emotional to check my spelling right now)

I dont even know why I am posting this, probably just to get it off my chest while remaining anonymous. I got my first doberman puppy 3 1/2 weeks ago (shes 4 months and 3 weeks old) and had no issues with posting her ears whatsoever. I followed the instructions the breeder gave me and also watched videos and read about posting ears online. Her ears were always fine, already hardening at the base.

Yesterday, when i went to repost them (I do this every 5-6 days) i noticed that the tip of her right ears was injured, after i cleaned it, it started bleeding which I took as a good sign, because i was worries i might have wrapped to tight and cut of circulation (I also made a post about this and asked for advice one day prior). The breeder and a kind member on here recommended the same thing - leaving the ear alone for a few days, which I intended to do, until i checked her ear this morning and noticed the tip was black. A clear indicator for necrotic tissue.

I immideatly took her to the vet and he confirmed my thoughts, he had to remove the dead tissue, which is a shame because it was a beautiful crop.

Luckily, my pup wasnt in any pain (besides being terrified of the vet in general) and he only had to remove the flame, so just shy of 1cm or even less (idk if its also called a flame in america, but in the balkan region it is) so I hope it wont be to noticable once theyre both standing and healed.

But this isnt my main issue. My main issue is that I'm feeling like an absolute failure as a dog parent. My pup is in a cane, refuses food and water because shes still terrified, hasnt really moved since we got home an hour ago. I know she'll eventually get better but damn, I feel horrible because I'm sure it's my fault. The vet said, that it wasnt and that I didnt cut off circulation and that this can happen because of the cartilage having bad blood flow in genreal, but since I live in a country where cropping is illegal (I got her imported), I dont think he's got much knowledge about that. Regardless, I still think that I made a mistake and wrapped too tightly, (although I was always super cautious about avoiding that ...) and I am the reason my puppy is injured and terrified. I just feel so bad, I am crying while writing this.

We'll be back at the vet tomorrow- he wants to check how her ear is doing.

On top of all that, I also worry about her ear being out of the post for too long. The vet used a special 'laser treatment' (idk the name) to kill bacteria and help it heal faster. He said it should be healed in about 3 days. If I can actually start posting her again in 3 days, which i really hope, it wouldve been out of the post for about 4 1/2 days. Does anyone have expierence with this? Do you think her ear will still stand fine in the end? Again, she's 4 months and 3 weeks old.

It really helped to get all of this off my chest, I just hope she'll be back to her old self and recover quickly ...

 

[Ravenbird]

Don't be too hard on yourself. Mistakes happen, dogs heal, but they can feel your emotions at the moment. Your pup is not worried about the ear, but may be reading your emotions that something is wrong. Dogs only think in the moment. A few days out of posts will not make a difference. When you go back to posting, change them every 2 - 3 days. I would not ever go 5 - 6 days. If something is too tight or the tape shrinks from getting wet, changing every 2 - 3 days will help you see damage before it gets bad.

Take your puppy out for some happy play or hikes and be like her: don't dwell on the past, do the best you can each day.

 

[cldhrdtrth]

Don't be too hard on yourself. Mistakes happen, dogs heal, but they can feel your emotions at the moment. Your pup is not worried about the ear, but may be reading your emotions that something is wrong. Dogs only think in the moment. A few days out of posts will not make a difference. When you go back to posting, change them every 2 - 3 days. I would not ever go 5 - 6 days. If something is too tight or the tape shrinks from getting wet, changing every 2 - 3 days will help you see damage before it gets bad.

Take your puppy out for some happy play or hikes and be like her: don't dwell on the past, do the best you can each day.

God, this made me cry again, thank you so much for your kind words. That was exactly what I needed to hear. And thank your for the advice with changing the posts more often; I thought the same and I will definetly do that once we're back to posting.

 

[Ravenbird]

I'm glad to have helped. You & your pup will be fine.

