The Ear Saga of Woe

The Ear of Woe. Spot the injury—if you can!

Holy crap. Most exhausting, stressful week in quite some time.

After Kaline got the sutures in his ear, he had to be in a bandage, snood, and cone for three days. On day two, I noticed the snood's mesh starting to cut into the exposed underside of his ear, so back we went to have that off. The bandage and cone remained. Kaline, on sedatives, stayed mostly quiet and actually had a fairly good appetite. We got the poor little invalid some baby food to tempt his palate. Mom has been especially solicitous, even to the point of telling off her “girlfriend” Juno for barking at Kaline!

Sunday was day three, and we took Kaline back to the e-vet to have the bandage completely off. He was in the back an interminably long time. I heard the ominous sound of him being allowed to do a whole body shake. A long while after that, a vet (not the last one we had) came out to talk to us.

He had, indeed, busted his ear yet again. They'd glued it and were bandaging him again. I was extremely frustrated that they had allowed him to shake off as hard as he wanted right after the bandage came off. I was frustrated that they only wanted to leave the bandage on three days. (The reasoning for that—limiting the risk of other problems arising due to moisture in the ear—was explained to me by one of the excellent techs.) The vet just said we needed to be patient. Which was also frustrating, because I for one would've been happy to leave the bandage on for a week! (Before learning that that would be bad.)

Then came the kicker. The vet goes: “Well, he is a Doberman. You could always crop his ears.” Were I a cartoon character at that moment, my face would've turned bright red, smoke would've come out my ears, and my eyes would have zoomed about a foot out from my face. Kaline's cut is measured in millimeters. And somehow a solution to that would be cutting off most of his ears? Also, HELLO, you don't crop the ears of a fifteen-month-old dog. Twelve weeks old is considered late to do it. I was just furious and way overwhelmed with anxiety and worry. And I'd been stupid and left Juno home with Mom.

When Kaline finally came out, with a bandage that looked like a diaper on his head in addition to his cone, I immediately went to hug him because I was just so relieved to see him. Despite being sedated and probably in some pain or at least discomfort, Kaline immediately started deep pressure into my chest. I almost started sobbing right there. I couldn't believe he was trying to take care of me when he was the one all the bad things were happening to.

Diaper bandage and cone.

Everything just looked disastrous—we might have to cut off a piece of his ear (again, explained by the tech as to why that could be helpful/necessary—the techs are unfailingly excellent over there), the entire trip to Michigan could be off, Kaline was back in the cone and clearly not a happy camper.

Three more days of tense waiting commenced. The appetite stayed fairly good, amazingly, and somehow my family were all able to work our schedules so Kaline was almost never by himself. The sedatives were a really big help, because it stopped him wanting to shake so often and also meant that the 20-30 minutes of exercise he was allowed per day were enough. I shudder to think of an un-sedated Kaline forced to endure days with that little exercise!

Poor little invalid.

Yesterday, we headed to our regular vet to have the bandage off. I formulated a plan, we followed it exactly, and it worked!

When we went in, Noel carefully slid the cone off and cut the bandage off Kaline's head. He had a ring of adhesive residue around his neck and some irritation from the bandage on the front of his neck, but the ear looked pretty good. I kept a good hold on his collar, preventing him from shaking, and gently held his bad ear in a piece of gauze. Dr. Mihalek came in with the little plastic vials of glue and applied that while I held Kaline and his ear. Once it was dry, we let him go but I still didn't let him shake. Brilliant.

Yay, Real Kaline™ is back!

We got home, and I gathered my supplies bought earlier in the day: wound cream, wound powder to stop bleeding, and liquid bandaid. All we needed was liquid bandaid. I applied it liberally to his ear and since then, it has held up beautifully! I've been watching Kay carefully, and he's always either on leash or on an e-collar so we can nip any shake in the bud. Nonetheless he's managed about three full-body shakes (mostly in the car) since yesterday afternoon, and his ear is still intact! Liquid bandaid, you are my hero. The trip to Michigan is back on, and boy, is it ever wonderful to see my puppy's beautiful face framed by his marvelous, silky ears again. I feel like I worked really hard to get those ears! I don't want anything bad to happen to them. Kaline is clearly so much happier out of the cone (shocking, I'm sure). I'm still a little on edge and checking his ear obsessively anytime he gets a good shake in, but I feel loads better.

In case they're reading: Big, big thanks to all my friends who supported me through all the stress and offered excellent advice. Especially everyone who said, “Just GLUE IT already!” Should've listened to you much earlier. And extra super special gratitude to Maura, Kaline's breeder, leader of the Glue It Already group, who is always there with super helpful advice and encouragement. 

Stacked photos, 8 weeks, 1 day

There are new stacked photos of most of the pups, and wow, do the cropped pups ever look different and grown-up. It turns out three of the six pups are being left natural (Kaline of course is one), which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I can appreciate the look of a beautifully cropped Doberman, but to me, there is nothing more gorgeous than a natural-eared pup! Just four days!

