Droopy Ears vs Erect Ears

[Silky Buddy]

As I mentioned in my first post Louie is our first dog in 20 years. Our son and his wife have a Yorkie and we just love him. We decided to adopt one and we ended up with what we feel is an adorable Silky Terrier instead.

The shelter said they had surrender papers for Louie (whatever that means). Not that it matters to us but they said he was a purebred Silky Terrier.

All of the photo I see online of Silkys are dogs with erect ears. Louie has droopy or floppy ears which we find adorable. I am just curious, does his droopy ears mean he is not a pure bred Silky?

Please let me rush to add that we love this little pooch and feel blessed to have him in our family regardless of his pedigree. We are just trying to learn as much as we can about him.

Your insights would be most appreciated .m

God Bless....

[yorkiefan_]

Louie is adorable! What a great haircut. No idea what causes floppy vs erect ears; I have had one yorkie with floppy (no idea on pedigree) and one with erect (full blooded AKC). There are even a few people here with pups who have one ear erect and the other one floppy.

[Silky Buddy]

Thanks!! Just curious about his ears.... It seems droopy ears may not be so unusual after all. As I mentioned we love him exactly as he is but his ears were different than most pictures of Silkys we see .

[LunarBerry]

the only non-beneficial effect of floppy ears (from personal experiences and what I've heard) is more higher risk of ear infections or problems. Otherwise, it's not impossible to prevent that, just takes more care. Aside from that, it's cute and gives an almost puppy look throughout their lives. ^^ my baby girl has floppy ears but I'm hoping to help get them erected or at least hope they'll be erected to prevent health issues later on but will still love her, of course, if they stay floppy ^^;

[Magnus]

Just from the picture.. he looks more like a yorkie.. He's just so cute!!!!! Anyway, Magnus is 15.5 lbs and has floppy ears. Zoey, 5.5 lbs perky ears... Through this site, I've learned that even "pure breed" comes in all different shapes and sizes. Includes the ears.. LOL But really... he looks like a yorkie then a silky. o_O

[Silky Buddy]

Thanks.... You may be right! We are just rookies with the breed and are just going by what the shelter told us. Interesting about the ears.... I am already learning by being a member of the forum.

Please know I appreciate your reply very much!

God Bless!

[Cat2861]

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...oppy-ears.html

I'm not sure if I linked the thread correctly above did but above is another thread you could read about floppy ears too. I had posted and added a pic on that thread about my daughter's purebred yorkie who is 3 years old and his ears never stood erect because he had a lot of hair on his ears. My daughter loved the way he looked with his ears down and didn't have the groomers trim the hair off of his ears. He has never had any issues with his ears.

[lisaly]

Louie is adorable! He looks like a Yorkie to me also. Many people see a Yorkie who is larger than standard and think it's a Silky. The ears are determined by genetics, although if the hair wasn't properly trimmed when he was younger, the weight of the hair can pull them down. Good luck and lots of love with Louie. Welcome to YT.

[timtruro]

Chloe's ears are floppy and i had the same question as you at first, but she is a pure bred yorkie through and through. sometimes the ears don't come up.

[Pookie1w]

He looks just like my Coco, floppy ears and all, and she's pure Yorkie

[Yorkiemom1]

He is adorable, and he looks like a Yorkie to me also! I love his haircut!! And that sweet face.....you just want to kiss him to death!!!