Yet another quesion about yorkie ears!

[nicksgf]

Scooter will be 4 months old soon, and his ears are down. I've had him for a month and his ears have never gone up in that time, they've always been down.
I know most people suggest shaving, taping, etc. etc. to make ears stand up, but will they stand up if I do nothing at all?
The thing is, I think he looks adorable right now with his ears down. But when his face grows I think he'll look better with them up. So I don't want them up until later, really. Will they go up on there own if they're just given time? Will they still go up if I decide to wait until 6 months to shave them? Is there a cutoff age where if they're not up by now they'll never go up?
Sorry for so many questions, he's just so cute right now and I don't want to change that! haha

[jencar98]

I believe the longer you wait to encourage his ears to stand, the less likely they will ever stand. If you want them to stand in the future, I would start shaving, taping, etc. Although, it might be too late as it is now.

[lifesaver]

My yorkie ears ere doing the same thing.I went ahead and carefully trimmed the hair around her ears tapering them.Please be careful when doing this if you use scissors.

also trip the top backside about 3th ways down just thin it out and also inside if there is hair.

After doing this my Yorke's ears stood straight up.. she is 16 weeks old
I did this last week.

[erickajm]

I agree..my Brady has bigger ears and I tape them, they do good...then slowly start falling back down...sometimes Iwonder if I will get them to stay up perm. Molly's tips tend to flop...but I think she is on her way...tape is helping! Mason...had his perked up right at 5 weeks. Keep taping them...the younger the better!

[nicksgf]

ok thanks for all the help! I guess we'll be trimming and taping after his bath tonight! Hopefully they'll still go up! He's still teething, so I think there's hope yet!

[LaurenThig]

Oh there's nothing to taping... don't worry about it a bit. Lily is 16 weeks old and I just did her ears within the last few days. Just cut 4 squares of masking tape, put one on the front and the back of each ear and that's it! He'll probably scratch at them for a while, but keep him distracted and eventually he'll forget about them. After 2 days Lily's ears went up... one still has a tendency to flop at the tip so I'm still working on it.

Good luck!

[missmolly_mtl]

One of Toby's ears wasn't standing either - When we brought him home his ears were up, and then one flopped down for the longest time... I wasn't sure what to do except for the trimming and taping... Which I wasn't sure about...

One day last week I fed him some canned salmon - boneless & skinless, just a small amount..like less than 1/4 a can - and to my amazement, the next day his flopped ear was up! I've fed him a few days in a row of the salmon, and his ears are still up...
I'm really not sure if that makes any sense at all, but it worked!
The hair on his ears are long too, but his ears are up

If you're at a loss try a little salmon... either way it's packed full of healthy goodness, so it's worth a shot.

All the best!

Molly & Toby

[nicksgf]

Originally Posted by missmolly_mtl

One of Toby's ears wasn't standing either - When we brought him home his ears were up, and then one flopped down for the longest time... I wasn't sure what to do except for the trimming and taping... Which I wasn't sure about...

One day last week I fed him some canned salmon - boneless & skinless, just a small amount..like less than 1/4 a can - and to my amazement, the next day his flopped ear was up! I've fed him a few days in a row of the salmon, and his ears are still up...
I'm really not sure if that makes any sense at all, but it worked!
The hair on his ears are long too, but his ears are up

If you're at a loss try a little salmon... either way it's packed full of healthy goodness, so it's worth a shot.

All the best!

Molly & Toby

Thanks for the tip! That sounds much easier than taping and trimming. I wonder if it's a coincidence or if the salmon really helped?
I think we'll still be shaving them tonight, but if he really hates it we'll have to try the canned salmon!

[nicksgf]

Originally Posted by LaurenThig

Oh there's nothing to taping... don't worry about it a bit. Lily is 16 weeks old and I just did her ears within the last few days. Just cut 4 squares of masking tape, put one on the front and the back of each ear and that's it! He'll probably scratch at them for a while, but keep him distracted and eventually he'll forget about them. After 2 days Lily's ears went up... one still has a tendency to flop at the tip so I'm still working on it.

Good luck!

You wouldn't happen to have a picture would you?

Scooter's ears just seem to suit his face when they're down - I'm almost worried I won't like them up! See my avator. Did anyone else let their Yorkies' ears stay down?

[nicksgf]

Just an update - trimmed his ears last night after our bath! He hated hearing the scissors so close to his ears! He did not want to sit still, so it was a bit of a challenge! They aren't very even either. One ear popped up easily, so I stopped cutting it, then the other didn't, so it's trimmed much more and now taped haha! He looks so silly! Not sure If I'll ever be able to groom him myself, I think I'd just make a big mess of him! I see ears in the pictures and they look so neat! I wish Scooter would have sat still so I could have made them look nice. He squirmed once and I almost nipped him, there is a bald spot on his one ear! It was so close I was scared to keep going. But I think his ears are going to stand up, so that's good news! And he's still cute as ever, I'm glad I did this now rather than later!
How long do you keep them taped for? Just until they stand on their own?

[Yorkie in CA]

I know what you mean, My hubby and I think Oso looks so adoreable with his ears floppy. We call him floppy sometimes. LOL I think about taping his ears, but it gives him so much character. I love when he tips his head to the side and one ear goes up half way.. just to cute.
It is a hard call. Good luck in your decision.

[jencar98]

Originally Posted by nicksgf

Just an update - trimmed his ears last night after our bath! He hated hearing the scissors so close to his ears! He did not want to sit still, so it was a bit of a challenge! They aren't very even either. One ear popped up easily, so I stopped cutting it, then the other didn't, so it's trimmed much more and now taped haha! He looks so silly! Not sure If I'll ever be able to groom him myself, I think I'd just make a big mess of him! I see ears in the pictures and they look so neat! I wish Scooter would have sat still so I could have made them look nice. He squirmed once and I almost nipped him, there is a bald spot on his one ear! It was so close I was scared to keep going. But I think his ears are going to stand up, so that's good news! And he's still cute as ever, I'm glad I did this now rather than later!
How long do you keep them taped for? Just until they stand on their own?

Until you and Scooter are more comfortable with the scissors, try one of the small beard trimmers from Walmart. It's almost impossible to cut the ear and you can get them shaved very closely. They are quiet enough that most yorkies don't mind the noise.

The one I use cost less than $20 and I've been using it to trim feet and ears for two years now. I finally bought a full size set of clippers for complete grooming but still use the small set for ears.

[HattonsMama]

My poor baby has giant ears, so they will never stand... and I think that he looks so cute with his floppy ears! I did have him taped for a while when he was a pup, but no matter how long they were up they just went straight back down... I was told that some times they just won't stand up, and I'm ok with that. :-)

[nicksgf]

Originally Posted by jencar98

Until you and Scooter are more comfortable with the scissors, try one of the small beard trimmers from Walmart. It's almost impossible to cut the ear and you can get them shaved very closely. They are quiet enough that most yorkies don't mind the noise.

The one I use cost less than $20 and I've been using it to trim feet and ears for two years now. I finally bought a full size set of clippers for complete grooming but still use the small set for ears.

Thanks for the advice, I did go out and buy a small shaver and his ears are much neater now! He still doesn't like sitting still, but I think he's more comfortable with the shaver than the scissors too, so that's good.
We only had to tape Scooter's ears for 1 night, and now they are both standing, and I still think he's as cute as ever!
Thanks for everyone's advice!

[AMMARI]

The older he is the more difficult it will be to make them stand. I kept waiting, then I felt bad taping them, so Sammy has floppy ears. I like them. hehehehe