Doberman ear posting - improved method

Hi-

Does anyone have a photo of what a doberman with cropped ears would look like if the ears weren't posted? All the breeders in my area do not sell dogs with natural ears. And I would prefer not to put him through the multi-month ear posting process. Thank you all for your help!
Have you tried telling your breeder that you want your puppy to have its natural ears? I don’t see why they would insist if you, as a committed and pre-approved buyer, would prefer that. I would try asking first, even if the breeder website states otherwise. If they insist to crop, you could request a medium crop, often times those ears don’t require a very long posting time compared to longer ear crops.

My personal belief is that if a dog has been put through the surgery, it’s our obligation as owners to post the ears. Unposted, the ears will do whatever they want. Sometimes one will stand, sometimes both will flop, impossible to predict as each dog is unique.
 
Am I doing something wrong? I've read and watched everything I can about ear posting. I. Do the backer rod method but Rose pops the bottoms out of her ears. Is this common? Is it ok to just pop them back in or should I repost when this happens? It's been a long time but if , I recall with my first Dobe I would just put them back in and her ears turned out nicely
 
Am I doing something wrong? I've read and watched everything I can about ear posting. I. Do the backer rod method but Rose pops the bottoms out of her ears. Is this common? Is it ok to just pop them back in or should I repost when this happens? It's been a long time but if , I recall with my first Dobe I would just put them back in and her ears turned out nicely
The rods popping out is not that uncommon. I'd pop them back in, and certainly not automatically re-post just because of it – provided everything else looks okay.

Oji here popped his posts out regularly and it was a pain!! The thing that caused it with him is he would bend the posts by laying on them. At one point I was wrapping the stupid posts in 6 layers of duct tape + the white tape. STILL he bent the posts. We never got past it. Mercifully, his ears just happened to be done posting it turned out – this after he experienced irritation from the duct taped contacting the skin so I had to stop posting for a while. We happened to be good to go.

But in your case, please make sure the posts are pushed down nice and deep into the ears. This won't injure the ears. Push down on the posts and twist the posts back and forth, settling them down in there. (Make sure the base of the posts are such that they won't irritate the ears. Some folks taper them a bit. Some put a layer of gauze down there.)

Simultaneously, pull up on the ears. When you get the posts down in there and have the ears pulled up, that's when you apply the tape at the top of the ears, capturing it in this position. Then, apply the 2nd piece of tape at the skull level.
 
I do all that. They usually pop out when she has a toy and shakes her head violently. Glad to hear popping them back in rather than reposting is a viable option. Thanks for the response
 
I too have just popped them back in as long as everything else looks okay. Albert has always slept in the goofiest positions and in many cases it was on his ears making it much easier to pop a post out.
 
For the benefit of others it was suggested that I share the content of my post from a New member thread (OP) of July 8, 2020.
Administrators: let me know if should I post this in a new thread or another thread?

"The only thing I can say about ear posting is that my boy, amazingly, was done with his ears already at 17 weeks of age.
I couldn't quite believe it!, but I trusted an experienced vet tech to do all the postings.
4-5 days with posts, then remove, clean and air out for as much as 2-3 days. Totally contrary to most of what I have read elsewhere.

Dr. Robert Hutchison at Northview Animal Clinic in OH also said how soon or how well ears stand is genetic.
Biomolecular and cellular structure properties of the cartilage.

I was really surprised when told it was good to leave the posts out for two to three days, as opposed to 15-30 minutes.
The tech (at the same mentioned clinic) said she had posted ears for many many years, and that the posts work like crutches. Meaning that going without crutches some of the time strengthens rather than weakens. "
 
Last edited:
Administrators: let me know if should I post this in a new thread or another thread?
It's fine here since it's the same topic.

It's great your boys ears stood so nicely doing it that way but it could/would fail with many pups with thicker cartilages and different crops.
 
