Is it possible to treat a dog's weak ears at home? Expert advice

Why should they be installed?

It is necessary to put ears on dogs so that the pet does not raise doubts about its elite status. Erect ears give animals a more aesthetic and impressive appearance. This issue is especially important for exhibition animals.

If the identified defect of lop ears is not a congenital defect and was not obtained as a result of injury, then simple manipulations will help correct the situation (in other cases, the help of a veterinarian and surgeon will be required).

Some dog owners do not consider ear studs necessary. Moreover, the standard of many breeds allows them both standing and hanging positions. In any case, the choice remains with the person, and the dog is completely indifferent to what ears it has, because this will not affect its devotion and love.

Is it possible to put ears on an adult dog?

You should not try to find information on how to install the ears of an adult dog. After 1 year, all popular methods stop giving results. This is due to the fact that the cartilage tissue no longer changes.

The only possible solution is plastic surgery, but it carries a lot of risks. To achieve the desired shape, you often have to resort to repeated surgery, the consequences of which do not always justify the final result. It is equally important that operated pets are excluded from breeding.

Why they don’t get up - reasons and solutions

Newborn puppies are born with small ears pressed to their heads. As the animal grows, they straighten out, the cartilage strengthens and they take on a vertical position.

The time has come, but the dog’s ears don’t stand up. Why? The answer to this question is often of great concern to owners. The process of ear raising is influenced by five main factors:

1. Genetic inheritance.
2. Unpurebred (mixed puppies).
3. Lack of calcium in the body.
4. Too thick (fleshy) ears.
5. Thin and weakened.

The main thing is not to panic and not to give up. Problematic ears need human help and can be fixed. The set of activities includes:

• proper nutrition;
• special vitamins;
• manual massage;
• ear gluing.

Nutrition

If the puppy's diet does not have enough calcium, or he did not get enough of it through his mother's milk, his ears may droop. In this case, you need to review your pet's menu.

Small breed puppies born from bitches who have suffered from postpartum eclampsia (loss of calcium in the blood) will most likely have problems with ear placement!

You can add calcium to your dog’s body using natural goat’s milk or calcium-enriched cottage cheese. It is not difficult to prepare it at home.

Recipe for making calcined cottage cheese

Edible gelatin, which can be added to the puppy’s food or prepared aspic dishes based on it, will help your dog replenish the lack of calcium.

Excess calcium in a pet’s body is no less dangerous than its deficiency. In this regard, it is important to comply with the daily norm of its consumption.

Vitamins

To strengthen cartilage tissue, special vitamins should be added to the puppy’s main diet: Excel, Polydex, Canina, Beafarm, Calcefit, Volmar, Kanvit. Vitamin “Steed Plus” is good for lifting weak ears, but it is quite expensive and you can’t buy it in every store.

“Silver Trail” Calcium Peptide is a little-known Russian brand. Its natural composition and nano-method of supplying calcium to the bone and cartilage tissue of animals receive the highest marks from experts.

Before purchasing and using zoovitamins, you must consult a veterinarian.

Massage

Massage is an additional measure to solve the problem of drooping ears. It helps in combination with nutrition and vitamins. It is not difficult to do, and the dog perceives the massage as if it were affection.

During this time, the puppy should not be distracted and should be completely relaxed. Grasp the base of your baby's ear with your thumb and index finger. Using kneading massage movements, work the cartilage itself and move towards the tip, slightly pulling and directing the blade vertically. Perform several massage techniques at once in this way.

The massage will not harm the ears and the number of procedures during the day is unlimited . Thanks to it, blood flow increases in the tissues, which has a beneficial effect on the process of strengthening and maturation of cartilage tissue.

At what age do Chihuahuas' ears stand up?

Newborn puppies have soft ears that fit tightly to the head, completely covering the ear canal. Gradually, as the sneezes grow older, the cartilage becomes stronger, the ears “try” to stand up, but this cannot be done completely, since the muscles are not yet developed enough. As a rule, Chihuahuas' ears stand up at two to three months, but it all depends on the individual characteristics of the puppies. Breeders note that in long-haired species the process is delayed. Sometimes one ear may rise, and after a while the other. It happens that puppies cannot lift their very tips. Delays are possible, but all Chihuahuas should be up by the age of eight months.

Bonding - pros and cons

The “gluing” method helps to radically make your puppy’s ears droop. It has proven itself in practice and is widely used for installing cropped and undocked ears on various breeds of dogs.

