What makes yorkies ears stand up

But a Yorkie with floppy ears can still be considered a purebred Yorkie! Some pet owners actually prefer floppy-eared Yorkies. But if your puppy comes from a kennel or a shelter, you will likely know right away, or very soon, which category it belongs to. Keep in mind that puppies from a kennel or shelter are only released when they are at least 12 weeks old.

If the Yorkie puppies were born in your home, then you will have to wait for three to six months to see what category they fall into. There will likely be on-point and late bloomers in the litter, as well as some whose ears will remain floppy throughout their lives.

All the puppies may also have ears that become erect without external intervention, or all of them may be floppy-eared. Keep in mind that any external interventions need to be performed very carefully. You should never let your Yorkie suffer just because you want its ears to be erect! Your goal here is to aid your Yorkie in developing the muscles at the base of his or her ears.

You want the muscles to become strong enough to hold up the ears. The most common method of aiding your Yorkies ears is taping them. The steps are summarized below. According to the breed standard , the ears of a Yorkshire terrier should be small and standing.

But not all puppies, for whatever reason, have ears that rise in time. And they can be understood: weak ear cartilage in a Yorkie is considered a serious drawback, and if the ears are hanging, it can even cause lifelong disqualification of the dog and its exclusion from breeding. Normally, the ears of Yorkshire puppies rise at Later, after vaccination or during a tooth change, they may sag or even fall completely, but later they will normally get back up again.

The deadline for a Yorkie to get his ears back up is 4 months. When do Yorkie ears stand up? In any case, both ears should align and stand fully erect in a handful of weeks or months. Do all Yorkie ears stand up?

What if I have a Yorkie with floppy ears? The flat method Make a strip of tape about 3 inches long and three to four layers thick. The video below demonstrates this method. Daniel Caughill. Daniel is a professional journalist, marketer, and one of the co-founders of The Dog Tale.

But his favorite articles live right here on The Dog Tale and help you live a healthy, happy life with your pup. Share on facebook. Share on google. Share on twitter. Share on linkedin. Share on pinterest. Share on email. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Facebook Instagram Pinterest. Top Tales. Get To Know Us. In many cases, ears standing up perfectly before three months will start to droop again when the puppy is teething.

This is because nutrients being sent to the ears are now being diverted to the growing teeth. Usually, after the teething process is done, the ears will stand right up again at around six months. On the way to fully erect ears, the puppy may go through many very natural stages. What starts with tiny floppy ears in a German Shepherd might evolve into ears that flop to the side. This may turn into "flying nun" ears, where one ear is down and one looks like it wants to fly away.

Flying nun ears are usually followed by the comb-over stage, where they may be flopping over the top of the head. All of this is a normal part of the process of getting perfectly erect ears. If you are concerned about a puppy having one ear up and one ear down, have your vet check for any trauma or inflammation in that ear, which may cause it to droop.

If there is nothing physically wrong with it, check your puppy's sleeping patterns. They may always be lying on one side and squashing one ear. You can encourage them to lie on the other side to balance things out. Genetics are mostly responsible for whether a dog's ear will stand up. Dogs that come from the more wolf-like breeds have inherited the wolf's erect, alert ears. Similarly, smaller dogs like Corgis or Chihuahuas have been bred to have straight ears, with droopy-eared individuals usually taken out of the breeding program.

There are several methods that owners can use to make unruly ears stand up. Of course, this is only for breeds whose ears are expected to be erect. Some breeders, particularly of large breeds like the German Shepherd, encourage chew toys to get a puppy's ears to stand up. The idea is that consistent chewing on appropriate toys will strengthen the muscles at the base of the dog's ears and around their jaws.

This should promote the proper development of the ears. Safe and nutritious chew toys also help your pup through painful teething and divert them from destructive chewing. Cropping is the most widely known and controversial method.

In modern times, it is done mostly for cosmetic reasons. However, there is a belief that cropping a dog's ears will result in fewer ear infections. However, there is no real evidence to back this up. Ear infections seem to be more prevalent in certain breeds such as Cocker Spaniels and German Shepherds, and in specific colors such as merles. This suggests that breeders may be breeding for specific traits linked to the causes of ear infections, and it has little to do with whether their ears stand up.

Arguments against cropping cite the dangers of unnecessary surgery, including anesthesia or possible infection.

Different breeds might recommend cropping at different times. But most, like the Great Dane, recommend doing it between eight and sixteen weeks. Medium and long crops are usually done in conjunction with taping. Always speak to your breeder or vet for the best practices involving taping your dog's ears.

The idea with taping is that the ears are propped up long enough to allow the cartilage time to strengthen enough to hold the ears up independently.