The following method of ear tipping was used on the following dogs (left
to right...Khan, Havoc, Journey, Secret, and Cinder is the one in the
tutorial). As you can see, their ears are tipped and do not need weight.
How long does it take to train a dog's ears to stay down?
I would say if
you are consistent, continue to tip the dog's ears until they are at least
6mths old, possibly longer, it should work. It all depends on the dog. Havoc & Khan's ears
were glued down until they were about 9mths old (but I wasn't consistent).
Journey's ears were done when he was 5 1/2mths old. Secret's ears were
done at 6mths old, and Cinder was about 8mths old. It all depends on the
dog and how consistent you are with them. You can't expect to have
perfectly tipped ears by doing this method or any method a couple of
times. It is very important that when the ears come out (unglued), then
redo them, especially when they are teething. It only takes 5-10mins to do
this method and you will be happy with your final product. If you're one
of those people who say "I'll do it tomorrow" and then tomorrow comes 2-3
weeks later, don't be surprised if you have prick ears or need a ton of
weight to keep them over. You get out of this tutorial what you put into
it. I can assure you that if you are consistent, glue the ears back down when they
become unglued for at least 6mths, you will have perfectly tipped ears for
the life of your dog.
How long does it stay in
for? Well that
depends on a lot of things. Weather, rain/snow, humidity has a lot to do
with it. I have it stay in anywhere from 4 days to 4 weeks. It also
depends if you have other dogs together that are pulling out each other's
ears. When we are training the ears, the dogs are kept inside and although
they get playtime, they are not left with other dogs 24/7. It does get to
be a pain when you are redoing their ears every couple of days because the
other dogs are pulling out their ears.
If you're like us, we had
problems when we got our 1st Collie with getting the ears to tip. We have
tried several methods and used many different products; such as: Japanese
tape, Skin Bond, and everything else that people recommended.; but,
nothing seemed to work. No
matter what we tried, the dog either had an allergic reaction to the glue
or their ears became extremely irritated including redness and sometimes
they even bled.
We have had great success
with this method of ear taping and I have been asked on numerous occasions
to help other breeders with their ears. So I decided to create a step by
step tutorial. (Don't make this harder than it is)
You can also download this guide
in a WORD Document
Ear Tipping
Here is everything that you need to tip a dog
ears.
Paper Towel
Zo-Eze (like rubbing alcohol and adhesive remover all in one)
Rubbing Alcohol (If you don't have Zo-Eze)
Scissors
Moleskin (Walgreens $4.00 for 3pk)
3M Super 77 (Home Depot paint section $9.97)
Speed-Sew
If you don't have Zo-Eze, you can use Goo Gone (Wal-Mart $3.00-5.00)
Zo-Eze & Speed Sew Available by calling Mel at 951-789-1033 or visiting
www.wicketsbymel.com $5.00; He ships usually the same day.
Note: Zo-Eze does not leave an oily residue on the ears like Goo Gone
does. If you remove previous glue with goo gone, make sure to use
rubbing alcohol afterwards to remove the oily residue.
Step 1
Take the Zo-Eze (or rubbing alcohol) and put some on
the paper towel and clean both ears.
If there is glue in the ears, then use the Zo-Eze to clean it. If you
don't have it, then use Goo-Gone to get all the glue out. Then clean the
ears out with rubbing alcohol.
You do NOT need to use starting fluid, etc as some of the other methods
teach.
Step 2
Click on Picture for Full Size Photo
There is a little bump on the inside of the ear
The moleskin can fit behind this little bump (remember this).
Step 3
Click on Picture for Full Size Photo
Now take the tip of the dog’s ear and place it inside
that little bump.
Now if you look at the top of the ear as it is folded down; this is where
your fold will be (about the ½ way point of the ear) Now take the mole
skin and place it under that little bump. Remember where your fold was?
I marked the fold with my thumb, you can use a pen to mark the mole
skin or just eye ball it. Now cut the mole skin (long ways) to where the
little bump in the ear is, to the fold.
Step 4
Click on Picture for Full Size Photo
Now cut your mole skin into an L shape. The _
(bottom) part of the
L should be almost the width of the ear and the l part should be
around the size of your pinky finger. Now that you have the basic
mold of the mole skin, Let’s just make it a little more comfortable for
the dog.
Step 5
Make the edges of the mole skin rounded instead of
square, it fits into
the ear much easier and it’s more comfortable for the dog.
Step 6
Click on Picture for Full Size Photo
This is how it will fit into the ear (notice it’s
behind the little bump).
Step 7
Now we will do the top part of the ear. Do you
remember where your
fold is? OK, place a piece of mole skin on the top half of the Ear like
so.
With your thumb or pen, mark the mole skin from where the fold is to
the very tip of the ear. Also cut it to the width of the ear.
Step 8 Click on Picture for Full Size Photo
Make note: Place the bottom piece of the mole skin
back into the ear
along with the top piece you just cut. There needs to be a small
gap (1/3 to ¼ of an inch) between the moleskin. You do not want
mole skin where the fold is going to be. Now the top piece that you
just cut (you may have to cut just a little bit more off it to compensate
for this gap). The gap is very important, so make sure you have one.
Step 9
Cut the mole skin to make it rounded in the shape of
the dog’s ear.
Step 10
Click on Picture for Full Size Photo
When you have finished cutting, it should fit inside
the ear like so.
