Ear Crop Taping

I got Weda's ears cropped yesterday. Now, it's been quite some time since I've had a pittie with taped head, so I'm not sure if I'm just being overly paranoid, or if something is actual up.

When I picked her up, I noticed that the ears were taped going at a 45 degree angle outward. From what I remember back in the day, we always taped them up and tight to the head.

I'm wondering if this is ok, or if I should go back to the vet and ask for a retaping. I showed it to the vet and expressed my concern the day I picked her up, but he said it was fine. Thing is that this isn't my normal vet. My normal vet doesn't offer cropping, and this vet seems like one of those passive people that nothing is ever wrong.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Could it just be the shape of her head? Is it a different technique?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank You

- Anthony

 

Ben's ears were taped up on their own in the form of a teepee. Almost looked like he had two teepees on his head. He didn't have any tape on his head at all, just his ears and they were stuffed with a type of foam that was glued to his ear.

 

We don't tape aptbs's ear crops, as we find if done correctly they stand on their own. But occasionaly we have a dog whose ears lied over the top of the head, so to prevent the cropped ears from doing that, we will brace them & tape them. However, when braced & taped they should be straight up, not out to the sides. If left like that your dog could develop "lazy ears" where the ears just seem to be flopped outwards vs. standing up straight like at attention. Could you post a pic of your dog?

 

Well, I guess we learn something new every day.

I've never seen anyone not tape ears, and I've never seen them not point them up.

I just got back from the vet and here's what happened.

I showed him the taping and told him that I was curious as to why it was slightly pointing outward. He said that it was fine, that the thing to make sure was that the triangle look on the ear tape stayed in that shape. I was still being a pain in the ass and telling him that I didn't want my dogs ear pointing out, he kept telling me to trust him, that he does it 4 to 5 times a day.

Then he noticed that she was still shaking her head alot, and he said that it wasn't good because the ears would keep bleeding. He started grabbing and ripping at the tape to take it off. Blood was everywhere, and since he wasn't telling me what he was doing, I was getting pissed. He got all of the tape off and said that the tape was irritating her ears. He said to leave her there til 5pm and come back and he's have the bleeding stopped and the ears cleaned up, but that he wouldn't be retaping them. I told him I wanted them taped, and he said no, that it would just irritate them again and she would make the bleeding start again.

I then went into the office and talked with the secretary and told her that I didn't understand him, and she went and talked with him, and came back to tell me that he said that the ears are standing fine right now, and that they don't need to be taped. I said they weren't standing, which they weren't when we were in the room, so he opened the door and low and behold they were standing up. He said that when he first took the tape off she was nervous, so she probably held them down.

I apologized to him, and thanked him for enlightening me on the various methods of after care.

Thanks Everyone, it all looks to be ok now.

- Anthony

 

thats wierd when we got our dogs ears done they were taped for almost a month. But every dog is different.

 

Never had to tape an APBT's ears yet.. and thats even with the longer cut, too

 

they glued a foam block to mines head then glued his ears to that for three weeks

 

I've worked with a couple vets and dealt with others on ears.I personally don't like my ears taped.It keeps the ears too moist and causes the ears to get infected to easily,also takes longer to heal when fresh air can't get to the sutures.One vet I worked for taped ears up heavily and had a fit if it messed up.Another lightly taped,one only posted with moleskin inside the ears.No matter who I use I always keep the ears unwrapped and use an Elizabethan collar if needed.I've never had any problems with them standing.Even if they seemed to lay out a lil.It's easier to correct than a flat ear on the head.

 

Yeah, my mother is far more experienced in crop taping, so when she came out on Sunday, we went over the ears and she suggested that I just wait til all of the sutures are removed, then just do a slight taping with either cardboard or a tampon to straighten out the tips and get a little better standing.

here's a pic


I have decided that I'll be using my regular vet for the remainder of the aftercare. I have a plan with them and it will be free, and I respect them more than the vet who did the ears. My regular vet will also be noting that no one should be referred to that vet for cropping.

The crop is good, I think. They don't stand all of the time, but it might just be the cone. At any rate, they look good at attention, and should fit nicely to her head once she finishes growing.

- Anthony

 

I Agree Mikoda If Cropped Correct No Need For Tape Just Time And Keep Em Clean

 

OK, I took her to the vet who did the cropping to return the cone, and when he looked at her, he noticed a slight bit of infection (about 2-3 cm wide). I went over to my regular vet to get it checked on, but they are closed today.

I don't want to leave it til tomorrow. Is there anything I can put on it? It's very small, but I'd prefer to nip it in the bud now if I can.

Thanks

- Anthony