EQUIPMENT REQUIRED:

Good quality adhesive tape, scissors, popsicle (or craft) sticks cotton balls, rubbing alcohol and patience. An extra pair of hands can also be very useful.

Make sure the ears are clean and dry. Rubbing alcohol wiped in the shell of the ear with a cotton ball works well.

Start by measuring the popsicle stick to the ear, as shown, from the bump to the tip. Figure 1 Trim the popsicle stick to the right length.

Cut 2 strips of tape for each popsicle stick to be used, a little longer than the stick. Affix these strips of tape to the sticks in the following manner. Place the stick onto the sticky side of one piece of tape, then place the other piece of tape on top of both with the sticky side facing out. Figure 2 This is very important as this sticky side affixes to the ear.

Cut two more pieces of tape for each ear, one to go around the bottom - approx. 5 - 6" long and another to go around the top - approx. 2" long.

Take one of your tape covered sticks and prepare to affix to the ear. This is the time to have someone hold the pup facing you if possible.

To affix the stick to the ear begin at the bottom putting the rounded end just above the bump in the ear. Hold the stick at an angle away from the head of the pup and bring the era to the stick, stretch the ear up and out gently as you do this so that the ear will sit at and angle away from the head slightly.

Holding the stick to the ear wrap your longer piece of tape around the ear starting at the front and going around between the ears as shown in figure 3. Do the same with the short piece of tape at the top of the ear.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO WRAP THE TAPE TOO TIGHTLY AS YOU COULD CUT OFF THE CIRCULATION IN THE EAR!

When both ears are up you may find it useful to put a brace between the ears. A 10 -12" piece of tape will do. Starting at the front of the ear at the bottom (stretch ear up and out) take the tape across the front of the head to the other ear (stretch that ear too) and affix to the bottom of this ear. Continue around the ear to the back where you will join the tape to the piece you just placed across the front, go all the way across until you are back where you started. Figure 4

Keep the tapes on as long as you can (as long as the ears are pointing straight up or slightly out at the top.

It is important that the ears do not tilt towards each other. Keep the tapes in good repair and remember that for every day you let the ears flop you have 2 extra weeks of taping ahead of you. GOOD LUCK.

Mary L. Curl
Shadowdale Boxers perm. Reg.