With its flowing coat, button nose, intelligent eyes, and unmistakable V-shaped Yorkie ears, the Yorkshire terrier is one of the showiest of all dogs. But the Yorkshire terrier is not born with its ears erect and alert to the tiniest of sounds; it usually takes about twelve weeks, in most puppies, for those ears to assume their permanent salute. In the occasional Yorkshire terrier, in fact a case of lazy ears might surface, and in that instance a method of training Yorkie ears to stand is required!
There is no hard-and-fast way of training Yorkie ears to stand, however, and different Yorkie web sites will offer different suggestions on how it might be accomplished. If you are working with a pair of stubbornly droopy Yorkie ears, here is one idea on how to get them upright:
First, training Yorkie ears to stand in dogs more than six months of age is almost impossible, so don’t wait too long for those Yorkie ears to rise on their own. Once you have decided to take matters into your own hands, begin by shaving your Yorkie’s ears (inside and out) from their tips about a third of the way down. Sometimes losing the weight of that hair is all it takes for the ears to be able to straighten up.
If your Yorkshire terrier is almost six months, however, his or her ears may already be close to full size. In that case it would be better to shave them halfway down. Then wet the remaining hair on the ears, and using a scissors, trim it neatly along the edges. Clean the inside of the Yorkie ears thoroughly with a Q-tip, dry them and then fold them in half vertically, as if you were going to stitch them shut in the front. (No, you’re not!).
Wrap the ears snugly with gauze while still allowing for healthy circulation, tape them with adhesive tape, and keep them taped for 72 hours. Remove bandages and let the ears alone unless they begin dropping again, at which time you will repeat the taping but only for 24 hours. Keep at it until they stand up permanently. If you’re lucky, it will happen the first time!