LOL, that was mostly from the time I stuck my arm between him and Della when they were "busy"... Ouch... :D
There is absolutely no buildup if you use the liquid adhesive remover which I will cover with the removal part, but it does take a few swipes with a soaked cotton ball to remove it all. Over all it does come off easy though. :)
Here are his ears right after the last removal and as you can see there's no buildup left at all.
View attachment 6281
Just wanted to say thanks for this awesome post! Our pups ears did great with this method. Only thing we changed is that we used a 3M medical porous tape, googone medical adhesive remover, and for a while we used a cone to prevent our pup from scratching his ears. We also double taped the backer rod for a little more rigidity. So far his ears look like this after only 2 months of posting. We also have him on a multi vitamin as well as vitamin C, and we let him eat a lot of food, which never seems to be enough. He’s 4 1/2 months old now and eats 7 cups of kibble a day, plus training snacks and veggies.
 

Attachments

  • 24A89A72-84D8-4589-9B50-8AAC15F435DA.jpeg
    24A89A72-84D8-4589-9B50-8AAC15F435DA.jpeg
    443.4 KB · Views: 12
  • F53E1D0B-5761-47FA-82BB-0B202745E574.jpeg
    F53E1D0B-5761-47FA-82BB-0B202745E574.jpeg
    309.9 KB · Views: 9
  • C1315842-EB10-4EC8-9138-D241ECFE94FE.jpeg
    C1315842-EB10-4EC8-9138-D241ECFE94FE.jpeg
    587.1 KB · Views: 10
  • E093A4CD-2EB3-49C9-81E2-A95DC9D73FD6.jpeg
    E093A4CD-2EB3-49C9-81E2-A95DC9D73FD6.jpeg
    257.7 KB · Views: 12
  • BAFC6A6C-001D-4046-BBEA-C158E4A318FB.jpeg
    BAFC6A6C-001D-4046-BBEA-C158E4A318FB.jpeg
    445.2 KB · Views: 11
Dr. Robert Hutchison at Northview Animal Clinic in OH also said how soon or how well ears stand is genetic.
Biomolecular and cellular structure properties of the cartilage.
I just now saw this.

I believe it's genetic. The question is, how do you know if your Dobe is genetically blessed in this area?

As for the posts being crutches: Well, I've heard of giving the muscles the opportunity to work, but was the vet tech referring to going post-free helping the cartilage get stronger? If so, then that doesn't make sense to me. The cartilage hardens, and whatever positions the ears spend the most time in leading up to that determines what position the ears assume. Am I wrong?

I remember sending a pic of Oji as a puppy to his breeder. He was out of posts and his ears were standing, but somewhat angled to the sides. We were out for a walk. The breeder warned that I should be prepared to accept the ears being like that unless I got them back up in posts.
 
I believe it's genetic. The question is, how do you know if your Dobe is genetically blessed in this area?

As for the posts being crutches: Well, I've heard of giving the muscles the opportunity to work, but was the vet tech referring to going post-free helping the cartilage get stronger? If so, then that doesn't make sense to me. The cartilage hardens, and whatever positions the ears spend the most time in leading up to that determines what position the ears assume. Am I wrong?
Having had only this one Dobie and not doing the posting myself I am certainly not qualified to argue a point.
If you know several generations back then you might be able to tell a tendency.
Possibly circulation of blood, lymph and other fluids could play a role as well?
 
Having had only this one Dobie and not doing the posting myself I am certainly not qualified to argue a point.
If you know several generations back then you might be able to tell a tendency.
Possibly circulation of blood, lymph and other fluids could play a role as well?
It's cool. I'm just putting questions out there for discussion. :) I'm always trying to learn in life.
 
The question is, how do you know if your Dobe is genetically blessed in this area?
I will say that both Della and Phoebe had really good cartilage to stand sooner than later, while I can tell from photos that Ripley, who is Phoebe's littermate clearly had thicker cartilage and took a bit longer to post so I'm not sure if it's all in the genetics.
Boris, Albert and Atticus shared some of the same lines and had thick cartilage so it took way longer for their ears to stand.
Just wanted to say thanks for this awesome post! Our pups ears did great with this method. Only thing we changed is that we used a 3M medical porous tape, googone medical adhesive remover,
Thanks for the update! They're off to a good start but I'd definitely keep going since he's in active teething right now.
I didn't know that 3M had medical porous tape or that Googone had medical adhesive remover but I'll have to remember it.
 
