| Ear Taping and Shaving |
| First things first, the dogs ears need to be nice and clean and dry, if they are not they can get infected under the tape and will get all goopy and smelly. There should be no glue residue or chemical residue from tape removal and no goopy dirty ears. Unisolve adhesive remover cleans them well. I shave the inside ears so when its time for the tape to come down its easy and does not pull any hair or stick. The ears are shaved here for show grooming to begin with, but its optional. |
| Supplies: foam backer rod (closed cell) Order HERE, there are all sizes available, 3/4 inch works for 7 week old pups and 1 inch is good for up to about 3-12 months old. 1 1/2 inch ok for very large adults if needed. I dont use the hollow ones you sometimes see at stores, they dont work. The ears curve very naturally around these and they are very lightweight, non porus and its important to use the right size for the dog so its not too small/tight of a curve around the ear or too big and heavy either. When you take the tapes down the ear shape should look natural not kinked the shape of the foam, if they are the foam is not big enough. 1 1/2 inch Johnson and Johnson Sports Tape (other brands dont stay as well or stay too much and leave glue all over the ears when removed) 1 inch wide Duck Tape Brand Double sided carpet tape, available at your home improvement store in the tape section |
| Put the carpet tape up the length of the foam pipe and then cut the tape where needed, dont peel the outside layer off just yet. |
| Keep your dog busy with a pig ear or bone, peel the paper tape backing off of one foam pipe. Put the bottom of the foam pipe resting right above the bump inside the ear, Start sticking it firmly to the ear, while STRETCHING the ear upward, moving your way up, then press the rest of the ear over the sides so all the tape is covered by ear. Cut off any excess carefully. |
| Cut a long strip of sports tape, start at the very bottom of the foam pipe and wrap your way around, towards the fold of the ear taping the fold back |
| Tape all the way around, then start taping moving your way up like a tornado till the ear is completely covered in tape, this keeps everything clean inside. Scrunch the tape by squeezing around the ear with your hand to make sure you have a good bond. |
| Sometimes a base is needed between the ears at first, but give the ears a break without the base so the ears can get stronger. I feel after a few months of age no base is needed, the ears will flop around for the first few days but then get really strong. I feel this helps the ears stand much quicker and be much stronger. If using a base wrap tape around the front and back of the ears at the very bottom of the ears so there is enough space to give them a range of motion without the ears flopping all over or pointing inward, it takes awhile to perfect. |
| Finished product. It should last a week or two depending if it gets wet or dirty. If the tapes get wet in the rain, ect they need to be changed, the tape will shrink. |
| when its time for the tapes to come down I lightly wet the outside of the ear/tape with liquid unisolve medical adhesive remover and the tapes come right off, buy HERE. goo gone really irritates the ear and causes infection/allergic reaction in some dogs and needs to be washed out extremely well each time its used, Unisolve works much easier, not greasy and does not need to be washed out in a bath like goo gone. The method I use the dogs ears do not get stinky or goopy after being in tapes a couple weeks for the most part, each dog is different. As soon as the ears start to flop, put them right back up in tapes, for every day you let them flop, it adds a week more to how long you'd be taping. If you have any other questions feel free to EMAIL |
| There are 100's of ways to tape up ears, This is how we tape ears here, its mess free, no harsh chemicals/glue, no pain and they come down easy. They also seem to stand much quicker. "Click on any picture for larger view" |