Jon-An's Yorkshire Terriers (How to train Yorkies ears to stand)

TRAINING YORKIES EARS TO STAND

(My way)

Most Yorkie puppies ears are standing by the time they're 3 months old, but some take
longer than others. The larger the ear is, the harder it is to get it to stand. But... it can be
done as long as the pup is under 6 months old. After that, it's iffy...

The first thing to do is, shave the hair off the top one third of the ear. Hair on the
ears weigh the ears down and keeps them from standing. I use a Wahl clipper. You
can get them from Walmart or beauty supply houses. Picture the back of your Yorkie's
ear. Then picture a wide V in the back of it. Shave off all the hair on the inside of the V.
If the ears are really long, start the V lower on the ear about half way down.

Now, turn the ear over and shave the inside of the ear exactly like you did the outside.
To trim the edges up nice and neat, wet the ear and with a scissors trim the edges. When
the ear hair is wet, it's easier to see the out- line of the dogs ear. If you accidentally cut
him, use quick stop to stop the bleeding. Do me and your pup a favor though? BE CAREFUL!!!

Next, clean out your pups ears thoroughly. Use any good ear cleaning solution and a
q tip. Be sure you don't dig for gold in his ear though. We don't want any punctured
ear drums. Dry his ears thoroughly. A blow dryer on low will work nicely.

Now, fold the ear toward the front like you were closing it up vertically (up an down).
As you can tell, I'm no artist, but I hope you get the idea. Now the ear should be
sticking straight up in a point.

Wrap a piece of gauze around the ear and then secure it by wrapping either scotch tape
or bandage tape around the gauze. It has to be tight enough that it will stay for a while
but not so tight that it cuts off the circulation in the ear. If the pup gets it off in the first 5
min, it's too loose. Try again, a little tighter this time. Also, make sure the ear is standing
straight up on the dog's head and not flopping off to the side.

Note: The gauze is mostly for show dogs to protect the hair on their ears. If yours is just
a pet, go ahead and use the scotch tape alone. You might loose a few hairs, but not enough
to make a big difference.

This is my "Charlie" with his ears taped with scotch tape

The ears should be taped for 3 days. After that, take them down and leave them alone
till they start drooping again. Only retape the ear that's drooping. Leave the other
one alone till it starts drooping, then tape it again. Leave it up for 24 hrs and then take
it down and wait till it starts drooping again. Keep doing this until they stay up
permanently.

How long before they stay up permanently? Good question... They'll stay up when they
stay up. Some ears only need the 3 days and others need 3 weeks. It all depends on
the size and strength in your pups ears.

How often will I have to tape? Well, you didn't think your little fur ball was going to
make it easy on you and leave the tape in, did you? Nope, he's going to pull it out any
and every chance he gets. Keep the tape and gauze in a handy place. :)))

If by some miracle he does leave it in, to get it out you'll have to cut it out. I always go along
the back side of the ear to do this. Cutting on the front side is too easy to cut a piece of ear.
Just insert the scissors under the gauze and snip a little at a time. PLEASE, BE CAREFUL!!!
Cut your dog and you're liable to get bit. Try not to cut too much of the long hair under there
either if you're not using the gauze. If you're not good with scissors or you're a nervous person,
then I'd recommend you get a blunt nose scissors. It's a handy instrument to have to keep from
cutting your pups ear off too.

I promise, you'll be an expert at taping the first day. You'll sure get enough practice. :)))

BACK TO HOME PAGE