Training the ears
 

When is the best time to start? Angel's puppies are 3 weeks old today and they are getting big.

Bandit it 1lb 7ox, Yoda is 1lb 5oz and Precious is 1lb 4oz (they are piggies lol).
Anywho, it got me thinking. They are growing so fast that I need to learn what's next.

What age do you recommend taping the ears? Oh, and can someone explain to me the right way to do it?

As found in the FAQ, see if this helps out! We taped at a couple of months...

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...31&postcount=7

I'm sure that one of the breeders is much more knowledgable about this than I am, but I would think that if you shave the top third of the ear that they will pop up on their own. I have never had either of my yorkies ears taped. I know that the breeders kept the hair off of it and they came up on their own. I don't know about Tino (my male), but with Bunny (my female) the breeder shaved the tips of her ears at around 7 weeks. I thought taping was a last resort if they didnt come up on their own.

Peanut's ears were never taped and popped up on their own. You do have to make sure to keep the top 1/3 shaved though, because once the hair gets too heavy they will flop back over. I didn't know this initially and his ears flopped back down (he was about 4 months old) and was informed by the groomer when I took him in that that was the problem. She shaved his ears all the way that one time to alleviate the problem, and they are right back up in the air! After that we are keeping them shaved 1/3 down with no problems.

Congrats on the pups! :)

actully I am having this issue right now, Xander s ears will not stay up, I have massaged them everyday and I am so frustrated. I am starting to wonder if they will ever pop up

how old is xander? have they ever been up? Tino's ears started to flop after I got him bc I didnt know I had to keep shaving the ears. If they were up and they go down you have to make sure they are plucked and shaved inside AND outside. Also try giving him cottage cheese. They need the calcium for their ears. Also remember if he is teething his ears will flop, but even then make sure you are keeping all of the hair off of them and out of the ear canal.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I have one other question though. When should I start shaving the ears? The puppies aren't extremely hairy yet/ Their hair is short everywhere. Should I start now to get them used to grroming or wait a few weeks til their hair gets thick?

(They are 22 days old)

This is what Bunny looked like at 7 weeks. It doesnt look like her ears had been shaved then, but after this pic she did shave them and we have never had to tape her ears and they are completely up at 4 months. Hope this helps!

Heather, Matty is 24 days old today, Saturday. I am going to leave her ears alone to see what they are going to do before I start messing with them.

Autumn on the other hand HOLDS her ears down, I don't think taping them will work because she can hold them up very perkily if she wants to. If you look at my avatar(it's a little stretched) you can see she has her ears up. I have tried putting a rubber band on the hair above her ears so they have to stay together and pointed and that didn't work. I have tried catching the hair from her ears and tying it up in her topknot and that didn't work. I don't know if she's trying to look like Pirogue and Lady or if she's trying to look like us(humans). Mr. Big and Lacijo have their ears up and pointing but she just keeps holding hers down. I've been asking her where her pretty ears are and sometimes she'll pop them up but most of the time she doesn't. I've taken to playing with Mr. Bigs ears and telling him how pretty they are and then turning to her and pulling her ears up and saying how pretty her ears are, I don't know if it's going to work. Mr. Big holds his ears down when I pick him up, I know it's supposed to be one of those submission things but how do you break them of this particular habit before it becomes permanent? Sylvia

he is 12 weeks and no I have never seen them up. I shave the outside and side of his ears so I could tape them, but even the tape doesnt want to stick :( I will try plucking the inside to see if that helps, and the cottage cheese, but I just wonder if they are down forever... :(

Marlee- I would shave the entire ear front and back and pluck it. Just try to get all of the hair off of it and hopefully it will pop up. I don't know if the breeders on here know a rule of thumb if the ears aren't up by a certain that they will not come up. I had issues with one of Tino's ears starting to flop when he was 10 months after it had been up most of the time, with the exception of when he was teething and... so when he went in for a check up, I asked our vet about it and he said that Tino has a wrinkle down toward the base of the ear and that is why if he is being lazy or stressed or anything unusual with his mood that his one ear is predisposed to flop! I would get my vet to take a look too. Also, ask your vet about ear glue... I know it sounds horrible, but they use it to close up incisions and its perfectly safe... I think you can get it from the vet and maybe at PedEdge too... You take a drop and just put it just below the tip of the ear and then pinch the sides together and it can aid in getting them up.... Honestly though I would say that since they have never been up to try getting rid of the hair. Hopefully one of the breeders on here will know what to do and will answer!

Peanut's ears just began to stand up on their own then he was around 3 months (one up & one down - see the pic). About a week or two later they were both up, then both flopped over. I am not an expert on this, but based on my past experience with Peanut I will make sure in the future to have it done before 3 months to help make sure they will come up. 22 days seems early to me - I might wait a few more weeks until they are a little older. Some of the more experienced YTers may have a better idea on that though since I am fairly new to the Yorkie world...

am i alone here?? :( when i got my Morkie (Rex) at 8 weeks i was told there a 50% chance his ears would stay up. I prayed that they would stay DOWN AND I AM HAPPY THAT NOW HE IS SEVEN MONTHS HIS EARS GO DOWN LOL

i guess i am alone on this one....

You are not alone. I like the ears down. I think they are adorable that way. My Jewels ears finally went up though. Darn it!!!!!

lol
 

:p :p lol well i guess i am not SOO alone