BT pup, ear is flying!

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oldie48

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Stanley is 16 wks and one of his ears is flying, no doubt due to teething. I've read on the internet about glueing the ear to keep it in place which seems a bit drastic. We are not into showing but it would be nice if he had two correct ears, any tips? One of our previous borders had this happen and sadly he always had one ear flying but we loved him just as much!
 
oldie48 said:
Stanley is 16 wks and one of his ears is flying, no doubt due to teething. I've read on the internet about glueing the ear to keep it in place which seems a bit drastic. We are not into showing but it would be nice if he had two correct ears, any tips? One of our previous borders had this happen and sadly he always had one ear flying but we loved him just as much!
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Have just looked this up - glueing your dog's ears?? Seems a bit bonkers to me, but I suppose that's the world of showing for you! Sounds like Copydex is a glue of choice....:eek:
 
Leave his ear alone to do what it naturally wants to do. Cosmetically glueing etc. can have side effects and produce discomfort and that's not appropriate.
 
SusieT said:
Leave his ear alone to do what it naturally wants to do. Cosmetically glueing etc. can have side effects and produce discomfort and that's not appropriate.
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sorry I didn't make it clear, glueing is not on the cards for us which is why I was asking for any other tips from BT experts and if there is nothing that I feel is appropriate, I will, of course, leave his ear alone. Thank you for your input.
 
he's a Border Terrier?

I have a smooth collie which is supposed to have tipped ears. Americans glue and brace them as a matter of course-over here not so much. When we got him at 7 months, one of Fitz's ears was and one wasnt-they both came up at about 10 months and are perfect now. It didnt matter to us because we dont want to show. His parents etc all had 'perfect' ears although its not 100% guarantee. so what I am trying to say is that his ears may well be fine, he's very young and if you dont want to show, I'd not worry about it.
 
Showing must be one of the cruellest pastimes, so bizarrre to do things like glueing or bracing a dog's ear. Poor little beggars.
Fully accepting OP that Stan is not going to be sporting a pritt stick any time soon. :-)
I like wonky ears, they give a face full of character IMO, my lurcher had odd ears, I loved it.
 
One of the things that we like about BTs is that they are not as highly inbred as many breeds and seem to come in all shapes and sizes. Our previous BTs were both lovely but completely different, not just in colour but in size, shape and personality although they were both KC registered and from established breeders. My neighbour has just bought a lovely fox red lab bitch that was left from a litter because she has a white paw and therefore is "not of showing quality". My daughter's Vizla was cheaper because he has paler marks on his side and his tail is broken at the very end (doesn't stop him wagging it)! It makes me wonder how many of us would have been rejected as not "up to breed standard" as babies. However, I'd still like Stanley to have matching ears if pos, so I will continue to massage them as suggested by the author of "Border Terriers Today" pub 1996 as he rather enjoys that!
 
I ever knew this was a thing until this thread so thank you, OP, for helping me learn a new thing!

I just thought ears were ears :lol: Can't you tell I'm not a showy person? Having checked both my dogs, I am now confident they both have totally rubbish ears. But they can hear a packet of cheese opened from a mile away and they look cute so we're functional on all required levels.
 
That's how a lot of people used to acquire pet dogs...not every dog in a litter is going to make it in work or show so they went to a pet home. Now it's like a pick n mix...anyone can get anything they want, whenever.
Breed standards are there for a reason. In my own breed, weak ears are a major fault and it has happened where dogs with ears which were fixed as puppies went on to be bred from, as no one knew of the issue, and the fault perpetuated. Same with missing teeth...over generations one tooth leads to two leads to three and so on.
There's nothing stopping dogs with disqualifying show/breeding faults from making great pets. It doesn't mean they are lesser animals.

Chewing raw bones or strong toys usually helps get the ears up.
 
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CorvusCorax said:
That's how a lot of people used to acquire pet dogs...not every dog in a litter is going to make it in work or show so they went to a pet home. Now it's like a pick n mix...anyone can get anything they want, whenever.
Breed standards are there for a reason. In my own breed, weak ears are a major fault and it has happened where dogs with ears which were fixed as puppies went on to be bred from, as no one knew of the issue, and the fault perpetuated. Same with missing teeth...over generations one tooth leads to two leads to three and so on.
There's nothing stopping dogs with disqualifying show/breeding faults from making great pets. It doesn't mean they are lesser animals.

Chewing raw bones or strong toys usually helps get the ears up.
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CC has nailed it as usual :)
 
I have Had Kerry Blue Terriers for 30 years. As puppies have come from breeder their ears have always been glued - the glue is put on on hair to hair, never touches skin and as the hair grows the gap widens and eventually (probably after 4-6 weeks) is just snipped apart with scissors. It has never seemed to bother any of my puppies and they all grew up well adjusted and without issues about ear handling.
 
CMcC said:
I have Had Kerry Blue Terriers for 30 years. As puppies have come from breeder their ears have always been glued - the glue is put on on hair to hair, never touches skin and as the hair grows the gap widens and eventually (probably after 4-6 weeks) is just snipped apart with scissors. It has never seemed to bother any of my puppies and they all grew up well adjusted and without issues about ear handling.
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I know you learn something new every day, what are their ears meant to look like? I need to go and google! If they weren't glued what would happen? I think it is bizarre, tbh.
 
Clodagh said:
Well I never did! I daresay it is harmless enough, except they can't scratch but how very odd indeed...
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The link explains it perfectly. I have never shown my Kerries but my father-in-law did in N Ireland, it was all very serious and there was talk of scurrilous vets who would operate on the ears of dogs if they did not conform to the up and forward requirement. My husband was obviously influenced by the dark fear of a KBT with bad ears from a young age as he was always insistent on the glueing!
 
When you get to the point of considering glueing the ears of your dog you know that
a) you do really have too much time on your hands
b) you're a pretty sick puppy yourself.

I mean seriously?!? DIY cosmetic surgery for dogs?
 
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