 

[Ddski5]

Being too hard on yourself…

Be me? I would keep posting and leave the tips free to air. If you do it just right- securing loosely right under the wound area, you can still post successfully.

On top of that, you watch and see…I betcha that little nick will barely be visible when he grows up into his ears. I wish I had beginning picts of my Ragnar ears. They were a bloody mess at the tips and now you couldn’t tell a difference. I get many many compliments on his ears.



Good luck and be positive and cheerful. You pup notices your demeanor and mood.

 

[cldhrdtrth]

Being too hard on yourself…

Be me? I would keep posting and leave the tips free to air. If you do it just right- securing loosely right under the wound area, you can still post successfully.

On top of that, you watch and see…I betcha that little nick will barely be visible when he grows up into his ears. I wish I had beginning picts of my Ragnar ears. They were a bloody mess at the tips and now you couldn’t tell a difference. I get many many compliments on his ears.

View attachment 134576

Good luck and be positive and cheerful. You pup notices your demeanor and mood.

Thank you so much for your kind words and advice. It really is hard to believe that his ears used to be anything but perfect! That really gives me hope that her ears will turn out just fine.

Since she will be in a cane for the next 3 days, I dont think I will be posting her, since the cane is pressing down on the one ear thats still posted, I think the tip would be in constant contact with the cane and I'm too worried that this friction could impact the healing process negativly. But thank you for your suggestion! I will see what the vet says tomorrow and when shes out of the cane, I'll be back to posting. But I should probably leave the tip out for a couple more days/weeks until its fully healed, or what would you say?

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Great words of advice all around, @Ravenbird .

 

[Ddski5]

Antibiotic ointment daily and it will heal fast.

When you start posting again, don’t tape tight…kinda loose and then squeeze crimp the tape by gripping ears/post/tape with your hands.

When to start back posting depends on how confident you are and how aggressive you want to be. At four months, you do have time to allow for the ears to heal.

 

[Kaiser2016]

Lots of mistakes happen with the ears and most people don’t even notice it anymore once the pup grows up and the ears will also grow fur which will help to conceal it.

In one picture it looks like the other ear is still posted…it may just be the angle but that wrapping looks like it’s covering the whole ear? Can you provide another pic in case anyone has more feedback?

I agree with the others, don’t be so hard on yourself and your pup will pick up your mood so cheer up!

 

[cldhrdtrth]

Antibiotic ointment daily and it will heal fast.

When you start posting again, don’t tape tight…kinda loose and then squeeze crimp the tape by gripping ears/post/tape with your hands.

When to start back posting depends on how confident you are and how aggressive you want to be. At four months, you do have time to allow for the ears to heal.

I would start back with posting when the cane is gone and leave the tip of the injured ear out - in my previous post someone recommended it. And yes, I will triple check I wont wrap too tight and change them every other day, just to make sure they'll be fine.

While I want to get them back posted asap, I've heard that if you leave the tip out, the blood can pool there. If I make sure I wrap them loosely it should be fine, shouldnt it?

 

[JanS]

If I make sure I wrap them loosely it should be fine, shouldnt it?

Yes that should be fine.

 

[cldhrdtrth]

Lots of mistakes happen with the ears and most people don’t even notice it anymore once the pup grows up and the ears will also grow fur which will help to conceal it.

In one picture it looks like the other ear is still posted…it may just be the angle but that wrapping looks like it’s covering the whole ear? Can you provide another pic in case anyone has more feedback?

I agree with the others, don’t be so hard on yourself and your pup will pick up your mood so cheer up!

Thank you for the encouragement. I hope the difference between her ears wont be too noticable.

Yes, I checked both of her ears and posted the other ear which luckily didnt have any issues.

I dont think I understand your saying "the wrapping looks like its covering the whole ear"
I use baker rods and Zonas Tape at the Base and then loosley (apparently not loosley enough...) wrap vetwrap around covering her ear uncluding the tip. This is how the breeder showed me and how I saw other people do it in videos, tho my breeder uses different tape. I like the vet wrap better because its easier to remove and doesnt pull her hair out.

