Freshly Cropped Ears First 5 days Instructions/Advice

[BeauBeau]

Hello Everyone,

This is our first time owning a Doberman and our 9 weeks old Doberman (Beau) just got his ears cropped yesterday (06/29/22) and the first night was a struggle for sure. When he left the hospital, he was wearing an Elizabeth cone (Cone of shame), wrapped in cotton pads and he also had a stockinette wrapped around his ears. Our vet said to remove the cotton pads after 24hrs and put on a new stockinette that they gave us. She also said to clean the ears twice a day or as needed.

When we got him back, he was crying a lot and also tried to scratch his ears (which is understandable and we also knew about this). We decided to keep the E collar and the cotton pad/stockinette on for the first night just in case (this might be bad but as a first time owner dealing with cropped ears, this is what we felt comfortable with). This morning we took off the stockinette, the cotton pads, and his E collar. However, within 30 minutes, he scratched his ears 3 times even with us playing with him. We read somewhere on a forum that the puppy will scratch it once and if it hurts, they will stop scratching the ear. However, this wasn't the case, he scratched it whenever he felt like it and it doesn't seem to bother him. He doesn't know the leave it command as of yet so we decided to replace the E collar with one of those pillow collars. He seemed to not care about the new collar so we just left it as is.

I have done a lot of research about ear cropping prior to having Beau and also during the period where we had him. Many people recommended letting the ears heal without any covering, don't use an e collar or any kind of collar and some people recommend applying Neosporin during the healing stage. We also intend to go against our vet's advice with replacing the stockinette until he gets his sutures removed. His ears will now stay open until it is fully healed.

So this is my question. We tried to clean his ears with warm water and a tiny bit of antibacterial unscented (we use this soap to clean our tattoos so we guess it would be fine for his ears) but he is not having it. I used a clean paintbrush to try and slowly scrub the ears but as soon as the brush touches his ears, he jerks and freaks out. Is this because he's hurting or is it because he's ticklish... He doesn't yelp, he doesn't make any sounds, he just jerks and runs. We're at a point now where we're questioning if we should even clean his ears today. We think that the wound is too fresh to where it still hurts and maybe tomorrow will be better for cleaning. What are your thoughts on how to clean his ears or if we should even clean them at this point?

This is my current game plan:

06/30/22 - 07/06/22: During this period, we will let the ear heal without putting any ointment or wrapping on it. Still have the pillow collar on unless we notice he's not scratching it anymore. He is getting his sutures removed on 07/06/22.

07/06/22 - until his ears are fully healed: During this period, we will continue to let the ear heal without wrapping. However, during this period we were thinking of putting Neosporin on wounds to help them heal faster (We read that Neosporin during the beginning stage will promote too much healing and it could possibly lead to healing over the sutures. So, thats why we're not putting Neosporin before his sutures are taken out). Also, during this period, we will not be posting his ears until they're completely healed even if the cup falls off during this period.

If you have any advice, please chime in and direct me to the correct aftercare for my pup. Thank you everyone!

 

[JanS]

Your vet did a good job with the cup and leaving the edges open. I think the stockinette is only used at first, then removed but I'm not sure of that either since all of our pups were cropped at the breeders before they came home.

We tried to clean his ears with warm water and a tiny bit of antibacterial unscented (we use this soap to clean our tattoos so we guess it would be fine for his ears) but he is not having it.

I would personally leave the incisions alone and just clean the canals as necessary.

until his ears are fully healed: During this period, we will continue to let the ear heal without wrapping. However, during this period we were thinking of putting Neosporin on wounds to help them heal faster

Once the stitches are out the incisions should be pretty close to being healed. I would skip the Neosporin unless you need it since you don't want to speed up the healing process or it can cause puckering.

Is this because he's hurting or is it because he's ticklish... He doesn't yelp, he doesn't make any sounds, he just jerks and runs.

I seriously doubt he's hurting and they are smart enough to try to pull that kind of stuff so you don't mess with the ears. When you work with the ears be calm and matter of fact so he knows that pitching a fit isn't going to work for you. They feed on your emotions so if you get uptight thinking your hurting him, he will play into it.

 

[BeauBeau]

Hello JanS,

Thank you for your advice! Do you know what prompts an ear cleaning? We're still confused as to what to clean. We understand that if we smell something foul coming from his ears, then that means we need to clean it. But lets say there's no smell, no bleeding, no puss or anything that would suggest an infection, do we still clean it? When we tried to clean his ears this morning, we only tried to clean up the dried up blood. Other than that, we didn't touch his incisions at all. Based on the pictures, do you think he needs cleaning at the moment? We don't smell anything foul and the crusty areas looks like dried blood.

 

[Doberman Gang]

Usually don’t do anything to them until stitches are out. Even if the cup comes off, just let them hang and finish healing. We wipe with a soft rag wetted with warm water. No soap, cleaners and definitely no neosporin. Once the stitches are out and edges have healed we start posting.

 

[BeauBeau]

Usually don’t do anything to them until stitches are out. Even if the cup comes off, just let them hang and finish healing. We wipe with a soft rag wetted with warm water. No soap, cleaners and definitely no neosporin. Once the stitches are out and edges have healed we start posting.

Got it, I will try the soft rag when I feel like he needs a cleaning. Thank you for the recommendation and advice!

 

[Ravenbird]

Good advice already given - welcome to Doberman Chat, hope you stick around and we get to see more of your puppy in the future!

 

[Ddski5]

Really like your plan…listen to the advice given and you will be okay.

Just a young puppy, yes- so don’t force the issue with the ear cleaning. What needs to happen here is to be patient and look to the long game. Even the smallest recognition from the pup to listen and allow you to manage the ears is great success. If you work this angle correctly, it will help you succeed later on with posting ears and Dremeling nails.

Treats, food and play to be used as tools for success. Instead of giving him a bowl of food during feeding time, use the kibble as treats to entice what you want. Small victories are awesome.

 

[WANTED]

I'm on my 3rd Dobie over the yrs and all the breeders kept the dogs until sutures came out but sounds like ur doing it just right. The one suggestion I have is when posting or doing nails put them on something off the floor they stay calmer, I put them on the washing machine. I was lucky with my last for the posting was over at 5 1/2 months but so worth all the effort.