New puppy ear question

K

Katrina

Forums Regular
Hi! I've done ears before but it's been now over 12 years .... and my book recommendations that I followed before are suddenly confusing to me. Plus, Mindy (who is now 4 months old) had a reaction to the method I recently used.

What products do you all recommend I use to glue her ears? I am open to ideas and sure could use some help.

Thanks!!
Katrina
 
I think most use the sewing glue, I went to Sally and got hair extension glue. Figgered if it worked for us it should hold his hair. And it did. Fillion had a reaction when I tried to brace the ears with tape, so I just glued the tips down. He came out ok, besides he wasn't going to be shown. He's the one on the left in my avatar.
 
We'll help only if you post pics of Mindy... just kidding. :winkgrin: I used Tearmender which you can buy at any home store like Miner's here locally, Ace Hardware, etc. It's a rubbery glue. I glued hair to hair and it worked really well for Meadow, much better and easier than all the tape and string stuff the breeder showed me. You can google videos of how to do it on Youtube. It would usually last a couple of weeks or more before needing to be redone. Good luck. Meadow's ears were set at about 6 - 7 months but she does have thinner ear leather than my other two.
 
Hi Katrina and welcome! Sharon's right, our price is puppy pics LOL! Seriously, many of us are ear veterans. I use either Tear Mender or Speed Sew, either available in local stores or Amazon. I've tried tape but never had success getting it to stick. I find gluing so much faster and easier, you just have to be careful and take your time removing it. I recommend Zoeze to remove it, available from Wickets by Mel.

Here is the video with instructions that I always recommend to people. It's a simple process explained well. Let us know if you have questions, we're happy to help!
http://wyndewayshetsheep.com/ears.htm
 
The nice thing, too, about hair extension glue is you can get it in the color of your puppers hair! I used black with Brodie.

I have tried all sorts of options - I am no expert and struggled big time. Brodie's ears are tipped but he has 1 wonky ear. I did a mix of gluing - Ann glued for me once, she seriously is a pro! - but I did struggle with glue. Black hair extension glue worked. I preferred tape - I struggled less with it sticking and staying although it requires a LOT of ear prep to get that surface smooth and hairless for the tape to work. That is the struggle with a wiggly pup. If you can glue properly, it's quick. We had a doxie when I was doing Brodie's ears and in play, he undid a glue job resulting in a bald patch for a while - Brodie was a mess, but his ears are cute, in my opinion, although not perfect.

Deacon was an absolute challenge. He has thick, thick ear leather and although he was glued and taped, for months, his ears are more pricked with one being very pricked. His ears fit with his silly personality though.
 
Thanks!! I used speed sew and I did put tape in for the brace but if that doesn't end up holding, I'll switch to just glue. How long (weeks/days?) do you expect at this age for them to set? She was born January 8, 2023 and today is May 28. I totally forget how long it took my previous puppies .... I'll see if I can post some photos of her.

Katrina
 
Good for you! Stick with it, you won't be sorry. You'll want to keep them glued at least until Mindy is done teething, usually 9 to 12 months. I try to keep them glued for the first year. You can stop using the brace in the middle to pull them together after 6 or 7 months.

An alternative that works well for me at the end when I'm done (or sick of) gluing is glycerine. Pick up a bottle of pure glycerine from your pharmacy and put a dot on the inside of the tips every other day or so just to weigh them down enough to hold. If they need it, put some on the outside tip too.
 
Ann said:
Good for you! Stick with it, you won't be sorry. You'll want to keep them glued at least until Mindy is done teething, usually 9 to 12 months. I try to keep them glued for the first year. You can stop using the brace in the middle to pull them together after 6 or 7 months.

An alternative that works well for me at the end when I'm done (or sick of) gluing is glycerine. Pick up a bottle of pure glycerine from your pharmacy and put a dot on the inside of the tips every other day or so just to weigh them down enough to hold. If they need it, put some on the outside tip too.
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I am so glad I asked for some advice. I have the book on Sheltie grooming that I used for my other ones but Mindy has just been problematic and I just couldn't figure it out. She is in her crate calming down while the glue sets because she keeps now rubbing her face on the ground. I seem to remember my other one doing that and eventually forgetting about it.

Thanks for the advice about the brace and about the timeframe and weighing trick for later. I'll make notes of all this so I can keep things going well for her. I know how much it pays off for the rest of the dogs life to put in this effort for them to look super cute
 
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