Sheltie ears/taping ?

sheltiemom · 03-26-2007, 12:25 AM

I got my sheltie pup at nine weeks, and he had ears that naturally folded over. About three days ago, he's 12 weeks now, they started standing upright. My question is, is this normal and will they stay this way now? I just emailed the breeder about it too.

Not a big deal to me, but I do prefer the folded over look. Does taping the ears require alot of effort, and is it worth bothering with for a dog who wouldn't be show quality anyway? My husband says don't worry about it, but if it's not alot of trouble and discomfort for the dog, I'd like to tape them if they don't go back over again.

Aussiefan · 03-26-2007, 12:59 AM

If they have been staying upright for a few days now, most likely they will stay that way unless you glue/weight/tape them down. My mom would glue the ears down, can't remember what she used though. It was something harmless to the dog, and could easly be removed though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheltiemom

I got my sheltie pup at nine weeks, and he had ears that naturally folded over. About three days ago, he's 12 weeks now, they started standing upright. My question is, is this normal and will they stay this way now? I just emailed the breeder about it too.

Not a big deal to me, but I do prefer the folded over look. Does taping the ears require alot of effort, and is it worth bothering with for a dog who wouldn't be show quality anyway? My husband says don't worry about it, but if it's not alot of trouble and discomfort for the dog, I'd like to tape them if they don't go back over again.

tirluc · 03-26-2007, 10:15 AM

you would have to keep them taped/weighted for at least up to 8 mo (at least that is what i had been told by a breeder when i had my Sheltie) as they will just go back up if you don't.....she had suggested i try shaving the back of the ear and keeping the inside hair alone (supposedly, this will take "weight" off the back and then the weight on the inside would naturally pull the ears down)...

i'm not sure of this, however, as i never tried i w/ my girl.....it didn't matter to me....

Laurelin · 03-26-2007, 02:23 PM

Yes, that's all right. It's not that big of a hassle to tape ears, you just have to keep it up. If you really want the tipped looked, the sooner you start, the better. Usually they start around 9 weeks (?). We taped our male sheltie with no problems, and we didn't tape our female.

murandmom · 03-26-2007, 08:32 PM

We've always had collies and we used to glue them with rubber cement (like office glue!). I always thought it was horrible, but the dogs never seemed to mind, and somehow the glue just came off itself. But I would ask your vet to be sure of the brand of the glue.

sheltiemom · 03-26-2007, 09:59 PM

I think I'm kind of getting used to the look now, I just thought it was so odd that they had always folded over, and then one day just stuck up like that. First one, then the next day the other.

Gluing sounds easier than tape, and I'm going to ask my vet about it, but if it ends up taking alot of applying and re-applying I'll probably just not worry about it.

Laurelin · 03-27-2007, 02:45 PM

From my experience, the glue is a lot easier than the tape. And some dogs are easier to tape/glue than others. Nikki was annoyed by her ears and we ended up taking the tape off. Trey didn't mind at all. He has pretty tipped ears now. If I were to get another sheltie I'd definitely at least try to tape/glue the ears again.