I'll attach a picture on how her ears usually look when theyre both posted.

 

[Ddski5]

I would start back with posting when the cane is gone

Are you referring to what we call the cone of shame?

If I make sure I wrap them loosely it should be fine, shouldnt it?

Loosely and then squeeze the tape to the ear/backerod.

I am not for sure blood would pool at the tip, I wouldn’t expect this to happen unless the wrap was tight. Actually, gravity should move it downward.

 

[Ddski5]

I like the vet wrap better because its easier to remove and doesnt pull her hair out.

Eeek….vet wrap is NOT good to use unless you monitor it continuously. It will most definitely shrink if wet and I’ve seen it tighten down even when dry. I wouldn’t use it at all- not worth the overnight gamble.

 

[cldhrdtrth]

Are you referring to what we call the cone of shame?
View attachment 134579


Loosely and then squeeze the tape to the ear/backerod.

I am not for sure blood would pool at the tip, I wouldn’t expect this to happen unless the wrap was tight. Actually, gravity should move it downward.

Yes! I meant cone and not cane, I'm sorry, english isnt my mother tongue.

Thank you for the advice, then I will try to do that

 

[cldhrdtrth]

Eeek….vet wrap is NOT good to use unless you monitor it continuously. It will most definitely shrink if wet and I’ve seen it tighten down even when dry. I wouldn’t use it at all- not worth the overnight gamble.

Good to know! Then I think I actually didnt wrap too tight and the tape probably shrunk... which doesnt help with not being mad at myself.
Should I use zonas tape all over or do you have a different recommendation?

 

[Rits]

If you use vet wrap, you have to absolutely be sure to only squeeze it with your fingers. Don't pull it tight. You also need to take it down every 2-3 days to check the ears. I check this often anyways with the younger ones to be sure nothing is wrong. Since this is your first time and the vet wrap possibly did get too tight, I would just use two pieces of Zonas tape. One at the base and one towards the top. You can use baby powder on the fur to keep the tape from being too sticky. Gently pull up with the direction of the hair while holding the ear down with the other hand when removing the tape. Unisolve will help remove any leftover adhesive.

Your english is great! Don't beat yourself up. One of Ripley's ears is slightly shorter than the other (no due to posting) and no one notices it! We always get compliments on her ears.

 

[Ddski5]

Zonas tape for sure!

The only time we really use vet wrap or Coban is to place over the vet wrap because it comes in cool colors. And then, again, very loose and well monitored.

 

[cldhrdtrth]

If you use vet wrap, you have to absolutely be sure to only squeeze it with your fingers. Don't pull it tight. You also need to take it down every 2-3 days to check the ears. I check this often anyways with the younger ones to be sure nothing is wrong. Since this is your first time and the vet wrap possibly did get too tight, I would just use two pieces of Zonas tape. One at the base and one towards the top. You can use baby powder on the fur to keep the tape from being too sticky. Gently pull up with the direction of the hair while holding the ear down with the other hand when removing the tape. Unisolve will help remove any leftover adhesive.

Your english is great! Don't beat yourself up. One of Ripley's ears is slightly shorter than the other and no one notices it! We always get compliments on her ears.

I really tried to only lightly use it and then squeeze it onto to ear... i think they probably got wet when she played in the tall grass in the morning ... damn. At least i noticed it and the dead tissue was removed before it caused more harm to her and her ear...

Thank you so much for the advice. I will try that babypowder trick and only use tweo pieces of zonas tape like you recommended. I think it will be much easier for me and my pup.

 

[cldhrdtrth]

Zonas tape for sure!

The only time we really use vet wrap or Coban is to place over the vet wrap because it comes in cool colors. And then, again, very loose and well monitored.

View attachment 134580

Thank you for the advice, I will only use Zonas tape from now on.
And that matching wrap with the collar is just too adorable