Ear cropping

Question
I have a Doberman that had his ears cropped but the left ear keeps falling down. What shouldI tel the vet. The vet want to do some sort of splint to keep his ear up. What do you think?

Answer
Hi Richard,

It's common to use splints to help hold the ear into a standing position. Usually, the splints are attached with tape, and the ears are set to the desired position following the cropping surgery.  There is no way to predict how long it will take an individual animal's ears to stand. Sometimes ears will have to be taped several  times, other times the ears stand right away.  The ears should be taped until they stand correctly.

If taping is not done consistantly and the ears are able to hang or curl for longer than about 24 hours, it is equivalent to starting over from the beginning.

Ear cropping can be very painful, and takes weeks if not months before they're healed. Your dog may be in pain during this time, be sure to get pain medication from your vet.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti