Crop horror show/awful pockets advice?

kujo

Novitiate
Hi!

Im new to this forum. I was joined to another but didn't really get help their so im hoping i could get some help here, any advice and just to kind of rant my thought out.

Basically my dogs ears are a shit show.

He was a gift to me from my brother. Other than his ears he is a lovely sweet dog with a great temperament (one of the best ive seen) and in great health. He is my first dobe and my first cropped dog.

SO this may be a tad long but our posting horror show has a bit of backstory dont know if it will help giving me guidance.

I got him at 4 months. His crop isn't bad but its not good either. One ear is longer than the other and has a wider bell. His ears were flipped on his head completely bent over into his head when i got him . I didn't know a thing about posting so his ears were left like this for maybe 2-3 weeks. Finally i started looking up tutorials and ended up not taping correctly (too tight as the post kept falling out so i thought tighter was better) causing him huge sores on his ears which i was told to leave down. This took about 4 weeks to heal. Fast forward he is around 6 months. I meet with a couple who teach me the backer rod method with bumpers. Very nice people with a great looking red with a show crop. (mind you cropping is illegal in my city and including myself i think their are maybe 5-6 dobermans who are cropped and not all of them are online)

Well it worked for maybe a week but he keeps ending up bending the backer rod (even though i wrapped it with duct tape multiple times) Also turns out i had the bumper in the completely wrong spot. (i think i still have no idea where a pocket forms)

This was about a month of me trying to post him with the backer rod. Fast forward now to 7 months a kind lady messages me after my multiple facebook posts as im almost in tears how stressful this has become. She teaches me the zip tie method over Skype. The ears stay straight up while in their posts but the i take them down they almost immediately bend over again. They aren't as bad as they were but the left one is still so bent. Mind you i dont give them any unnecessary down time and its only around 5 minutes between postings that they are down. His right ear just got an infection so ive had to leave that one down and it was straight for a few days but has started leaning all the way in again. He is now over 8 months old and i was told his crop is relatively short and should have been done by now. My brother (my guardian as im 17 and the "owner" of my dog" has said he doesn't want them posted after 12 months as its unfair to him to keep doing it.

Is their any hope left in his ears? Im debating just taping them down so they flop because ive tried and listened to everyones advice but i keep doing something wrong and i dont know what.


At the end of the day they are just ears and i wont love him any less but it has been my dream since i was little to have one of those "dobermanns" with the nice upright ears and im just crushed and so lost on what do now.
 

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Just my two cents, but there is nothing more unfair to the Doberman than a flopped crop. I realize you didn't do the crop but it is a responsibility not to be taken lightly.

Perhaps something can still be salvaged and there are lots of very informed and helpful people on here who will be able to tell you whether up or down is the way to go. Some people have posted as long as 14 months so there may still be hope.

If he's your dream dog, you just have to do right by him. Get your brother to help you out. When posted correctly, it doesn't bother the dog.
 
He looks like he has some heavy ear leather. At 8 months, I would keep posting. Don't lose faith just yet! Pull those ears up as much as you can, and sink those posts deep down into his ears. I think the zip-ties are probably too flimsy? At least at this stage of how his ears are. Mind you, I haven't posted but I've been on this forum for 9 years and have seen many posting threads. I wanted to answer because I don't want you to lose faith! I've seen ears just like yours be successful with longer posting. Hopefully others that have posted ears will have some suggestions and words of encouragement for you soon. :)

In the meantime, please do check out the stickies on ear posting here Doberman Puppies
 
WOW! It appears he's got some seriously thick ear leather. Maybe something stronger than backer rod is in order? Maybe a padded popsicle stick to hold the weight? Not sure because I don't think I have ever seen ear leather like that.
Have you spoken to the breeder for help? Might be a good option to see how he/she gets ears to stand.
 
It is hard to tell in the picture but there is a natural fold at the front of the ear that must be taped back over the head. If it is taped the other way it can cause problems in posting. There are good videos on here on how to tape ears. I would continue posting I think they can be fixed, I would use the backrod method and stretch the ear up tight. And get the the rod deep in the ear canal, as stated above.
 
There are good videos on here on how to tape ears. I would continue posting I think they can be fixed, I would use the backrod method and stretch the ear up tight. And get the the rod deep in the ear canal, as stated above.
Read everything you can on this site and watch all the videos on posting. You may still be able to get the ears to stand, but it will take a lot of time and patience. Just remember, if for some reason it doesn't work (I do think it will work though if you stick with it), his ears will give him a unique appearance and he will be adorable either way! Hang in there!
 
I agree that is some thick ear leather so those always take longer. Don't give up hope and keep posting with backer rod, making sure it's as far into the canal as you can get it. I found that Gorilla tape works very well to stiffen up the rod compared to duct tape so it might be something to try.
Handsome boy you have there!
 
I use a different method than most people. A combination of the zip-tie method plus molefoam. This pic gives a good view. First measure the zip tie to length. Then wrap the zip tie in zonas tape length-wise. Apply torbots adhesive to the ear and to both sides of the tape wrapped zip tie. Press firmly to make sure it adheres. Then cut mole foam to size and apply torbots to the back size and press into the ear over the zip tie.
This is a decent pic
40508774_1873669962708584_1834619946483580928_n.jpg
 
Welcome to DCF.

The ziptie method did not work out in your favor. You will have to post with backer rod and with bumpers to correct those pockets. Ziptie is not a good method for this.

In my posting experience zipties are great for base of the ears, but lousy for mid ear to tip. They are flat and don’t allow the ear to curve around anything to help form shape which results in ears that curve outward
 
If you want I send u a video on how did it, my dogs ears were the same and started posting differently with s special type of popsicle sticks which are thinner and stronger
 
This isn't the dog mentioned above, one of my pups placed that yelled for help as soon as it started.... she used the bumpers and straightened them right out....

7-6.webp One month later (16 wks old)
8-2a (2).webp
 

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