How long did it take?!?!?

[Johnn04]

So tomorrow I take Duke to get his sutures removed and to get posted for the first time by the vet.

When I got his ears cropped I got a inflatable collar so he couldn't scratch his ears. Every so often I would take it off so he could have a little freedom without it. But when it came time to put it back on he would freak out and get really aggressive and REFUSE to allow me to put it back on. After the first week I quit putting it on him as he wasn't scratching at them any more. I then went to put just his collar on and he did the same thing.

I'm guessing he's probably going to be like that when I have to post his ears every 5-7 days. So what I'm asking is did your GD get aggressive when it came time? How long did it take for him/her to allow you to do it without freaking out? And also what tips do you have to prevent him from behaving aggressively. I've seen videos of people posting and the dogs are just so calm. With the way he acts right now it seems he will never allow me to do it.




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[oceanbluedanes]

I have never had a puppy show aggression towards me when I am tending to the ears.

I have also never used any type of E-collar to prevent them from messing with the ears. IME, they just don't mess with them. I do however, keep uncropped puppies away from them because they WILL mess with the cropped pup's ears. But I'm guessing that isn't your situation...

Maybe try some behavior modification? Forget the e-collar, you don't need it and its already become a very negative thing. Give your pup lots of praise and treats when you touch his ears (not the incisions). Gently touch and pet the ear while you treat and praise. Be careful not to cause discomfort at this point. Do this off and on all day, every day. Teach him that GOOD things come when you mess with his ears.

Be sure that the incisions are fully healed before posting. I usually wait a day or two AFTER stitches are removed before taping, just to make sure the final little scabs are healed and gone.

[its_country_bumpkn]

I've never dealt with aggression either while working with my GD pup. If a dog is showing you aggression then he doesn't respect/trust you or see you as the alpha, which will be a big problem when he's 150lbs+. But he's young & you have time to work on that.

While removing Timber's stitches we used peanut butter & it still took time to get him to ignore me. Now that he has it in his head that he's NOT going to have it, it's going to take a lot of patience on your part to show him otherwise. Lots of positive reinforcement like Oceanblue said, positivity goes a long way with a puppy. How you treat a young pup as opposed to an older pup is different imo, mainly since they're still learning & figuring you out while young. Now that Timber is older & knows what to expect from me I won't take his crap lol, if I did he'd outweigh me & walks for one would be a pain. But anyways that's a lil off subject, just know there's always challenges with pups but it gets better with time...like children, consistency is key

[Johnn04]

I think it was aggression because he hated not having his freedom while in the e-collar. He does allow me to rub his ears (not his stitches, I know not to touch them) but he is a hyper pup. I think he has ADHD lol. I'm just anxious to see how he does when the doc does his first post. You said something about peanut butter??? Was that while you were posting?


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[its_country_bumpkn]

We used the peanut butter on a spoon while we removed his stitches. He wasn't too hard to get to hold still while posting because he figured out quick that he didn't have a say in it but he's a pretty laid back pup. I'm sure it'd work for yours if he's so hyper, I'd start out with that in beginning but I think it's important to teach him early that you're the boss & what says goes. By that I don't mean be rough or aggressive with him, training him basic commands will help teach him to look to you as the leader. You want respect & trust, not fear...


If you always use peanut butter as a distraction instead of just teaching him to hold still then once it's gone he'll be back to fightin you soo make it a positive experience from the start.

[Johnn04]

So he got his stitches out and the vet posted him. I'm not so sure I like the method he used which was using cotton and rolling it then taping the whole ear. After reading and watching tons of videos I think id prefer the backing rod or foam pipe method better. Just seems like it'd be more sturdy. He told me to leave his posts on for 2 weeks then go back to have them taken down and then he will let them air out for a week. On the other hand everywhere or everything I've read they have said to only leave on for 5-7 days and let them air out for a few hours or until they start to drop. I'm debating on if I should take them off myself in about a week and try the method everyone has recommended!?!? Also did anyone use any kind of release agent to get the tape off of the ears?

P.s. He wasn't aggressive while taking the stitches out or while posting. He was however very wiggly which I'm sure in time he will learn to be calm during the posting. So that's always promising lol.



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[Johnn04]

Here he is.


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[Johnn04]

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[Johnn04]

Oh yeah I forgot to add that when the doc was removing the stitches I noticed there was a scab that fell off and a little bit of bleeding occurred. He still taped the whole ear! I asked if it was normal and he said yes. So what in asking is should I take his post off and let them heal a bit longer or what?


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[oceanbluedanes]

That sore can become infected while in that tape (which btw is not allowing any breathing). And you won't know for 2 weeks. Not good.

This is not the way I tape but to each their own. I definitely do NOT recommend the 2 weeks on/ 1 week off. That method has the lowest success rate of all the methods I've seen. I tell my puppy people that every day the ears are NOT taped is another week they will be taping in the long run. You want to get them up and keep them up.

I would have waited to tape them until they were fully healed to avoid infections that will take even longer to heal.

Glad to hear he was not showing aggressive behavior.



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[Johnn04]

So should I take the tape off now then and just wait till the scans heal


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[oceanbluedanes]

So should I take the tape off now then and just wait till the scans heal


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Your call.


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[Johnn04]

I decided to take his tape off. I think they look good. I'm going to wait till the scabs heal a bit more before posting. How do you guys think his ears look!?!?




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[oceanbluedanes]

Looks good! Let them heal another day or two and then I recommend you tape yourself using the methods you've researched.


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[Johnn04]

And don't tape over the scabs right? Just tape around them?


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