Done properly, it is NOT a painful procedure.  But it can take up to a year or more to get ears to stand, so it can be quite a commitment.

Do NOT get your puppy's ears cropped unless you are prepared to find a veterinarian who is an expert at this surgery.  It's an art as much as anything, and a bad ear crop can really ruin the looks of a nice dog. Ask show breeders of Danes and/or Dobermans in your area who they go to.  You also need to be honest with yourself that you will be willing and able to provide the follow up care!  You can take the puppy in to the vet each week to be re-taped, but it is much easier on your puppy if you learn to do it yourself.

If you get your puppy before the ear crop, the very FIRST step is to handle the puppy's ears a lot.  Not just scratching behind the ears, but gently clean them, massage around the base and up the length of the ear, and gently stretch the ear upward.  Give the puppy many small treats and lots of praise while you practice this!  You want to teach the puppy that it doesn't hurt to have her ears handled.  If approached correctly, ear taping can be a calm, pleasant experience for both the puppy and her owner.

Like any grooming task, it is MUCH easier on everyone if you wait until your puppy has had some play time and a meal and is ready to sleep for a while.  Wrestling with a puppy who is in full-fledged PLAY MODE is frustrating for everyone!!

I typically tape my dog's ears in the evening before bedtime, but you can do it anytime the puppy is ready for a nap.

The first few times you put up your puppy's ears you will need a helper.  Your helper should GENTLY restrain the puppy in a way that you can still get to the puppy's ears and see the puppy's head (so you can see if the ears are positioned properly).  I personally find that after the first time or two, I don't need a holder except maybe to hold the pup's head straight while I make the "bridge".  But all puppies are different, if your puppy is calmer with someone holding him or if it is just a lot easier for you, then by all means have someone hold the puppy for you.

To measure your puppy's ear, gently stretch the ear up and measure from the knob you see in the photo up past the tip of the ear.  Ideally you want the stay to extend about a quarter inch past the tip of the ear.

If you want to use the corset stays, measure your puppy's ears and order the nearest size that is NO SHORTER than the ear.  Then, since Dane puppies grow so fast, order one or two more pairs each 1/2" longer than the others so you'll have longer stays ready for your puppy to grow into.

The stays can be re-used, often for several weeks.  However, ALWAYS measure the stay against the pup's ears before you get started!!  One day the stays you've been using will be too short - better to find that out before you have prepared the whole ear support!

To prepare the stay, tear a piece of your stickiest tape about 1.5" - 2" longer than the stay.  Lay that piece STICKY SIDE UP on your table.  Lay the stay on top, near one end and centered width-wise.  Tear a second piece just a little longer than the stay - this second piece can be as long as the first piece but doesn't have to be - and lay that also STICKY SIDE UP on top of the stay.  Use your fingers to seal the tape around the stay.

Most of the time, you will cut one roller in half and that will be perfect for your base. 

By the time it occured to me to document how I put up ears, Dakota was almost 6 months old and needed a slightly taller base to support her ears.  Many puppies NEVER need a taller base, it just depends on the dog and how their ears are growing.

So in this photo, obviously I haven't cut the roller in half.  But that's what you will do! 

Then remove the velcro - it actually will be easier for you if you remove the velcro BEFORE you cut the roller - and file the cut edges smooth.  Pad the roller by covering it with Curity tape, being especially careful to pad the edges.

Lastly, back tape the roller sticky side out.

You can make the roller any size you need.  To start with, always use a half roller without the velcro.  Later on, if you need to make the base taller you can do that, or if you need to make it wider just leave the velcro on.

NOTE: However, I have learned that if the base is too large, the ears won't stay up as long!  If you experiment with a larger base and find that your ear supports come loose in a few days, that is the problem.  Go back to a smaller base.

You will notice that the roller in the back on the right (behind the tape) looks different.  That one was made by folding and then tightly rolling up a piece of paper towel.  That is a good method of making a base too - the advantage is that a paper towel base is softer but the disadvantage is that it is slightly heavier.  I use paper towel bases if the pup starts to get an abrasion on the ear from the edge of a roller. 

But if you pad the roller really well, that shouldn't happen.

Place a back-taped roller against the BASE of the NON-STICKY side of one of the stay sandwiches.  The base is the end closer to the edge of the tape.  The long tail of tape will go over the tip of the puppy's ear.

Wrap a piece of tape around the roller and the stay to hold them together, and then back-tape the roller again.

Tuck the little tail of tape at the base of the stay sandwich inside the roller, and if necessary stick some tape on it to hold it in place.

Once you have prepared the supports for both ears, apply a thin layer of skin glue to the sticky side of the stay and about half the roller.  You should not need to put glue on the free end of tape that will go over the top of the ear.