Collie Talk

Ear Tipping by Shasta:

Tipping the ears. Why bother.
Well it’s required for conformation competition but besides that, tipped ears add character and expression to an already beautiful collie, like me. Some collies have the genes for naturally tipped ears but most us do not. We need a little help from you the owner but only until the end of our teething stage.
There are several options for training our ears and each one has its benefit. The options which require the most work are geared for hard core competitors. These methods involve bracing the ears together and gluing most of the ear closed. We collies can’t stand these methods. The collies that say they like it are all lying. The options we collies like better are those which add weight to the tip of the ear thereby forcing it to flop over. While you don’t get full control of how our ears are going to tip, you can get pretty darn close.
The easiest option as suggested by another Goldleaf collie owner is to add a bit of floral clay to the tip of each ear. Simply tear off a small amount of clay, roll it into a ball, and flatten it like a pancake on the tip of each ear. Eventually the clay will fall off and you will need to repeat the application. Floral clay is available in rolls at craft stores like Michaels. You can also purchase it online.
For those who get tired of constantly reapplying the clay, you can add weeks between applications with a modification to the above steps. This method requires a roll of floral clay, moleskin, Osto-Bond, Uni-Solv and AloeCetic. The glue, solvent and antiseptic products are available online through Revival Animal Health at http://www.revivalanimal.com/.
1. Cut two round quarter size pieces of moleskin. 2. Assuming the roll of floral clay is half an inch wide, tear off an inch and roll it into a ball. 3. Sandwich the ball like a pancake between the two pieces of moleskin with the smooth end showing on one side and the sticky end on the other. You will have to peal off the moleskin’s protective paper for one of the inside pieces before putting the parts together. 4. Peal off the remaining protective paper, add a small amount of Osto-Bond to the sticky side and attach it to the tip of the ear. Hold it for about 30 seconds while keeping your collie busy with special treats. 5. Repeat the process for the other ear.

Between applications, use Uni-solv to remove the residual glue left on the ear. Follow up with AloeCetic to clean the entire ear. Wait one day between applications and then check the ear for infections such as red irritated skin. If the ears are in good shape, repeat the ear tipping application. If not, wait until the condition clears. Please note that since our ears are being tipped, there is a greater likely hood of infection inside the ear. Using an ear cleaner is not only highly recommended but a good practice for ongoing general hygiene.

Happy Ear Tipping From Shasta, Mountain Shadow