Posting Ears with Pipe Insulation Foam
Thanks to Linda Krukar for teaching me this method, its the bomb!

Here is the stuff, you can buy it at just about any hardware store
First cut off a length of post about an inch longer than the dogs ears

Then cut it in half lengthwise

Now cut it in quarters lengthwise

Trim off a bit of each top edge to match the shape of the dogs ears

Take a piece of 1.5 inch wide sport tape and wrap it around the bottom end of one post on the convex side (this will be the side glued to the inside of the dogs ear)

Now flip it over and squish the bottom of the post as you are rolling it towards the piece of tape - you are trying to turn the tip into a cylinder that you will insert into the ear canal. Use two thumbs I could only use one because the other hand was shooting the picture!

Keep rolling until you meet the sticky tape - use both thumbs!! then keep rolling to use up the full piece of tape you cut

Here is what it looks like with the tip done

Cut a long piece of the 1.5 inch tape, approximately twice the length of the posts

Lay one post on the sticky side of the piece of tape, convex side of the post down. Snip the tape at the top of the post from the edge to where it meets the post. This will make it easier to flip the tape over to cover the other side

Smooth the excess side tape down to stick and cover the sides of the post



Flip the other half of the tape over and smooth it down over the concave side.

smooth the excess tape over the sides

Finished post get your puppy ready!!

Put the post in the ear canal, look behind the ear for any pockets and mark on the front of the post the location.

Cut a piece of foam the size of the pocket

Place the extra foam on the back of the post corresponding to the marks on the front

Secure the extra foam with a piece of tape

Apply Skin Bond to the back of the post, I do not place glue on the part that is going into the ear canal

Apply skin bond inside the puppy's ears on the smooth part (sorry for blurry I am puppy holder and photographer!)

Prepare 4 pieces of one each tape - two for the top and two for the bottom (longer pieces for the bottom). Here is the best tip - cut additional pieces of tape the width of the ear on top and bottom and in the center of each piece of tape stick the shorter pieces sticky sides together. The non-sticky centers will be place over the furry part of the ear - making for painless and easy tape removal and no loss of fur.

Now place the post deeply in the ear canal, and stretch the ear up firmly gluing it to the back of the post. The arrow is pointing to the extra piece of foam which is treating or preventing pocket formation.

For bottom piece of tape I find it easiest to line up on the front first, placing the nonstick part right where the natural fold is.

Wrap the tape around the back of the ear

And all the way around to the front - since you have no sticky on the ear itself you need the tape to be long enough to come back around to the front to stick to the post

How do you like them dahling?

Here is a picture of them taped in from the rear view. Notice that the length is about the same as the ear - I trimmed them after they were taped in to get rid of any excess

Take a long piece of one inch tape for your brace. I start in the front and leave them fairly loose so as not to pull the ears in over the head

Then when i bring it around the back I pull it forward to stick it to the front brace so the whole apparatus of the brace is to the front, not the middle nor the rear.

Thats it! When it comes time to take them down a great tip my husband taught me is to use cooking oil - I dont use any chemical adhesive removers at all. I put some cooking oil on the tapes and let them soften a few minutes - they peel off very easily. Then for the posts I put some cooking oil on my fingers, remove the part in the ear canal (it is not glued in) and start massaging my way up with the oil added more as needed. The oil really breaks the contact and kate loves the massage. Works for us!