Ah, I see. And how do you do that with the yarn exactly? Do you sandwhich it in between pieces 1 and 2? Or cut little holes and put it through that way? Why do you guys choose yarn instead using the tape as a brace? Just curious...
You cut the longer back-piece, and place that in the ear per the diagram. Then cut a smaller, squarish piece and poke a hole in the lower left or right quadrant (depending on the left/right ear - the hole goes in the corner closer to the middle of the dog's head), per the diagram. Pass an 8" piece of yarn through the hole in the smaller piece of tape, and press it on top of the longer back-piece, down at the very bottom. Repeat on the opposite ear.
We use yarn because you can
adjust it as the puppy grows and changes. If you use a full-tape brace, you can't adjust or change anything - if you look down and realize that you aren't happy with the set on a full-tape brace, you have to take the whole mess out and start over again. If the backskull grows and the ears need to be brought closer together, same deal - you'd need to take out the full tapes and do it again. Using the yarn allows you to make fine adjustments without replacing the brace every time.
At the end of the day, everyone has their own preferred method. My mother developed this method over many years (and with much trial and error), and is happy to share her "trade secret" with the world. That's because the
real secret is
persistence. You get out of the ears what you choose to put into them - if you stay on top of the ears and brace correctly, making adjustments as needed, and never, ever let the ears stay out for more than two days (three days, maximum) at a time until the puppy is a year old, your chances of success are much higher than they would be if you put in minimal effort, regardless of the bracing method used.
Of course, your puppy will suffer no ill effects at all if you decide not to do a thing with his ears!
