Westie Ears

[SonnysHumanSlave]

Hi

My westie is 9 or 10 months old. Her ears only stand up occasionally. Is this normal? Or should they stand all the time?

 

[CorvusCorax]

They should be erect according to the breed standard AFAIK.

 

[SonnysHumanSlave]

Hmmm.... Hers are not.

I'll have to look into this I think. Clearly not normal then.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Dunno about Westies but in my breed you would expect them to be fully erect or mostly erect at that age...maybe someone with more breed knowledge could help. Sometimes it can be corrected with taping but it is hereditary in most cases (again, in my own breed, I could be wrong!)

 

[PucciNPoni]

I sometimes see westie ears droop when a) they are teething and/or b) when they have too much hair on them weighing them down, most often when a pup is about the age of yours and has particularly thick hair and hasn't had it trimmed yet. Does he happen to need a hair-do?

 

[s4sugar]

Drop eared westies are getting more common. I see several in this area -two of which I know came from the same puppy dealer.
One came "from a farm" & they saw Mum - who also had drop ears!
If the ears are only tipped like a collie a trim may help them lift but if the ears are dropped like a Norfolk or border terrier they will not become erect at this age.

 

[SonnysHumanSlave]

I did trim them up last week, but they prob could do with doing again.
its just the tips that dont stand.

 

[MiCsarah]

My old girly always had erect ears even when I managed to make her look silly! Professional clipping was always done after this! She made quite a cute looking line though