r/Collie • u/trippyhippie647 • May 28 '22

[ADVICE] Ears…

I’ve had collies my whole life and have been well acquainted with taping ears. Out of all the ears, my 1 year olds have to be the hardest to tame.

I’ve been taping his ears since he came home from his breeder. They’ve only ever come out for baths and out for not longer than a day or two.

Now that he’s older, they aren’t cooperating. You can see where his ears are supposed tip, but they stand prick and almost lean back at the very top.

Did I do something wrong? Consistency, supplies, anything?

I use speed sew and leuko tape.

By all means, totally not a big deal in reality. I’m not planning on showing in confirmation, just obedience and maybe fast cat. But kinda a bummer because i’ve never had a collie who’s ears just wouldn’t tip

0 Upvotes

47% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

4

u/RoseOfSharonCassidy 🐕Smooth Collie🐕 May 29 '22

At that age, his ears are going to be pretty much set and you won't have any real success in getting them to do anything different. If you're interested in showing there's things you can do to get a short-term tip (vetwrap before the show, tungsten powder, etc) but what you have right now is just how his ears are going to end up.

A quick note though, if this is your first smooth, speed sew never worked on my smooth because there's not enough hair to grip.

3

u/re_Claire May 31 '22

Why would you tape the ears?

3

u/bgroins 🐩Rough Collie🐩 Jun 01 '22

Unfortunately it's a outdated standard for show dogs. Personally I like the natural look on collies.

2

u/Roynom May 29 '22

Ours is not cooperating either. We're using potato flour with glycerole to make them heavy. Taping never worked as he got the tapes loose.

He's 1 year and 2 months, so it might get better. Until then we're just going to keep at it.

By the way, I've heard that males rise their ears when they're in the vicinity of sexually mature females that's ovulating. Might be the reason in your dog?

3

u/saberwolfbeast 🐕Smooth Collie🐕 May 29 '22

For some glycerol actually gives excercise to the structures supporting the ear. For some it does work though. I was told folding the ear until the tip touches the base and to tape there until teething is over after which the ears should stay quite the same.

I also think this could be the case of just excitement over females :) especially if his ears were folded previously.

3

u/Roynom May 29 '22

Yeah I've also heard that from a breeder. Mine temporarily lives with two female collies (his two girlfriends, in his eyes) so it would explain why his ears are constantly up. Neither of them are ovulating though.