C08967FD-1CD0-4B34-A708-1D90EF945C79.jpegDoberman ear posting - improved method

Over the years I’ve been tweaking the basic backer rod method and this way of doing it is by far the most effective and easiest of anything I’ve tried, so now that we have a new pup for a model (thank you Albert), I wanted to put a tutorial together for the rest of you.
This is not only a minimal tape method, but it also makes for stress free post changing for you and your pup and no loss of hair on the backs of the ears. This method also does not require the tedious back taping that many require and makes for a much smoother and stable post.

Before starting any type of ear posting please make sure your pups ears are healed and free of infection. Always clean the ear canal out well before beginning!

Supplies:
Backer rod, sometimes called caulk saver. Young pups usually need ½” and as they grow they will move up to 5/8”. This is easily found in the caulk department at home improvement stores like Lowe’s.
Duct tape. Any basic duck tape will work and it’s the backbone of your posts integrity. Most of the tape shown in the photos is some of the fun colored stuff you can buy at places like Wal-Mart, but the basic grey tape will work just as well.
Scissors.

Here is the link to order most of the supplies if you can't get them locally. Product Category: Adhesives/Tapes/Removers

And a better link with better prices.
Curity Porous Tape BY KENDALL 1in 2531
Osto-Bond Skin Bond Adhesive OSTOBOND, OSTOBOND, Montreal Ostomy Ostomy Care, Ostomy Accessories
UniSolve Adhesive Remover by Smith & Nephew BUY at Vitality Medical 402300, 402300, 59402500, 59402500


Makingposts.jpg


Baby powder for the hair side of the ears for easy tape removal.
Antibiotic ointment to put on the end of the posts inside the ear.
Kendall Curity 1” porous tape or Zona’s tape. Two pieces approximately 5” long, two pieces approximately 3” long and one piece about 10 – 12” long for the center brace.
Surgical adhesive
Many of the tape and adhesive products are available at your local medical supply store, but if you can’t find them locally here’s a great source. Nature's Farmacy
Postingsuppliessized.jpg


Measure the length you want to cut your pieces of backer rod off by measuring from the bottom of the bell or flare of the ear to the tip and go an extra inch. I keep one sample so I don’t have to do it every time, then measure the new posts from there.
Measuringpostsized.jpg


You will want to measure your duct tape with the post leaving the bottom 3/4” or so exposed, which is the part that goes into the ear canal.
Measuringtapesized.jpg


Tape the backer rod lengthwise starting at the edge of the tape as shown keeping it as smooth and straight as possible.
Wrappingpostsized.jpg

Wrappingpost2sized.jpg


Apply baby powder to the hair side of the ears to keep the tape from sticking and pulling it off during removal.
Applyingbabypowdersized.jpg


Apply an even and fairly sparse coat of adhesive to one side only of the post, which will face toward the inside of the ear.
Applyingadhesivetopostsized.jpg


Now apply a coat of adhesive to the inside of your pups ear as shown and let dry until there is almost no stickiness left when you touch it – approximately 4 – 5 minutes. This totally eliminates the need for back taping and holds them in place much better. Note: only apply down to the ear lobe and not into the canal.
Applyingadhesivetoearsized.jpg


After the adhesive has dried it’s time to insert the post. Pull the ear back slightly and make sure to get the post down to the bottom of the ear canal – you will be able to tell when it goes all the way down and you do not have to worry about ear drum damage the way their ears are formed. The post should go straight up the center of the ear or closer to the uncut edge.
Insertingpost2sized.jpg


Now stretch the ear tight and attach it to the glued post and smooth into place. Notice how well they stick all by themselves.
Postsinsertedsized.jpg


