Sheltie Forum Pups Spring/Summer 2014

Callan is now 15 weeks, and one of his ears is starting to fly again! I guess it's time to decide to glue or not to glue.

I prefer the tipped ear, but it's such a pain to maintain. What are most of you with our new crop of pups doing?
 
Bailey is 5 months old & I am still using glue however I am no longer glueing the ears together at the top only glueing the tips over with "speed sew" His breeder indicatd they seem to be high enough now on his head so no real need to glue together at the top of his head) . It lasts about 3 weeks before it comes out even with playing with our cat constantly. Not sure how long I will persist but for now I am keeping it up since the glue is not too complicated ( unlike the other methods)

Just one dab of glue to at tip, pinch to the bottom inner corner for a few seconds & voila !!
 
I was going to ask what the concensus is on the gluing. What is the best brand?

I have done the wall measurement -- stand by wall, mark, measure mark. Probably need to add a wicket to my shopping list!
 
Here's a novice's take on the products I've seen/been introduced to in the past couple weeks.

Enzo's ears were glued by his breeder. They recommended I use Tear Mender. We had tried to use Speed Sew glue with Bentley many years ago and it was a nightmare. The comparison I can quickly make is that Tear Mender seems to dry a bit faster, but it's also more liquidy (you can deduce the pros and cons).

To remove glue, don't even bother with Zoeze. Disaster. Didn't work one iota. Uni-Solve was a lifesaver. Makes the glue gummy and it comes right out with little to no hair ripping.

Now, to compare gluing to taping. Gluing seems easier, once you get the hang of it (which I haven't yet). Watching a "pro" do it, it's quick and easy. When I did it, glue got everywhere and we had to start over. The second time we did it it was better, but they ended up crooked because in our desperate effort to concentrate on the amount and location of the glue, we forgot to compare the ears. Also, it took so long that there was no way we were going to undo it at all and start over. Enzo had definitely had enough. And last thought on the glue--I feel like the glue in the middle has to be a bit less comfortable for the puppy than a brace (that you can make bigger as the puppy grows).

Now my thoughts on the tape. If your puppy has small ears it can be hard to get the tape the right size and in there without grabbing hair. I remember with Lexi that we had difficulty getting the tape to stick, even when her ears were cleaned out well. We had a breeder at USDAA Regionals give us some tips and she uses some sort of medical skin prep that is tacky (it's a wipe) that helped the tape stick right away. You also have to measure puppy's head/ear spacing to create the right size brace. So that's an extra step, though see my comment above about liking the fact that it can "grow" with the puppy. I also feel like even a pro has some trouble with tape (again, compared to the glue which seemed fast for a seasoned sheltie person--not me). And I also feel like the tape will likely not last as long as the glue (skin will get greasy, there is a physical thing that he or another dog could grab and rip out potentially).

So there you have my novice views on the popular methods and materials.
 
In some universe, prick ears are charming, right?

It totally works for my shepherd with his razor sharp ears. The sheltie rocks them until she focuses on something and they tip all cute like. I have to assume she was not glued. Sigh. Each night I pray the baby has enough natural tip to stay that way, but then I look at his 2 prick-eared parents and reality stands out.

I have a month more to think about it. My husband is a GREAT model builder and fabulous with super thin glues. I might have him become a gluemaster and I be director and holder. Sigh.
 
we used wig glue- came with Cranberry....
he mostly got glued once a week and has beautiful ears
and to be honest, never removed the glue....

Jocu also came with glued ears but with Cranberry constantly playing with him, the glue did not last- we were gluing literally every evening. then we hooked up with a local breeder who introduced us to Japanese tape- which was wonderful stuff and stayed in for weeks at a time. the breeder did say that she wasn't sure that his ears would tip nicely so tape from May 2013 to Jan 2014 got us barely tipped ears

Destin also was glued and then switched to tape and his tip ok.

Detachol was used to remove the tape when I needed to redo the ears.

never really braced any of the ears- just tipped them.

Dixie came with her ears already done:wink2:
 
I use tear mender glue. Will not use any other brand. I also use unisolve, again I have tried others and will not use any other brand. Celtic is the 5th sheltie I have done in my house and I have use glue for them all.

Justice barely has tipped ears but he was the first. I tried braces and tape and that was a distaster. We also tried Japeanese tape with Grizz , never again. In our hands it sucks, too much fussing.

Ember, Diva and Birch have almost perfect ears. I was lucky in that after about 4-5months the middle brace was not needed and I only had to do the tips.

It helps to have a second person to steady the pup. I doubt I could do it on my own.
 
Lol! I just read another dog forum that talked about using Breathe Right strips to brace between the ears.! Dunno....it could work! :smile2:

I think I might actually have some in the house...maybe I'll try it (without extra glue - the post actually said to reinforce with crazy glue! :eek2:) just to see if he tolerates it!
 
Memo to file....if I want peace in the afternoon, bring Callan to the store every morning! He won't stop sleeping! Wouldn't even eat his lunch, he was so tired! He has been snoozing now for 3 hours and barely twitched! :smile2: I could have gotten a ton of stuff today, but missed the chance.
 
I got word that puppy watch has begun! Temperature taking twice a day and it could be tomorrow, but likely the next few days... so exciting!

Wishing Justus' sister, Georgia, an easy labor and delivery! So hopeful my next new love will be born in this litter...
 
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