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Hi guys!

Splash is doing wonderful .. I just have a quick and kind of random question about... his ears!

when I first got him they were both floppy, but now the left one flops to the front and the right one is flopped to the side. It looks kind of goofy. 

Will his ears keep changing like this? Or am I stuck with this asymmetrical dog forever haha? (Not that I care ). I know GSD puppies ears flop up and down and eventually ate straight up, but I assumed with a BC they’d stay the same since both his parents have floppy ears 

 

thanks!

Ps. Picks or for cute! You cant really tell his ears in them

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Very cool looking pup, striking eyes! My Peli's ears were first both floppy, then one up, one rather floppy until finally settling for both up somewhere between 6 to 10 months. I think it is rather unpredictable at this stage, but if I had to bet I'd bet I'd say he will end up with something symmetrical. Either way, cute pup.

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Yeah, they can go up, down and all around for at least 6 months. My last puppy took a little longer than that to decide how to wear his.

OTOH, I once had a pup whose ears went straight up the day after she was 7 weeks old and they never waivered one tiny little bit after that, though that's pretty unusual. I've even seen pups who ended up with drop or airplane ears try out the upright look for an hour or 2.

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Have fun watching them change. Some of my favorite puppy photos are of border collies whose ears kept changing. Floppy, airplane, tipped, airplane, one up one down, then finally pricked. It's hilarious to watch. Make sure you take photos. (As if I have to tell you that!)

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Ours keep changing too! For a while they both stuck up and formed a point together, like a mono-ear. Now he often has airplane ears unless being really alert and then he'll stick one straight up, different one each time. I think they change as his head grows. They often turn inside out too, sometimes one sometimes both.

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Crazy ears are one of the most fun parts of BC puppies! 

My oldest has airplane ears, since the day we brought her home. 

Logan's ears were straight up at 10 weeks, spent the next two months going up and down, then settled fully pricked. Her mom and dad both have floppy ears, but almost every puppy in the litter got prick ears! 

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  • 2 months later...

All about ears - i read somewhere that the position of the ears are all to do with the amount of calcium in the cartilage the pup absorbs.  The more calcium, the more sticky-up they are.  Also, the amount of human handling will affect them, the more they are fondled, the more the cartilage will 'give', and become softer.  Jack, at 6 months has ears like wind scanners awaiting a Mistral! But soft and held against the head when out walking, or indoors.  Mum was a Beardie so perhaps he'll take after her eventually. Dad was a 'racehorse' with the sticky-up variety.  Luck of the draw folks.

 

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3 hours ago, dumbbird7 said:

...the amount of human handling will affect them, the more they are fondled, the more the cartilage will 'give', and become softer...

I think that's another of those old wives' tales.

Not sure about the calcium, but I believe that when it comes right down to it, it's a matter of genetics.

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Yes probably, I don't have views either way. I think my lad will have floppy ears, currently standing up like spinakers waiting for a Mistral.  But something different every day! Still a bit young perhaps. His mother was a Beardie with floppy lugs I think and as he has her brindle shading behind ears, shoulders and his increasingly meaty thighs.  Also her greenish eyes.  Dad built like a greyhound and all B&W.  What a mix.  Jack has  the Beardie Bounce for sure, 24/7.

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@dreizehn-

I may be castigated for this, but FWIW- had a sheltie pup years ago. Conformation wise, the breed standard likes the ears tipped a certain way. We were instructed to take a short length of popsicle stick and glue it to the hair side of the malpositioned ear ( just a washable type glue). Until the cartilage matured to assume the proper position... like I said, FWIW B)

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On 12/18/2018 at 7:15 AM, Ranchhand said:

@dreizehn-

I may be castigated for this, but FWIW- had a sheltie pup years ago. Conformation wise, the breed standard likes the ears tipped a certain way. We were instructed to take a short length of popsicle stick and glue it to the hair side of the malpositioned ear ( just a washable type glue). Until the cartilage matured to assume the proper position... like I said, FWIW B)

Many people who breed border collies for conformation glue their pup's ears to "set" them in a particular position as well. 

Always makes me feel bad to see them with their ears glued. But then, I'm not too fond of the show dog environment or their quirks. ;) I'm definitely biased. 

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