How long do I brace the ears for?

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crinia

Forums Novice
Hello

I have a collie/Sheltie cross. I started bracing her ears at 13 weeks after one of them started flopping backwards at 12 weeks. I was just wondering for opinions on how long is best to keep them braced? I have read that after 4 1/2 months it is counter productive but Ive also read to keep them braced for much longer if possible. I would have thought that since they tend to go "funny" while teething that they should be braced till after this has stopped, around the 6 month mark?

Can I please have some advice from other who have braced their puppies ears. Thank you
 
Six months is usually fine as long as the ear leather is not real thick. If you have a girl you generally will have to brace during the first heat cycle period as the hormones can make them go wacky.
 
I've heard a number of different things. I assume that it differs for every dog...so for us, we were planning on leaving them braced/taped for a year. If you're going to invest that kind of time/effort into something, might as well leave it for a year.

(Our pup's ears had a different plan, of course, so we didn't leave the tape in that long)
 
Thank you for the replies. Sounds like the longer the better. It will be difficult to keep them braced over summer though as she just loves water and dunking her head in it if she can. I am new to the forum, Corbinam what do you mean by your pup's ears having other plans?
 
crinia said:
Thank you for the replies. Sounds like the longer the better. It will be difficult to keep them braced over summer though as she just loves water and dunking her head in it if she can. I am new to the forum, Corbinam what do you mean by your pup's ears having other plans?
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Well, I her ears were taped from day 1. So, we continued to tape them. When she was around 10 months old I took the tape out and realized that her ears were setting really low...oops. So, I took the tape out and left it out, and they have since lifted a little bit. So in her case, I really didn't need to tape them as long as I did.
 
crinia said:
Thank you for the replies. Sounds like the longer the better. It will be difficult to keep them braced over summer though as she just loves water and dunking her head in it if she can. I am new to the forum, Corbinam what do you mean by your pup's ears having other plans?
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I can from personal experience with my dogs who think they are part Lab tell you that taping the ears and water has little effect on the tape! Mine are in their pool or under the sprinklers anywhere from 2-5+ times per day, and their ears stay taped for atleast 2 weeks...of course by the end of the 2 weeks they are looking a little ratty! ;)

As far as Pup's ears having other plans, well they are shelties, so noone told them the way things are supposed to go and they have a mind of their own just like the rest of them!! :lol: Some set low, some go prick, some go sideways, one goes prick one has a nice tip...etc...although once you do enough ears you do get the hang of it and they do come out fairly consistant!! and that with keeping them taped for the year you lessen the chance of them going prick.
 
crinia said:
Thank you for the replies. Sounds like the longer the better. It will be difficult to keep them braced over summer though as she just loves water and dunking her head in it if she can. I am new to the forum, Corbinam what do you mean by your pup's ears having other plans?
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Like others have said sometimes despite everything you do the ears just go were they want.

Case in point my boy Justice, I glue his ears until he was 9 months old , they do tip but not well and I should have gone on longer but he was my first sheltie. Just this morning I come back in the room and there he is standing with one ear straight up in the air like it have never tipped. He is 8 yrs and sometimes for a day or 2 that one ear will stand up on occasion. Then just as quick it falls over again. Has been doing that for all of his 8 years.

When I showed him, I would glue it over for a few days before the show to make sure it stayed down. Now I really don't care.:smile2:

Ember I glued until 6 months. Her ears never looked wonky in her whole life but I glued them from 7wks on anyway. Super nice ears

Diva, I glued until 10 months. I started at 7wks as well. Nice ears.

My friends dogs- Pike her first shelite til 8 months and his ears are wonky. She wishes she would have gone longer. Grizz, and Vogue until 1yr. Kramer 4 months has the same type of ear as Justice- so she is planning at least 1yr.
 
Hello all,
My sweet sheltie Ripley is now 13 1/2 weeks old, and her ears have been taped for one week. She came to us at 7 1/2 weeks with her ears already tipping a little, and then after 2 weeks they started to prick up. After only 2 days with tape, they are tipping nicely when I change the tape, but I am definitely keeping them taped for at least 3 or 4 more months. I'm not showing her, just like the tipped look. Did I start too late with the taping? She def looks boss with her ears tipping. Very adorable.
Any advice is welcome. I enjoy absorbing advice and stories from more experienced dog mothers. This is my second sheltie. Reilly did not need his ears done. They were already beautiful natch. I'm working on posting a pic, but one thing at a time. Time now for walkies.!!!
 
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No, you're not too late at all, Leanne. A dog's ears will usually go up when she's teething, from 3 to around 9 months. So your timing is good for keeping her ears tipped. You'll want to continue taping them until she's past that point. We usually do it till the first birthday, just to be safe, but you may be able to get away with a bit less time than that. But I'd definitely go at least until about 9 months.
 
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