EAR POSTING - BACKER ROD METHOD - FULLY EXPLAINED

Hey guys, I made this long winded posting video because I kept getting questions about posting an I tried to cover all the questions I normally get in one video so yucca post with confidence. I hope this videos answers a lot of your questions and makes posting a bit easier for you!

This is not my method, this method has been around forever. I just tweaked it to my liking as this way works best for me and gives me great results.

Supply list:

1. Scissors

2. Gold Bond foot powder (the blue one) - if you don’t have that brand by you just look for one that’s antimicrobial and anti fungal

3. Square cotton pads (the kind you would use to remove make up)

4. Non stretch porous cloth tape - I use the 1 1/2” zonas tape, Johnson and Johnson coach tape or the Kendall Covidien porous cloth tape

5. Backer rod - I like to use the 1/2” especially on young pups but you can also use 5/8”

6. Malacetic dog ear wipes - if you can’t find these you can find some others that are anti fungal and anti microbial. I don’t like to use ear cleaning liquid as then the ear canal takes a long time to dry so just use wipes until you’re all done posting.

7. Duck tape

8. Unisolve - this can be used to get the sticky tape off the ears when removing posts so you don’t pull hair.


IMPORTANT NOTES!!!

Always post a clean and dry ear.

If the posts get even slightly wet remove them immediately even if you just posted them. Clean and dry the ear fully and repost again.

Do not let your puppy swim with posts or be in the rain with posts. Remove them, give the ear ample time to completely dry out on the inside and then repost.

DO NOT make the post around the ears too tight. If you stick the tape to the post really well before wrapping it around the ear, you will not have to put it on tight and it will still hold the post in place. Making the tape too tight around the ear cuts off circulation and is a good way to loose an ear. If the posts are popping out that just means you didn’t put them in right. That NEVER means that the tape needs to be tighter. THE TAPE SHOULD NEVER EVER BE TIGHT!!!!

If your dog is shaking his head a lot or showing discomfort and pawing at it’s ears, you probably didn’t put the posts in deep enough. Some shaking is okay especially when they’ve just been put in, but excessive shaking and pawing is a sign that you didn’t do something quite right. Perhaps the backer rod is too thick preventing you to insert the post in deep enough, at this point try switching to 1/2” backer rod even on an older dog.

Posts should be changed every 3 days, the ears cleaned and left to dry and then reposted. Do not give your dog excessive time out of posts until you’re done posting. 30 minutes is plenty. The longer the ears are out of posts the longer you’ll have to keep posting.

Make sure to post through teething. When dogs are teething their ears can flop even if they were standing perfectly before hand. Dogs with medium crops are usually done by 7 months of age, but each dog is different and this can be even longer. It is not uncommon to have to posts even as old as 15months. It all depends on the crop, how diligent you are, but genetics and ear type as well.

If you think you’re done posting, post for another month. When testing your dog out of posts, do it gradually. Do not just stop posting, but rather start testing by giving your dog more and more time between posting until your dog works up to being out of posts for a few consecutive days and the ears still look the same. If you notice any changes in the ear when testing them out of posts, repost immediately and don’t test again for at least 2 weeks.

If there is a scab, put some neosporin on it and avoid covering it with tape or the post. Sometimes if the scab is in a tricky location, you may need to give the ear time to heal before you repost, or looking into an alternative method that will avoid the scab. The ears need to be completely healed to be posted.

Give your puppy lots of treats and encouragement when done making it a positive experience. That way you get a puppy that actually looks forward to being posted rather than dreads it.

Happy posting!