Wrapping Cropped Ears

Necessary items: De-Solv-It spray adhesive remover (citrus based and found with the cleaning products at Wal-Mart), Krylon Spray Adhesive, Kendall Curity Porous Tape, Dr. Scholl's Molefoam, Cotton Balls, Large Cable Ties.

1)    Remove the tape and stay with Di-Solv-It. 

a.    Cut the bridge in half.  Never get the scissors close to the ears!  With the nozzel close to the ear, spray the tape with the Di-Solv-It being careful not to get it in the puppy's eyes.  Work the spray with your fingers.  (The spray is citrus based and the puppies don't care for the smell, but it's much better and safer than taking scissors to the puppies' ears and tape!  You're not pulling hair off and you aren't endangering their ears with scissors.)

b.    Start removing the tape.  If you need more spray, reapply.  

c.     Reapply to the stay to get the adhesive to release.  

d.    Wash the outside of ears GENTLY with a washcloth or you will cause irritation.  Use some Dawn soap to remove the Di-Solv-It oil.  Rinse thoroughly and gently.

e.     Clean the ears with a cotton ball and/or Q-tips with a 50% water/50% apple cider vinegar solution.  Apply until cotton ball comes clean and inside of ears are free of “junk”.  Ears may get goopy browny/black goobers.  

f.      Reward the puppy and give him/her a few minutes for its ears to dry.

2)    While the puppy is relaxing for a moment, make your two stays:

a.    Take the plastic strip and lay it on a piece of tape.  Cut the tape to little bit longer than each end of the plastic strip.  

b.    Take another piece of tape, this one sticky side up, and sandwich the plastic strip.  

c.     Cut a 1/3 inch wide strip of molefoam and fold it over one end of the plastic strip.  

d.    Cut the extra edges of the tape near the molefoam so that there isn’t extra tape irritating the inside of his ear.

e.     Take a cotton ball, spread it out a bit, and spray with Krylon spray adhesive and stick the cotton ball to the bottom of the molefoam.

3)    With someone holding the puppy, wrap the ears.

a.    Spray the stays with the adhesive and give them a minute to get tacky.

b.    Tear off about 4-5 strips of tape, graduating the size from about 4 inches, to 1 inch in length.  Stick them to the table hanging down where you’ll be working.                                     

c.     Get a partner to hold the puppy while you work.  Hold the puppy sideways against a body to stabilize him.  Use a hand to turn his head sideways to the taper.  Be calm assertive with the puppy.  They learn to surrender to your taping when they get used to it.  If you get in a war with them, it becomes a struggle.  If they fight you, just be calm and wait it out before you begin again.  Let them relax and reward often for being good.

d.    Pull up the ear with one hand stretching the ear up and with the other, seat the stay down into the ear.  If the stay isn’t seating well into the ear, you may have to remove some cotton.  

e.     Once seated, push the stay against the ear so the sticky side of the tape and adhesive sticks to the ear.  

f.      Beginning with the longest piece of tape, start at the base of the ear.  Work from the middle of the ear and go around the inside, creasing over the inside of the ear slightly.   

g.    Work your way up the ear, from the inside to the outside, slightly overlapping each piece, all the way to the top.  

h.    Don’t crease the tip of the ear at all!  Do cover it, however!

i.       Give the puppy a break and reward him/her!

j.      Turn the puppy around and do the other ear the same way.  

k.    Reward the puppy.  

4)  Make the bridge:

a.     Have the holder be behind the puppy and with their hands, even his wrapped ears so they’re straight up.  

b.    Make a bridge between his ears by taking a long strip of tape, sticking it to the back of the ears so the ears are not pulled in, but aren’t completely loose either.  Take the ends of the tape around each ear and restick to the bridge.  If his muscles are working, you will see slack in that bridge once in a while.  

Redo the tape when the puppy's shaking his/her head a lot and it sounds “wet” down inside, if there’s an “off” odor, or it’s been 5-6 days since his last change.