Ear Taping Instructions
When taping your Chinese Crested's ears, keep in mind that the taping is to correct the flaw that keeps the ear from standing. That flaw could be a bend, a fold, a crease, or just a thin ear that needs help to get it upright. It is best to modify any taping procedure to best compensate for that flaw. This taping method uses a post and bridge to train the ear to stand in the proper fashion. The first thing you are going to need is your supplies. I use medical cloth tape that is breathable. You will also need a couple of paper towels and some scissors. That is it
The first thing you want to do is shave your crested's ear. Ear fringe can make the tape not stick to the ear as long and it also will weight the ear down. It will also make it harder for the ear to stand on its own. If you like ear fringe, once the ear is stable, you can stop shaving them. The next thing to do is take your paper towel and make a post that will go into the ear. For this part you are going to have to gage the size of your crested's ear. The model I am using, Bayden, is an adult crested with normal sized ears. Rolling one paper towel up very tightly makes the right size post for him. With a puppy, you may need half a paper towel or less
Roll the paper towel up into a tube and use a couple of pieces of tape to hold it together. Then cut that tube into two pieces..
Place the end of the tube into your dog's ear, but not into the canal. Cut the tube so it’s just slightly taller than the dog's ear. Then take the other piece of tube the same length. Next we are just going to place tape on the ends of the tubes to hold them in shape.
Our next step is an easy one. The tubes need to stick in the dog's ears, so wrap them with medical tape, sticky side out.
We want to have as much of our supply ready as possible so that we don't get caught with a dog destroying our previous work while we are trying to cut tape. Therefore, we want to cut three pieces of tape per ear. The first piece is going to be long, with an adult, probably at least 6 inches and with a puppy around 4-5 inches. The next two pieces will be an inch or two shorter. Next we need two pieces of tape for the bridge. Those as well will be long pieces, 5 inches or more. Now we have everything prepared and ready to use. The first step we are going to do is holding the ear up and forward and place the post in the middle of the ear. It is very important to hold the ear up and tight throughout the whole taping procedure so that you do not create a crease at the base of the ear. When you are placing the post in the ear be very careful not to put the post in the canal of the ear.
That area needs to remain open and breathable during and after the taping. I make sure I can fit my finger in the canal. Now that the post is in the middle of the ear, while you are being careful to hold that ear up and forward, pull the ear around the post on both sides and hold it in place.
Now things might get a little tricky for those of you with wiggly puppies. While holding the post and ear up and forward grab your long piece of tape. Wrap that tape around the base of the ear so that one inch of the tape is hanging off one side of the front of the ear and the other remaining length is hanging off the other side of the front of the ear. Pull these pieces tight in the front and stick them together. Now you should have the one piece stuck together around the ear, but with a sticky length of tape on the front.
Take this sticky part, while still holding your ear up and forward, and wrap it around the base of the ear
You should have an ear pulled up and forward and taped around its post so that it is sitting up on the Crested's head. You may want to add more tape around the original three pieces to hold them in place and make it sturdier, especially if you have a “scratcher.” One thing you want to do is make sure the tape is not too tight. You do not want to feel like there is a possibility that the circulation to the ear is being cut off. You also want to make sure that the canal is still open and has enough room to breathe. Try to stick your finger under the post and tape into the canal.
If you feel like the first ear is taped successfully, then move on and do the same procedure to the second ear. Our first step is to hold the ears so that the outer side of the ear is lined up with the outer corner of the dog's eyes, on both sides. Hold the ears in this position and place a piece of tape from one ear to the other. I usually wrap the tape around each ear. Make sure the sticky part of the tape is facing in, not out.
Now place the other piece of tape opposite of the first, so that the sticky sides are facing one another. While holding the ears in position, stick the pieces of tape together to form a sturdy bridge. You want the bridge to run along the base of the ears and the top of the dog's head.
That's it! You should have a very sturdy ear taping job that is holding the dog's ears in place, with no creases or bends, and on top of their heads. Your dog's ears should look like Bayden's do in this picture. If they are leaning one way or another, or falling forward or backwards, I would suggest fixing that as it could create a bend in the ear
Sometimes when the dog is older, their ears may be standing part of the time and will no longer require the post or the bridge. The easiest way to tape ears without either, is to use the same method we used with the long piece of tape that went around the ear and the post, but just do it around the ear. You will apply all the same principals - make sure the ear is up and forward and that there are no creases. The best thing I have found is to take the outer corner of the ear and match it up to the inner corner of the ear. Then hold the ear in that position and facing forward, while you use the long piece of tape around the base of the ear.
Once you have the long piece of tape around the base, use a couple of shorter pieces to make it sturdier. If you have done it correctly, the ears will be standing straight up in the tape, with no bends.
Moo as a puppy with taped ears, no posts.