Some pets behave excitedly after gluing. They try to rip off the bandage and the structure with their paws, and rub their heads against the furniture. This way they can damage the ear cartilage and make the situation worse. In this case, you should loosen the tie and wrap or put on a special protective “collar” for the puppy.

Sometimes, after removing the adhesive plaster, an allergic reaction, pimples or scratches are clearly visible on the ears. Suitable for their treatment:

• baby powder;
• hydrogen peroxide;
• pharmacy blue.

After the ears have rested, the wounds have healed, and the crusts have dried, you will need to repeat the gluing procedure.

The “gluing” method is completely safe for the physiology of the animal and has no contraindications. This procedure should be carried out carefully, observing all preparatory and main steps.

Briefly about the main thing

1. Droopy long ears are considered by scientists to be a genetic defect maintained by selection.
2. Each breed has its own standard for ear length.
3. Droopy ears will require more care.
4. The ears may be covered with smooth, shiny fur, fine hairs or curls.
5. The general condition of the dog, its activity, and longevity depend on the health of the hearing organs.
6. When choosing a breed, you need to focus on personal preferences, find out in advance the character and natural inclinations.
7. Dogs with long ears have lower levels of aggression.

Staging methods

Ear fitting for dogs is carried out using soft and hard structures. Both methods have the same goals and similar execution techniques, but differ from each other in the materials used.

Rigid design

The rigid design is used for large dog breeds and long cropped ears. You can make it yourself from scrap materials or buy it at a pet store. To create a basic hard “crown” you may find it useful:

• foam rollers for the liner;
• medical glue will help to glue the curlers;
• a pencil so as not to get your hands dirty;
• Popsicle sticks for rigidity and as a guide line;
• General fixation will require medical or surgical tape. Reinforced construction tape or masking tape will also work.

Make sure that the glue does not get into the animal’s ear canals and do not forget to first remove hair from the ears and degrease them with an alcohol solution.

Soft design

This setting option is suitable for small breed puppies. It provides for gentle gluing without glue or complex rigid fixations. Making gluing using a soft structure is not difficult.

The necessary materials are a 3 cm wide adhesive plaster and cotton swabs (for rigidity). As in the first case, the fur from the ears must be shaved off and the ears wiped with alcohol, otherwise the procedure for removing the adhesive tape will cause pain to the puppy.

There are many options for gluing and setting ears. Any materials can be used: sanitary tampons, cut-outs from plastic cards, pen refills, plastic bottles and foam sponges.

The main rule is do no harm. It is important that the devices do not injure the puppy, are durable and light, so that they are easy to install and not difficult to remove.

Is it safe

Properly performed gluing does not cause any harm to the dog. However, if the owner does not have experience, it is better to entrust the first gluing to your breeder or another specialist who has experience working with this breed. Since the procedure is repeated many times during the change of teeth, over time the owner will learn to do it independently and the need for specialist intervention will disappear.

Some of the most common side effects and problems include:

• Allergy to the patch in a dog;
• Excessively tight ear;
• Fixation of ear position that does not correspond to the breed standard;
• The appearance of irritation and bacterial infections;
• Painful sensations caused by a patch or glue in the ear when they are removed.

Advice! At first, keep a close eye on your puppy. An attentive owner will promptly detect the appearance of a characteristic unpleasant odor, anxiety of the puppy, itching and redness. These symptoms are a sign of developing inflammation and require immediate removal of the patch and healing of the painful area.

Step-by-step instructions for installing undocked ears on small dog breeds

All small and decorative breeds have the same way of setting problematic, undocked ears. Let's consider it using the example of the Chinese Crested Dog, whose ears can be set on the 21st day of life. To do this you will need:

At the base of the auricle there is a delicate septum. Work carefully, ask another family member to help you, fix the pet's head . The noise and vibration of the machine can frighten him.

1. Shave the hair on both sides of the ears with a trimmer. This will reduce their severity and ensure painless removal of the adhesive plaster. Remove any remaining fur from the edges with scissors.
2. Wipe the ear with alcohol or any degreaser to make the patch stick better.
3. Cut a piece from the adhesive plaster that is the length of the ear and place it on the table with the adhesive side down.
4. Cut half a cotton swab and place it on the adhesive plaster.
5. Place the second and third layers of adhesive tape on top of the cotton swab.
6. We cut out the resulting strong sizing according to the shape of the ear, with the cotton wool facing down, and glue it to the inside of the ear, so that the ear canal is visible.
7. We wrap the ears like a tube, but not too tightly so that the animal is comfortable.
8. We wrap the folded ear at the base of the cartilage around the circumference with adhesive tape. Do not bring your ears close to the top of your head, as this may cause them to be positioned incorrectly. The bandage should look natural.
9. To prevent the ears from falling apart in different directions and leaning forward, they will need to be fixed horizontally. They need to be connected to each other so that they are vertical. We connect them with adhesive tape at the base.