My boy Kaline! I cannot wait to stroke those silky ears.

Olive, the black female who the breeder will co-own. Show pup! :)

Red collar boy (blue collar boy was asleep! Red boy probably was too.) Love the face on this little one.

Red girl.

Why ... ?

Why a Doberman?

When most people think of service dogs, they think of Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and German Shepherds. Without a doubt, these breeds are well suited to the work. They are intelligent, a convenient size for serving most disabilities, friendly and calm.

But for me, a Doberman is the perfect dog.

I have both physical and psychiatric disabilities. No dog fills my needs like a Doberman. Dobermans are intelligent and trainable (yes, there is a difference!). A male who meets the breed standard—26-28 inches at the shoulder—is the perfect size for me, tall enough that I will be able to touch his back without leaning over (I'm pretty short). There are situations where I will need my dog to lead me, or just provide forward momentum, and the fact that his vest handle will naturally be at the right height is a huge plus.

Dobermans are “velcro” dogs. They want to be with you all the time (ask any Doberman owner when the last time was they went to the bathroom alone—most won't be able to remember), and are terrifically in tune with their person's emotions. They want to please you and keep you safe—and they're smart enough to know when they should employ “intelligent disobedience” for your own good. Again, perfect for me!

To some people, Dobermans can be intimidating. While I will be sure to turn my little guy into an ambassador for his breed, the intimidation factor is not necessarily a bad thing for me. A huge problem service dog handlers have is members of the general public touching, talking to, feeding, and otherwise distracting their service dogs. I'm hoping (probably in vain) that a Doberman will not be as likely to get molested as a cuddly looking Golden.

On the practical side, Dobermans also require minimal grooming due to their short, sleek coats. When you have frequent problems getting your hands to work without pain, that's a big plus. What about the ear-posting, you might ask? That's a lot of work on your hands. Well, my Doberman's ears will NOT be cropped. They will be adorably floppy, and thus require no more out of my hands than constant gentle stroking!

Why Gatehouse?

I chose Gatehouse Dobermanns after a ton of research into Doberman breeders and breeding. One of my big limiting factors was that I was not willing to compromise about my puppy's ears. Some people think that cropped ears are what make Dobermans look like Dobermans; I respectfully disagree. I love the natural look!

However, a breeder in the U.S. who will sell you an uncropped puppy is likely (though not necessarily) one of two things: either he/she is an unethical breeder just looking to make a buck, or he/she breeds working-line Dobermans. Obviously, going with an unethical breeder was never an option for me. A good breeder will take care of the cropping for the puppies before they ever go to their new homes; and most good breeders will not allow puppies to go home uncropped because should the dog be returned for any reason, it is much harder to rehome an uncropped Doberman. I don't know why this is so, but it is.

Most working-line Dobermans are just too much dog for me and the job I envision for my service dog. The reason I originally planned to go with Von Luka, a working-line Doberman breeder, was 1) for the uncropped ears and 2) because the breeder was planning a European show line litter—lower drive than your average Doberman competing in Schutzhund. She knew exactly what I needed in a dog and knew that I would get what I was looking for from that litter.

But once I could no longer wait for the Von Luka litter, it meant I would need to look for a pup in Canada. In Canada, cropping is seen as optional. Gatehouse puppies are cropped before they go home, if their owners desire; but if you want your puppy's ears left natural, that's fine too. Gatehouse had a litter coming up in spring, from parents who have been titled in the show ring as well as extensively health and temperament tested. My pup's mom is quite the velcro dog, and his dad is a big, laid back guy. Mom is black and Dad is red; I am hoping for a black male as my service dog candidate.

Why a male?

Generally, for peace in the household, it's a better idea to have two dogs of the opposite sex, rather than two of the same sex. Juno's a girl, so I had always planned for her successor to be a boy.

Boys also get a bit bigger than girls, and I want a dog on the bigger side. (That is not to say that breeding dogs specifically for large size is acceptable—it is decidedly not.) I would just rather have a taller, heavier Doberman, and with a boy, that's what you get.

All dogs are different, obviously, but from what I have heard from other Doberman owners, males tend to be more eager to please, more goofy, more affectionate, etc. I have definitely experienced the bitch personality with Juno—sometimes you just get the look: "You want me to what? Um, no, not right now. Stop bothering me." I think the whole boy-girl personality thing applies, to an extent, with all dog breeds. I train a lot of different dogs, and I almost always have a better rapport with the boys. Except when it comes to Juno, naturally!

I realize it's a big generalization, and I'm not saying girls or boys are better. I'm just saying I think a boy is better for me, right now, and for what I want him to do.

Why Kaline?

My puppy will be named for Detroit Tigers great Al Kaline. His "call name" anyway—his official registered name is still up in the air. Al Kaline is in the Hall of Fame, hit 399 home runs over his career, won a batting title at the tender age of 20, and played on the 1968 World Champions. He is also a complete class act, known as Mr. Tiger. He is a constant presence around the current Tigers. In case it wasn't obvious, the Tigers are my favorite team!