The big ear debate...lol
 

Okay, I've tried to research as much as possible....but I'd really love some input here. I've done the search and seen what people say about taping the ears so they stand...but my question is, will it be a disadvantage to Isabella if her ears don't stand, and if we don't force them to do so? Standing ears are mainly just for the LOOK of them, correct, and have nothing to do with health issues involving her ears or anything?

The reason I ask is, while we were at the vet on Saturday, the Dr. basically said that if Isabella's ears haven't stood on their own already, they're not going to without some help. He told us that he thinks she looks perfectly fine with them down (he used the word beautiful :), and that if it were him he'd leave them the way they are. Since we're not showing Bella, and she's simply a house dog, I see no problem with it. I just want to make sure it's OKAY for her (this probably sounds silly) to have them down for the rest of her life.

And, is it true that they won't eventually stand on their own at some point? Isabella is 10 and a half weeks old, she'll be 3 months old on February 14th. Does it just take time for them to stand?

Any input, advice, etc. would be greatly appreciated, thank you. We're leaning towards just letting nature take it's course--if they stand great, if they don't that's just fine too. But, I'd love feedback.

Girl, you still have time to get those ears up. Trim all the hair off of them. You will be surprised how much is actually there even though it doesn't look like it. Yes, they are still adorable down. But, Yes, a "down eared" dog tends to be more prone to ear problems that one that has them up. Air flow.

That's kinda what I thought :( I don't want her to have more problems than needed because we didn't do something, which is why I asked. In trimming the hair off her ears (which is something I've NEVER done, lol), what do I do? I remember seeing something before about it here, should I just do a search on "trimming hair"?

They could still stand if you shave them and tape them. We got Loki at 13 weeks and his ears were down. No amount of taping was going to help. We tried with NO luck. I didn't shave them, but they are so thick and big and floppy it was hopeless. I LOVE them down. He's never had an ear problem. They still stick up a little and then flop over, so it's not the same as say a Lab with ears always down.

Oh please! Baileys didn't go up till he was between 6-7 months old.
Massage them alot, I did not tape at all. One went up, then the other, then one would fall, then one day they were both up to stay! :D

I'm glad I posted here, 'cause I didn't understand why he said they wouldn't on their own at this point when she's not even three months old! This is a great vet, his family has nothing but yorkies and he's just wonderful with Bella, but I disagreed with him there. I kinda wanted them to stand naturally on their own, but that's just so I didn't have to nervously get scissors anywhere near her head, lol.

Logan's didn't both stand up all the time until he was 5-6 months old. I didn't care whether they were up or down so I didn't mess with them. for a long time just one would stand up which was super cute. His ears are huge too so it can happen you just might wanna give it a little time.

Oh my goodness, Logan is adorable!!

Well, if it were my pup, I'd trim the hair off the ears. You can use scissors to trim around the shape of the ear and even to cut the other hair off. But...if you have one of those trimmers that they show that won't bust a balloon, use one of those on the ear ittself. I don't tape either. Of course I start trimming the hair off the pups in my litters while they are still little babes and they are always up by 8 weeks. The massage mentioned (I believe) is when you are holding your pup, roll .....ever so gently.....the flopped over part into an upward position. Gently is the key word here. You will be rolling upward from about the middle of the ear (the part where the ear folds over). Please let us know the end result. Your pup should still be pretty calm at 10 weeks and this shouldn't be too hard. Stand the pup on the counter if you need to and Isabella should hold pretty still for you. Or.....you could do it while she is sleeping on your lap. Just make sure the lighting is good. :)

Awwwe, Logan IS adorable!!!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :aimeeyork :thumbup: :thumbup:

I will try that Julz, thank you so much! :thumbup: Might have to do it while she's napping though, she's a little nibbly thing when she's awake (something we're TRYING to break her of, as her bite's getting a little stronger, lol) and if she sees your hand she goes for it to nibble on your finger. When she's sleeping you can pick her up and hold her up in the air and she doesn't budge, lol.

Vets know dog! They know their health problems and how to operate, and tons of other stuff.. They don't know particular breeds and their quirks!! :D
I'm sure he meant well, But lets face it, Vets can't know everything about every breed!! In my experience dogs with their ears down tend to get dirtier and do have more probelms.. and I'm not just speaking yorkies I mean any dog!

Bet they go up!!
 

You could get a small Wall clipper , I got a whisker shaver for men. Start
half way down and go up, holding the ear as flat as you can and then do
the same on the outside. Taking that weight off the ear will help. Once
teething is over alot of yorkies ears go up by themselves. She is still young and
the person that mentioned more infections in a dropped ear made a very
good point. Good Luck...I would get some one to help you hold your baby
still at least the first couple time you do it. Don't make a big thing of it, just
do it like it's no big deal so she feels that way.

brownie has to have his ears cleaned every couple days but kaykos havent been cleaned yet(2years) and there perfectly clean the one floppy ear on my chi needs to also be cleaned all the time
i prefer the look of down ears but for infection i want both of my chis up your yorkie has plenty of time for her ears to go up :thumbup:

Put clear deoderant on your fingers.....she won't be wanting to nibble for long! :eek: and....it won't hurt her. When she pulls back because it tastes nasty, tell her "no no".