Help! My Pugs ears started standing up!

[txajackson]

My pug is 12 weeks old and this week her ears starting standing up. The biggest culprit is her left ear which I have been putting drops in for an ear infection. Am I inadvertantly training that ear to stand up by holding it up twice a day for ear drops? I am new to pugs. Please any advice would help! Thanks!

[Wally 'n' Leto]

I think we need a photo of the little cutie to assess the problem! ;)

If you aren't showing her, there's no reason why she has to have button ears, unless that's your strong aesthetic preference. "Walter ears" as they tend to be called on this board in honour of the dear departed Whompin' Stompin' Walter do impart a certain character. If you really have your heart set on button ears, taping may help; one of the show folks would be able to tell you how.

Here's a thread about Walter.

Walter Ears

[Melody]

I might get pounced on, but I have a real problem with altering a dog's anatomy for purely aesthetic reasons. Love your dog's ears!

[tall grass pugs]

Upright ears are the hallmark of a clever pug, a fashion setter, a pug who reads the New Yorker and buys tickets to charity balls. We would love more pics at regular intervals so we can enjoy your pug's adolescence.

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

Princess Zoey is a fan of upright ears:



We would love to see pics! And to answer your original question....NO putting medicine in your pug's ears is not causing them to become upright. Nature is. Either the puggy has a little something else in the bloodline somewhere which a breeder was not upfront about or was ignorant to, or he is simply not within the breed standards and is not a candidate for show or breeding.

Take care,
Lisa

[pug love]

aww thats why I want a french bull dog they look like a pug but with cute sticking up ears. I bet its so cute!

[BeachyKeen]

Phoebe thinks one of each ear is best!

[Melody]

Love Princess Zoey's enormous eyes. What a sweet face!

[pug love]

Phobe is so cute love her dress.

[Hellas]

My pug is 12 weeks old and this week her ears starting standing up. The biggest culprit is her left ear which I have been putting drops in for an ear infection. Am I inadvertantly training that ear to stand up by holding it up twice a day for ear drops? I am new to pugs. Please any advice would help! Thanks!

The pug breed standard recognises two types of ears. The button ear, which is when the ear is folded over completely and you can't see the inside of the ear at all, and the rose ear, which is when the ear folds a little to the outside so that part of the inside of the ear is visible. The button ear is preferred in dog shows, but both are perfectly acceptable. It's also acceptable with one rose and one button ear. This, mind you, is if you're interested in showing your dog. If not, it matters only if you have an aestetic preference.

I wonder, is your puppy's ear really standing up or is it just a rose ear in the making? It's normal for a puppy's ears to become a little light when they're teething. Sometimes they go back down again, and sometimes they don't. Most breeders interested in showing will tape puppy ears during the teething process just to be on the safe side, because they know that only button ears win dog shows.

Generally, I agree with Melody about modifying a dog's body. I'm completely opposed to ear cropping etc. However, using ear tape is not painful in any way, so I'm not really bothered about it. Winston was intended as a show pug, so we were prepared to tape, should his ears come up, but luckily they never did.