Hello Chelsea!..... and welcome to Y.T........Your problem is a common one and you might be able to help those ears along to stand up.....You will ahve shave them and tape them up......Here are some directions......
Most Yorkie puppies ears are standing by
the time they're 3 months old, but some take
longer than others. The larger the ear is, the harder it is to get it to stand. But... it can be done as long as the pup is under 6 months
old. After that, it's iffy...
For this next step You can take yours in to a groomer and have the shaving done or just use scissors to carefully trim down the hair .....
.
The first thing to do is, shave the hair off
the top one third of the ear. Hair on the
ears weigh the ears down and keeps them
from standing. I use a Wahl clipper. You
can get them from Walmart or beauty supply houses. Picture the back of your Yorkie's ear. Then picture a wide V in the back of it.
Shave off all the hair on the inside of the V.
If the ears are really long, start the V lower
on the ear about half way down.
.
Now, turn the ear over and shave the inside
of the ear exactly like you did the outside.
To trim the edges up nice and neat, wet the
ear and with a scissors trim the edges. When
the ear hair is wet, it's easier to see the out-
line of the dogs ear. If you accidentally cut
him, use quick stop to stop the bleeding. Do
me and your pup a favor though? BE CAREFUL!!!
.
.
Next, clean out your pups ears thoroughly.
Use any good ear cleaning solution and a
q tip. Be sure you don't dig for gold in his
ear though. We don't want any punctured
ear drums. Dry his ears thoroughly. A blow
dryer on low will work nicely.
.
Now, fold the ear toward the front like you
were closing it up vertically (up an down).
As you can tell, I'm no artist, but I hope
you get the idea. Now the ear should be
sticking straight up in a point.
.
.
Wrap a piece of gauze around the ear and
then secure it by wrapping either scotch tape
or bandage tape around the gauze. It has to
be tight enough that it will stay for a while
but not so tight that it cuts off the circulation
in the ear. If the pup gets it off in the first 5
min, it's too loose. Try again, a little tighter
this time. Also, make sure the ear is standing
straight up on the dog's head and not
flopping off to the side.
.
Note: The gauze is mostly for show dogs to
protect the hair on their ears. If yours is just
a pet, go ahead and use the scotch tape alone.
You might loose a few hairs, but not enough
to make a big difference.
The ears should be taped for 3 days. After
that, take them down and leave them alone
till they start drooping again. Only retape
the ear that's drooping. Leave the other
one alone till it starts drooping, then tape it
again. Leave it up for 24 hrs and then take
it down and wait till it starts drooping again. Keep doing this until they stay up permanently.
.
How long before they stay up permanently?
Good question... They'll stay up when they
stay up. Some ears only need the 3 days
and others need 3 weeks. It all depends on
the size and strength in your pups ears.
.
How often will I have to tape? Well, you
didn't think your little fur ball was going to
make it easy on you and leave the tape in,
did you? Nope, he's going to pull it out any
and every chance he gets. Keep the tape and
gauze in a handy place.
))
.
If by some miracle he does leave it in, to get it
out you'll have to cut it out. I always go along
the back side of the ear to do this. Cutting on
the front side is too easy to cut a piece of ear.
Just insert the scissors under the gauze and
snip a little at a time. PLEASE, BE CAREFUL!!! Cut your dog and you're liable
to get bit. Try not to cut too much of the long hair under there either if you're not using the gauze. If you're not good with scissors or
you're a nervous person, then I'd recommend you get a blunt nose scissors. It's a handy instrument to have to keep from cutting your pups ear off too.
.
I promise, you'll be an expert at taping the first day. You'll sure get enough practice.
))
Here's a picture of a taped pup....
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/880898-post7.html
Good luck with you're little guys ears......You can see in my avatar that my little Jake's ears just didn't make it! lol