Taping Ears - Yorkie Puppy

[Natasha M]

Hi, my name is Natasha and I have an adorable 4 month old Yorkie puppy Masha, she is healthy and very playful but I have a question about her ears. I will love her ears up or down, but I prefer the look of erect ears...

So as I've read on quite a few websites, usually, the ears start to stand up around 2 months, then they drop when the puppy starts teething, which is absolutely normal, but what worries me is her ears never stood up even a little bit, and now I'm pretty sure she has started teething since she is chewing up on everything so i don't know if I should try to tape the ears now (I've tried and she hates it!!), or wait till she stops teething (around 8 months as I've read), but then if I wait what if it will be too late to tape them... I'm a bit confused... So please share your opinion with me on this subject as I would really appreciate any advice I can get!

Thank you in advance!

And here is a picture of what she looks like at the moment!

[sheena]

Somebody sent me this link, as they know I like pricked eared BC's...I could never go to that much trouble

& I have always thought those lovely overseas BC's like Greg Derret's & Susan Garret's had naturally pricked ears

[Sandra777]

I would contact the breeder and get them to show you how to tape the ears. I certainly wouldn't leave it until she's finished teething as I'm pretty sure that would be waaaay too late (is in my breed anyway)

[Aziah]

If you wish to tape the ears, the sooner the better...don't wait until teething is over.

[Guest DBT]

I also advise getting advice re taping...but also it would be a good idea to shave the hair off the ears. If she is to be shown you can only do the tip i think, but if she's a pet, go for broke and shave the hair off the whole leather inside & out. That alone may be enough to make them pop up and learn to stay up. Your breeder or a groomer can help with the clipping if you cant do it yourself. The hair really does weigh the ears down.

[persephone]

If you bought from a reputable breeder - see what other dogs in the bloodline look like - do they have ears like this pup? Also, if the breeder is reputable and experienced, ask their advice on taping.

[ashka1]

do the taping sooner rather than later. google ear taping, there is lots of great utube and web sites to show you how, They do hate it to start with but get used to it. Shave the ears as suggested and change tapes every 3 to 5 days

[Natasha M]

Thanks everyone for your advices!

I think I will try to tape Masha's ears. Especially because her mum and dad's ears are up, so that must be a good sign.

Thanks again!

[kirst_goldens]

get the breeder to show u how... taping the wrong way can ruin the ears and give them bad shape and set... very important they are done correctly by somone who can show u how yorkie ears are meant to be set...

[luvsdogs]

I personally think she looks adorable with the ears as they are.

I had never heard of taping ears until my border collie had one prick ear & one semi-erect as they should be. Her breeder & friend suggested I tape the erect ear. I tried several times by putting double sided tape in the ear to bend over the tip. It worked to a point, she mostly carries it erect but it will fall forward when she's relaxed.

I had seen a bc pup with very low ears have them taped as a baby. Later photos I've seen of him as an adult show that they are still low.

[sheena]

I personally think she looks adorable with the ears as they are.

I had never heard of taping ears until my border collie had one prick ear & one semi-erect as they should be. Her breeder & friend suggested I tape the erect ear. I tried several times by putting double sided tape in the ear to bend over the tip. It worked to a point, she mostly carries it erect but it will fall forward when she's relaxed.

I had seen a bc pup with very low ears have them taped as a baby. Later photos I've seen of him as an adult show that they are still low.

Luvsdogs....did you look at this video of how they go about taping their BC's ears in America

Not sure if I would go to that much trouble to get a pricked eared dog...besides, pricked eared BC's have a different personality & if they were artificially pricked then they wouldn't match the personality IMO

[GRD]

Hi Sheena

We have a a few yorkies that needed their ears taped, it is a fairly easy job. Here is a link that shows how http://www.yorkieinfocenter.com/Ears.html

They have both taped together, this is a personal preference we did the individually so the retain movement of the ears.

A couple of tips, shave where ever thepe is going to go, use the off white masking tape, when you go to take the tape off completely soak it in vegetable oil and let it sit for a few minutes. This releases the glue, ripping the tape off without the oil can cause damage, if the tape is still stubborn use some more oil. the puppy may need a bath afterwards but is better than hurting them.

A good rule of thumb is 3 days on - 3 days off until they stay erect on their own.

Graham

[luvsdogs]

I personally think she looks adorable with the ears as they are.

I had never heard of taping ears until my border collie had one prick ear & one semi-erect as they should be. Her breeder & friend suggested I tape the erect ear. I tried several times by putting double sided tape in the ear to bend over the tip. It worked to a point, she mostly carries it erect but it will fall forward when she's relaxed.

I had seen a bc pup with very low ears have them taped as a baby. Later photos I've seen of him as an adult show that they are still low.

Luvsdogs....did you look at this video of how they go about taping their BC's ears in America

Not sure if I would go to that much trouble to get a pricked eared dog...besides, pricked eared BC's have a different personality & if they were artificially pricked then they wouldn't match the personality IMO

The poor pup certainly wasn't enjoying the whole experience.

To the OP Natasha M, I think I would leave well alone at this stage as the link by GRD says the ears go up from 3 to 6 mths, also that taping is not 100% guaranteed.

[shortstep]

I personally think she looks adorable with the ears as they are.

I had never heard of taping ears until my border collie had one prick ear & one semi-erect as they should be. Her breeder & friend suggested I tape the erect ear. I tried several times by putting double sided tape in the ear to bend over the tip. It worked to a point, she mostly carries it erect but it will fall forward when she's relaxed.

I had seen a bc pup with very low ears have them taped as a baby. Later photos I've seen of him as an adult show that they are still low.

Luvsdogs....did you look at this video of how they go about taping their BC's ears in America

Not sure if I would go to that much trouble to get a pricked eared dog...besides, pricked eared BC's have a different personality & if they were artificially pricked then they wouldn't match the personality IMO

After more than 30 years around pricked and rose eared border collies and even the occasional semi pricked ear, do tell me where you got the idea that ear set and temperament are linked in border collies? I can assure they are not. They are not wolves nor foxes and rose ears or semi pricked ears do not reflect a docile temperament.

What rose ears do reflect is their history of sight hound blood. Pricked ears reflect the Nordic dog blood. Since no one with working dogs cares about the ear type they never made any effort to breed for any ear set other than the ear should not hang down as they need ears that turn and move to catch sound. This is why border collies have and should always have, pricked or rose and anywhere in-between, or even each ear of a different type. This is the standard in all working registries and in all show registries including the country of origin UK (except for ANKC which only allows semi pricked ears). There is no reason at all to try to breed out pricked or rose ears along with goodness know what else would be thrown out in the process.

The taping of border collie ears in the US only started recently when the small number of people first started to show in 1997, they wanted semi pricked ear trying to copy the Australian show dogs (semi prick ear is the least common ear in the northern hemi dogs). There was no reason for them to do that as the show ring standard in the UK and the US clearly state rose or pricked ears are fine, it is not important to the breed.

some of the agility people got into taping ears as they thought pricked made their dogs look more intense or driven. It is all just a bunch of nonsense. Besides, taping is not nice at all for the pup to go through.

BTW the most driven, never say never, hard working, strong natured, full on, intelligent border collie I have ever known, had small neatly folded rose ears.

Edited March 27, 2011 by shortstep