The puppy needs to stay in this bandage for about 5 days. Then the patch is removed, carefully unwinding it and trimming the hairs of the fur with scissors. It happens that after the first gluing procedure the ears already stand up.

If the result of raising was not achieved, then after a 12-hour rest the ears are glued again in the same way until they become stronger and take a vertical position..

The Chinese Crested Dog has two varieties: hairless and powder coated. The ear placement pattern is the same for both. According to the standard, the hairless variety must have erect ears, while the puffer variety is allowed to have both erect and hanging ears. According to breeders, a puff with erect ears looks more impressive.

What to do if one ear falls again

If one ear of your German Shepherd puppy falls off after placement or adjustment, a new bandage will need to be applied. It’s not scary if this happened before the year, when the growth process is still underway. Use any of the methods described above.

You can also use the setup for 3 matches:

• the ear is prepared as described earlier: shaved, covered with a plaster on the inside;
• a “fan” of three matches is inserted inside, which form a frame of the desired shape; first smooth out the sharp ends of the match and cut off the area with sulfur;
• The top of the structure is sealed with another strip of plaster, then it is wrapped in a circle;
• Place a popsicle stick or short pencil on the back surface and secure with adhesive tape.

Important! In the clinic, you can install an ear using a special plastic implant.

Setting up German Shepherd ears is not just a cosmetic procedure. This form is prescribed by the standard and is considered healthy and correct.

“Soft”, hanging shells are taken as a sign of unclean rock. The procedure does not bring any discomfort to the puppy, so there is no point in refusing it.

How to solve a problem?

To begin with, it is advisable to accurately determine the cause of the trouble that is occurring, because only by eliminating it can you be sure that the situation will be corrected.

It would be correct to slightly revise the dog’s diet by adding a special complex of vitamins and minerals suitable for the breed.

If the ears are not erect, then they can be put in the proper position using improvised means and a little skill right at home.

For this you will need:

• A roll of tissue-based plaster.
• Tire replacement. A light, short stick or tube on which the ear tissue will be attached. Depending on the size of the pet, a cut-off pen shaft or a cotton swab may be suitable, and for the smallest ones you can use a piece of toothpick. The main condition is that this material must be light.

The lifting procedure itself is simple:

• Shave and degrease the ear.
• Glue an improvised splint onto a piece of plaster that matches the shape of the ear right in the middle.
• Place the structure on the skin so as not to block the ear canal. The stick should be exactly in the middle.

Do not remove the structure for several days. Then remove everything and monitor the changes. If the ears are still not erect, then repeat the procedure as many times as necessary, remembering to take breaks for at least 12 hours so that the skin can rest.

Ready food

Of course, ready-made food has its advantages:

• The owner of the animal does not need to worry that he has not prepared the diet correctly. Premium ready-made food contains all the necessary microelements and vitamins, and the dosage and instructions for use can be read on the packaging.
• Really high-quality dog ​​food contains the entire range of essential vitamins that a dog needs at a particular age.
• You can take this food with you on trips; it stores well.

One of the disadvantages of such nutrition is its high cost, because if you decide to feed with ready-made food, you should choose the highest quality product. However, understanding how much dry food to give a Chihuahua puppy given its tiny size and its price is no longer such a big problem. This dog eats quite a bit. Also, there is one peculiarity about Chihuahuas: this breed quite often suffers from allergies. In this case, you should immediately buy hypoallergenic food to avoid a number of problems.

What kind of ears should puppies have?

According to the standard, Chihuahua ears are large, triangular, with slightly rounded tips. Their setting is average, the shell is open, the base is wide. The inner surface is almost hairless; the outer surface has short hair. At rest, the ears are located at an angle of 45⁰ in relation to the head, but if the dog is alert, they become vertically directed. Their size in deer-type sneezes is larger than in cobbies.

If there are deviations from the standard, this is evidenced by the following features:

• small ears;
• the tips are too round or sharp;
• high setting;
• large lobes;
• hanging or semi-hanging position.