Apply the two 5” pieces toward the bottom of the ear as shown making sure that the natural ear flap folds in toward the inside of the head and in the same direction as the tape. Start the tape on the post and loosely wrap it making sure it’s not cutting off circulation – very important.
Wrappingbottom3sized.jpg

Wrappingbottomsized.jpg


Apply the top tape in the same manner.
Addingtoptapesized.jpg


The last step is the center brace which is only needed until they gain control of their ears, which is usually about 3 postings or until there is always slack in the center brace. Space the ears so they are slightly out and not pointing straight up from the head as shown. Again start your tape on the tape on one of the posts going across the front first, then around the back and press the two sides together.
Centerbracesized.jpg

Centerbracebackclosersized.jpg

Centerbracebacksized.jpg


And how it should look when it’s done.
Firstpostondeck2Aug2011sized.jpg


Please feel free to ask any questions as you go and part two will be simple post removal, which needs to be done in 4 – 5 days with this method, unless you find a problem or suspect an infection.

One other note: be sure not to let the posts get wet since the tape will tighten on the ears as it dries and cut off the pups circulation.

As an additional note: It used to be recommended to wrap the whole bell, but that practice has since been dropped since it does nothing to help the ear stance and only invites infection since the ear canal can't breathe at all.
Hey !! I really need help with my dog. I’ve been posting for 10 days now and on my third post. Vet suggested to use tape only nothing in ears and I changed to backer rod method 2 days later because the ears wouldn’t stand. I keep seeing lots of discharge so I want to remove and clean often. He scratches himself and cries. I’ve been using paper tape to avoid hair loss and surgical tape to secure.
 

Attachments

  • 0A165D00-0775-476D-A3B6-8E5A23F88EC1.jpeg
    0A165D00-0775-476D-A3B6-8E5A23F88EC1.jpeg
    516.7 KB · Views: 7
  • 048BD04E-C925-4D86-B917-7D39803E2C49.jpeg
    048BD04E-C925-4D86-B917-7D39803E2C49.jpeg
    496.3 KB · Views: 6
  • D4D3C783-4B6B-4420-AD51-61D2D660F55A.jpeg
    D4D3C783-4B6B-4420-AD51-61D2D660F55A.jpeg
    502.4 KB · Views: 7
  • 62600C97-C0C0-42F0-928C-60E81BDD761B.jpeg
    62600C97-C0C0-42F0-928C-60E81BDD761B.jpeg
    615.7 KB · Views: 7
  • ACEF49E0-C347-4CE6-8F80-E8D50711C3F7.jpeg
    ACEF49E0-C347-4CE6-8F80-E8D50711C3F7.jpeg
    579.1 KB · Views: 7
  • 725E9992-A8B9-4A62-B498-4C5E6649C70E.jpeg
    725E9992-A8B9-4A62-B498-4C5E6649C70E.jpeg
    388.6 KB · Views: 6
  • 1C05AEC2-5AF0-43DF-B81F-0D2C82322BF1.jpeg
    1C05AEC2-5AF0-43DF-B81F-0D2C82322BF1.jpeg
    485.2 KB · Views: 7
  • 44E8C1D9-EAF5-4801-8789-BCA18D1DB016.jpeg
    44E8C1D9-EAF5-4801-8789-BCA18D1DB016.jpeg
    541.3 KB · Views: 6
  • D76FCF9D-3882-4D40-A34D-2161B3DD0936.jpeg
    D76FCF9D-3882-4D40-A34D-2161B3DD0936.jpeg
    377.3 KB · Views: 6
  • 2847402B-47B5-49DF-AACF-211237E953B6.jpeg
    2847402B-47B5-49DF-AACF-211237E953B6.jpeg
    509.3 KB · Views: 5
  • 5355F785-2A05-4D63-BABB-9F8F50A40B4C.jpeg
    5355F785-2A05-4D63-BABB-9F8F50A40B4C.jpeg
    487.9 KB · Views: 6
  • F775FFBB-5AAD-477D-AB9F-F92B87B25CB5.jpeg
    F775FFBB-5AAD-477D-AB9F-F92B87B25CB5.jpeg
    560.4 KB · Views: 6
Well @hartledob ,

It seems your Dobe's ears are in the midst of a sort of bad cycle.

