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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 the first couple times they're
wrapped.
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:
b. Take another piece of tape, this one sticky side up,
and sandwich the plastic strip.
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.
a.
b.
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. Squeeze cheese and treats work
great! I've done lots of ear wrapping and the
puppies are so good after a couple wraps, you
usually can do it all by yourself with no help.
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: (You only have to do the bridge for the first couple of wraps. You should see slack in the
bridge as the muscles begin to work the ears when they are upright.)

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.
Tadah! Time for doggie cookies!