Ear weights - suddenly tipping backwards! Help!

C

CynthiaRK

Forums Novice
Hello everyone. I have a 5 month old puppy and have used glue + tungsten powder to tip his ears for the past 6 weeks or so, ever since I saw them starting to prick. I just put a blob the size of a dime on the tips of his ears and voila, they tipped forward.

It was working beautifully until a couple of days ago, when the tips of his ears started tipping BACKWARDS! Last evening we removed the weighted glue and the ears still tend to go backwards right at the tip rather than forwards.

What if anything can I do?? Must I go all the way and glue them down? Will they prick or even just move to the forward tip if I wait a few more days? My puppy is definitely still teething if that makes a difference.

Confession - I don't have a Sheltie, but rather their cousin - a Border Collie pup. It was very important to me to have his ears not prick. Learning that tipping was possible by lurking in the Sheltie forums, I was delighted to find I could have some control over this. I was attacked by a German Shepherd as a child and I knew I could bond better with my puppy if his ears did not prick but rather tipped forward, plus it's just so sweet looking. I learned it was harmless and just cosmetic. Now I'm wondering, "what have I done?"

I would so appreciate any help. Thank you!
 
Hi Cynthia and welcome to the Forums! We have loads of threads here on ear tipping and how to's, so if you want to do a search for "ears" you'll find more reading than you can handle! I don't know anyone who uses weights/powder to tip the ears on a regular basis, have only heard of it being used as an aid for dogs going in the show ring (which is illegal BTW). :cautious:

Yes, you do have to go back to square one and either glue your puppy's ears down or use something like Japanese tape to tip them forward. It's not too late, but you'll want to do it now and keep his ears in until he's done teething or about a year old. I prefer using glue; I find it easier on me and the dog, but both methods work very well so it's totally personal preference. Check the threads here for tutorials if you need them and feel free to post any questions!
 
Ann said:
Yes, you do have to go back to square one and either glue your puppy's ears down or use something like Japanese tape to tip them forward.
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Thank you so much for your kind reply, Ann. I should clarify that I don't need or want to brace the ears, just get the tips forward. Or even pricked at this point would be better than backwards. I feel like such a fool but I really had no idea...

I will do a search for sure and see if I can get guidance that way. But what would you say is the method with the least visible intervention or consequences? I wish I had done nothing now and feel very nervous about doing more. THANKS!
 
CynthiaRK said:
And this method seems minimal: http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/ear-gluing.htm
Thoughts?
Again, thanks so much!
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That's basically what I do. I do find that putting a little piece of Japanese tape at the tip of the ear (smaller than my pinky nail!) and then covering THAT in glue keeps the hair loss to a minimum, but I've done it without before and it has been fine. I'd also make sure that you're putting a nice roll in the ear vs. a fold when you glue it down--especially since BC ears are larger.
 
I agree with corbinam, and gluing is the method I use to tip the ears. The only difference is that I use Zoeze to remove the glue rather than cutting it out. It helps soften the glue and makes it easier to remove. Here's a link to a tutorial using the same method. Just skip the part on bracing.
 
Ann said:
I agree with corbinam, and gluing is the method I use to tip the ears. The only difference is that I use Zoeze to remove the glue rather than cutting it out. It helps soften the glue and makes it easier to remove. Here's a link to a tutorial using the same method. Just skip the part on bracing.
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Sorry for the confusion--I remove with Unisolve, not cutting (same idea as Zoeze). I just find that sometimes even with that it takes some hair out with it. The tape almost never snags any hair upon removal.
 
Ann said:
I agree with corbinam, and gluing is the method I use to tip the ears. The only difference is that I use Zoeze to remove the glue rather than cutting it out. It helps soften the glue and makes it easier to remove. Here's a link to a tutorial using the same method. Just skip the part on bracing.
Click to expand...

Many thanks again for the help! What a fantastic group!
 
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