There are several ways to tape ears but these are the two that I use most often. The key to taping ears is not to give up. Most ears can and will stand, some ears just take a little longer to stand on their own.
I either use Dr. Scholls Mole Skin or Breathe Rite Strips depending age of the dog and how much support the ear needs. You can purchase the Breathe Rite strips and the Dr. Scholls Mole Skin in any drug store. I also use Skin Bond which is an adhesive available from Medical Supply Outlets. The glue on the moleskin or breathe rite strips doesn't last very long so I found if you apply a coating of the Skin Bond it improves the adhesive quality greatly.
I start taping ears at about 5 weeks of age. I first shave the outside and inside of the ear to get the weight of the hair off the ear. Next I measure the size of the ear and cut a piece of the moleskin to fit inside the ear. You do not want to cover over the ear canal, but stop just above it. Then I apply the Skin Bond to the adhesive side of the moleskin, wait a few seconds and then press the moleskin into the ear, making sure that it lays flat and of course that it does not go down into the ear canal. Repeat with the other ear.
Then I fold the ear in half lengthwise and wrap waterproof adhesive tape around the base of the ear. If you are dealing with very young puppies or very stubborn ears, you will need to brace the two ears together. To do this,starting at the back of the ear, you take the adhesive tape and wrap it around the front of the ear and across the head to the front of the other ear, around that ear and then bring it across the back of the second ear and end up right where you started from on the first ear. Press the two pieces of adhesive tape together. Be careful not to catch the hair from the crest in between the two pieces of tape. I leave the ears up for about 5 days, then I remove the tape and moleskin, clean the ears and shave the hair off them again. I keep repeating the taping process until the ears stand on their own.
If it is an older puppy or dog than I will usually use the Breathe Right Strips instead of the moleskin. Shave the ears, inside and outside and then take a Breathe Rite Strip and apply a coating of the Skin Bond to the adhesive side. You want to place the Breathe Rite Strip lengthwise in the middle of ear, being careful not to get it down into the opening of the ear canal. If the ears do not stand with the Strips alone, then I apply the adhesive tape in the same manner that I described above. I buy the Small/Medium size strips. Be careful not to get the new strips that have the Vicks added to them.
The key to ear taping is not giving up until the ears are standing fully erect on their own. Teething can make ears that have been standing erect droop and sometimes during the teething periods you will need to tape the ears again for a few days. It isn't hard to tape ears, it just takes dedication.
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