Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I am a new Dobe owner. I recently had my Dobe's ears cropped at 9 1/2 weeks old. It was very difficult to find a vet that did it in my area. I found a vet very pricy for $400 he did the crop and the ears look beautiful. I took her in 3 times before he decided to remove the stiches on the 13 day. One of her ears got a minor infection, the vet said some water must of gone in that ear. Once the stiches were remove I ask him when I should start tapping them and he said that I did not have to continue tapping the ears that they were fine. Which is very odd since everything I have read says that you have to continue with the tapping 3 to 5 months depending on the ears. Does anyone have any advice? I live in Valencia California like 40 mins from Los Angeles. Has anyone experience the samething?

If you want to see pictures I can email them to you. I will also try to see how to post them on this page.

Hi! I can't help much with the ear tapping since I don't have a Dobe but posting pictures is pretty easy. Just click on the link at the top of the page where it says Photo Gallery, register and follow the instructions. Hopefully someone will be around to help with the ear crop.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Thanks!!!
Hilda

TAPE THEM UP! You have to or they won't stay up, regardless of what the vet has said.

Thanks!

I just bought a quick brace system from http://hoytt.com/ears/#intro. I am going to wait until the scabs heal from the infected right ear. You cannot see the scabs from the picture where the ear is folded. I think that is why it didnt stand. I can wait to start the tapping.

It's really important to not leave the ears down right now for any period of time.... use breathable medical tape and use it sparingly and try to tape around the scab. Especially with the ear healing and being left down, it'll end up staying that way or won't stay completely straight up when you do tape it.

They have been down for 3 days but I will get on it right now and do the taping. Her is a picture of her scabs. Thank you for your advice.

Absolutely beautiful puppy by the way!

Pics of my guy:

www.macreo.com -> Photo Gallery -> Rossi

The edges of those ears look really puckered..somethind definitely needs to be done to get the edges straight again.

I'm not a fan of the Hoytt quick brace system..first and foremost, the House of Hoytt is a large scale commercial breeder who does our breed no favors with their mass production of dogs..I hate to see ANYONE put money in their pocket for any reason.

There are cheaper, more effective ways to post ears. The DPCA website has a section with instructions for something like 12 different methods of ear posting. Go to www.dpca.org , then click on the breeder education section for these instructions.

I'm not convinced quick braces are going to fix those puckered ears..and if the edges aren't straight, the ears are never going to stand correctly. There are 3 different DPCA chapter clubs in the LA area, I'd contact one of those clubs and see about finding a breeder who will help you with ear posting..they're normally more than glad to help.

I emailed people from the dpca in my area and told them my about my story with in minutes I had many replies. As the days progressed I ended up having like 20+ replies of people willing to help. I was impressed how the Doberman community is so serious about their animals. Everyone was so kind to me. They connected me with Jill Ferrera who is supposed to be the best in ear posting. Lucky she lives like 15 minutes away. Thanks to the Doberman community I now have the best help.

The best advice that I can give to you all is never be ashamed to ask for help. These people love dogs and are more than willing to help.

Thanks All,
Hilda

I'm so glad you found someone to help. Yes, the Doberman community is normally very helpful with problems like yours, and I wish more people knew it. Good luck with those ears - your chances of having nice standing ears just went up a bunch!!

That vet sounds like a total freaking moron unless maybee he did a short cut on the dog? I have one nightmare story about a dog a had a few years ago and when a hear a bad ear story I want to start ...(edit) bad things.

Some dogs take longer than others. I know a guys who taped ears for 14 months before the ears looked good.

also I would be putting neosporin or vaseline on the puckerd ears to help soften the edges up. The pick wasnt working for me so I didnt see them. I also am not a fan of the brace and I'll tell you what I found to work the best. Half inch foam backer rod wraped with coaches tape sticky side out. Works perfect... GL