Issues with dent in ear

[Nefarii]

hello everyone! Atlas just turned 6 months old, and his ears are coming along nicely I think! The only issue is his left ear has a dent at the base of it behind the natural fold..hard to get a good picture but im hoping someone has experienced this too and has advice to give. I'm hoping his ears aren't fully formed yet. I would greatly appreciate any advice!

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Hey there.

I'd say it's a pocket(s) and you might try using bumpers.

 

[Nefarii]

I've been using the backer rod method with a half slice added in as a bumper, when freshly unwrapped they are straighter, but the pocket just always returns almost immediately. I wasnt sure if there was something else I could be doing too.

Pictures are of him right after being unwrapped

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Oh, wow, you've got a long crop there.

Good, I'm glad you know and have used bumpers.

I learned about pockets and bumpers here on DCF. I've never dealt with them personally.

I wonder if the crop being so long (not unusually long) is just making things take longer to come around.

I wanted to reply here tonight even though I'm not personally experienced with pockets, as things get sleepy around here at night.

Where is he at with teething? Teething has a temporary weakening or set-back effect on the progress of the ears.

 

[Rits]

Are you leaving his ears out for any length of time? Keep posting, down to air out for 10-15min tops and right back up. Make sure to pull the ears up as much a possible. I used a bumper to try and fix a small pocket and had a hard time positioning it so I just used a cotton ball instead ripped in half to the thickness I wanted. Her ears weren't leaning or anything but the dent you describe bugged me and there was nothing for the ear to rest against to smooth it out, even with the ears pulled up as tight as possible.

 

[Nefarii]

Hes still teething some, nipping and biting some when playing but its diminished a bit since he's lost most of his baby teeth. I guess I've been leaving them down too long in between. Usually, I give it an hour or two before I rewrap them. I'll try out the cotton balls!

 

[Nefarii]

This shows it well, i can pinch that spot on his ear to flatten it out and they look great, i guess i'll just need to double down on posting its sounding like and be patient.

 

[Ddski5]

As per what Rits said but will emphasize:
Must make sure to pull ear up high on backerrod. Don’t let it sag, esp at that area.

 

[Rits]

I've heard of using solid bridges too to push the ear back out. Ive never personally used it. I think since they look great after you used a bumper, keep doing that but don't leave them down as long as you have been. Them looking well with no pocket after posting is a great sign but you can't let them sag or you lose progress.

 

[ArdynBane]

The one ear looks to be a pocket.

I've had the best results using cotton balls as a "bumper." I put in however many I needed to push the crease out and secure it, then backer rod inserted and taped. The thing about pockets is you absolutely cannot let it crease again - this will essentially "break" the progress you were making. Let the ears air out to dry after cleaning and then right back up.

If you the ears are still drooping, you could also look into a different tape... I've found some tapes aren't as sticky so don't hold the ear straight up as well. As others mentioned, also do your best to pull as much ear up as you can!

Good luck!