His ears do stand up on a daily basis, they just don't stay that way. I am willing to try again if it might work but I don't want to cause him anymore pain if it's not going to. Thanks! I'll get the tape ready, just in case.
Hmmm... it may very well be a "little backwards flap of skin" issue! You can tape that little flap of skin back just by wrapping the tape around the ear from front to back, on the "forehead side" then around. Here, photos are always useful!
I'd say don't give up. If they're standing some of the time, there is a chance they'll stand even better with more taping. I highly recommend getting that Kendall Curity tape from
www.kvvet.com <-- it's light and very sticky, so it'll stay on his ears longer and won't weigh them down. Also, try giving him Vitamin C (NOT calcium - you don't want to meddle with calcium in a puppy, it can cause big joint problems later on down the road). My dobes were getting 1500mg daily when they were puppies, and they were 35-45lbs at the time. You could probably get away with 500 or 1000, it's extremely hard to overdose a dog on Vit C.
This photo shows how many people "post" a Dobe puppy's ears. Notice the brace - the dobe puppy is holding his ears up by himself, so the brace is loose on top of his head. His brace was just a tad longer than what he needed, so his ear muscles would naturally develop by his efforts to hold up his ears. Ears in brace must feel funny, because most braced puppies try to hold their ears up by themselves most of the time... this is a GOOD thing - it means they're
trying to hold their ears up!
And as far as discomfort... a properly taped ear will feel funny for a few minutes, but the dog show forget about it soon. It's a funny analogy (and works better on women) but here goes. If you're a woman (if you're not... just trust me) the first time you put on a bra, it
itches and it
pinches and it just doesn't feel right. But, after awhile, you don't even notice it - especially if it's fitted correctly! Most women wander around all day without thinking about bras at all - the body desensitizes itself to the darned things almost instantly. The same applies to properly taped ears - the dog just forgets they're all taped up. I've seen puppies crash into walls, go on hikes and dive into prairiegrass, wrestle with littermates... and they don't give their little e taped ears a second thought.
I'd keep taping. Then again, I'm a dobe person - I don't give up on ears based on age...
