Log a posting or check
Posting log
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The road to standing ears
Every vet and every crop is a bit different, so your vet's plan comes first. This is the typical arc for a Doberman crop.
The first couple of weeks: incisions heal, sutures come out, ears are posted or racked to keep them upright.
Where you are now. Posts are changed about every 5–7 days so the skin can breathe and the shape keeps training.
Around 4–6 months, while adult teeth come in, ears that already stood often lean or drop again. It's normal, so keep posting consistently.
Many Dobermans are done posting somewhere between 4 and 8 months, but some take longer. Posts come off once the vet sees ears holding on their own.
Between vet visits
🔍Daily ear check (both pups)
- Posts and tape are dry, snug and sitting straight, not twisted or sliding down.
- Sniff test: a sour or yeasty smell from inside the posts means it's time to call the vet.
- Look at the edges and the base for redness, swelling, scabs being picked at, or moisture.
- Watch for head shaking, scratching or rubbing on furniture and carpet.
- Take a photo of each pup from the same angle once a week. It shows progress better than memory does.
🐕🦺Two-puppy ear rules
- The biggest risk with two crops is each other. Pups love to chew on a sibling's posts and tape.
- Supervise all play. When one goes for the other's ears, calmly separate them for a short cool-down.
- Give them chews or a stuffed Kong during free time so mouths stay busy.
- Separate crates (side by side is fine) mean no unsupervised ear chewing overnight.
- If chewing keeps happening, ask your vet about a soft cone for the pup doing the chewing.
💧Keep them dry
- No baths while ears are posted. Spot clean with a damp cloth, keeping well away from the ears.
- Rainy walks: keep them short, and pat posts dry with a paper towel afterwards.
- Keep their faces out of water bowls, puddles and kiddie pools.
- Only use cleaners or ointments your vet has okayed for crop care.
🦴Helpful habits
- Handle their heads and ears gently every day with treats, so posting day isn't a fight.
- Bring high-value treats (and a lick mat) to every vet visit.
- Don't add calcium supplements to "help ears stand." In large-breed puppies extra calcium can harm bone growth; a good large-breed puppy food is balanced already.
- If a tape slips at home, log it here and call the vet. Don't re-tape it yourself unless the vet has shown you how.
⚠️Call the vet the same day if you see
- Swelling, heat, pus or a bad smell from the ears or posts
- An incision edge that opens up or bleeds
- Skin under or around the tape that looks dark, wet or raw
- A pup who is lethargic, won't eat or runs a fever
- Posts chewed off or badly displaced
Ear photo diary
Snap both pups from the front and side after each posting and drop the photos here.
or click below. Pick several at once with ⌘-click.