If the ears are clean and healthy, and the backer rods are wrapped as they need to be, and inserted deeply enough into the ear bells, your Dobe should get accustomed to them pretty quickly and ignore them.

So, we need those sores to get healed before they have anything covering them again. The question is: Can you get the ears nice and clean inside (maybe they already are) and get the ears posted up without anything covering any of the sores?

One thing that will help is that one really shouldn't be completely covering the ears in tape. It should be just one piece at the top and one at the bottom. This requires tape that sticks and works well. Johnson & Johnson Zonas Pourous tape, and also Kendal Curity are brands that are known to work well.

I personally have never used adhesive because it just seems like a lot of work and extra steps, but I know it is recommended and liked by many.

Your Dobe's ears are well on their way to standing! Be encouraged!

He looks fairly old. How old is he? Know that ears will need to be posted at least until teething is over. Even if they are standing well, teething can make them drop.
 
He scratches himself and cries. I’ve been using paper tape to avoid hair loss and surgical tape to secure.
I'm guessing the scratching is either from the sores or the post not being seated deep enough into the canal. It needs to go in as far as you can get it or it won't stay securely and it will start bothering the dog. I agree that you shouldn't tape over the sores but I think you can move the lower tape up a bit to avoid them. I also personally don't care for the paper tape since that in itself can be irritating. Either the Zona's or Kendall tape is best for posting and just a light coating of baby powder on the hair side of the pups ear keeps the tape from sticking.
 
Part 2 – post removal

The post removal is very easy and stress free with this method and as you can see our model Albert is falling asleep in half of the photos.

Supplies needed:
Uni-Solve adhesive remover
Cotton balls or gauze pads
Bandage scissors, which have one blunt flat side to slide under the tape so you don’t jab their ears. You should be able to find them at most medical supply stores or order them online.
Latex or nitrile gloves to keep your hands from getting sticky (optinal)
Ear cleaning solution or wipes
Removalsuppliessized.jpg


The first step is to cut the center brace in half so each individual ear can be done separately.
Cuttingcentertapesized.jpg


Next you will apply the Uni-solve to all of the tape on the back side of the ears and let it soak in using a cotton ball to prevent it from running down the dogs ears where it doesn’t belong.
ApplyingUnisolvesized.jpg


Now it’s time to gently insert the scissors between the tape and the ears making sure the scissors clear all skin so you don’t nick them, which is very easy after the tape is loosened from the adhesive remover. I make sure the scissors come all the way through and you can see the top of them before cutting.
Cuttingbottomtapesized.jpg

Removingtoptapesized.jpg


After the tape is cut, use cotton balls soaked in the adhesive remover to work the tape and posts off the ear. This comes off quite easily as you go if you gradually remove it while working the cotton ball under the adhesive.
Looseningearfrompostsized.jpg


And out comes the post.
Removingpostsized.jpg


The last step is to remove the adhesive from the ears again using cotton balls soaked in the adhesive remover. It will take a few cotton balls and swipes to remove it all and if there’s a tiny bit left on the hair part it’s okay. Once you've removed the adhesive, use your ear cleanser to clean the canal out well.
Removingadhesivefromearsized.jpg


At this point with Albert we no longer need to use the center brace since he has full control of them and is able to hold them in position on his own, so that's one less piece of tape again.

If you get to a point where the ears are pulling in toward the center too much and they get pockets, you'll want to use the bumper method, shown here.
Ear Taping using bumpers

And how they will look when they're done. Well almost since he's just toward the end of posting with his long show crop.
View attachment 9121
Thank you for such important information! We will try to do it in this way.
 

Back
Top