humboldt505 Posted February 13, 2003 Posted February 13, 2003 humbys (4 month mixed) ears seem like they are slowly starting to rise. Usualy they are resting on top of her head or arched out to the side, but ever once in a while her left ear stands straight up for about 5 secs. Will they eventually booth stand up (it seems they keep progressing to that point) or are dogs ears always the way they are at birth......and if they could go up, what age will that happen by? Thank you katie Quote
gooeydog Posted February 13, 2003 Posted February 13, 2003 During the teething stages, dogs ears can go all over the place, and sometimes change daily. There's no telling what they'll eventually decide to do... until they've already done it :lol: Quote
courtnek Posted February 13, 2003 Posted February 13, 2003 what kind of pupster is she? If a german shepherd type, the ears will rise on their own and stay there. they are down at birth, but do come up in stages. They can go through a stage where one is up and one is down - those make great puppy pictures Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted February 13, 2003 Posted February 13, 2003 Wow, I SO didn't know that their ears can just like, "come up"!! Although I've only had dogs that have their ears down... Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted February 13, 2003 Posted February 13, 2003 Frodo had cute little flipped down ears. They started being up when he was 3 1/2 months. They are not up always now and have been since he was 5 months. Is it just the cartilage hardening or what? Not sure what makes them stand up but he looks so different now compared to when he was a baby when I flip thru his photos... Quote
courtnek Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 they have muscles in their ears which get stronger as they get older. While they're pups the muscles are strengthening. When they are strong enough to raise the ears they start to rise slowly. The more they rise, the stronger the muscles get until the ears are erect and stay that way. The interesting thing is that in the wild, wolves, foxes, jackals all have erect ears. It helps them in hearing sounds they need to hear, like approaching enemies and prey. Only in dogs that man has bred for specifics are the ears down, or floppy. Not sure why that was, except that in "scent" dogs like bloodhounds the large floppy ears are used to channel scent to the nose. Kinda like a wind vane....lol Maybe that's why the retrievers and stuff now all have floppy ears - better to scent the game and such. Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 Thanks for the info on the ears court! Very interesting!!! What about dogs like herding breeds then? Like Aussies, and BC's (although some BC's do have their ears up)? What would be the point of them having "floppy" ears? :confused1: Hmm.... Quote
courtnek Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 Maybe for appearance? Also, most herders (BC's especially) are "sight" dogs. They have been bred with better visual abilities than "scent"dogs. They dont use their noses as much as they use their eyes. They need to be able to see what their herds are doing, and manage them by sight. They have this almost human ability to "stare down" the herd...and the sheep seem to understand and obey. Why the floppy ears? Not sure. Maybe the sight dogs were bred from scent dogs with different abilities.... Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 I had been told that the development of jaw muscles and ear muscles are related as a puppies jaw and skull are reaching their adult state over the first year to two years of their life. The more they chew the more the muscles develop and therefore the more erect the ears. Of course no matter how much a cocker spaniel chews he's never going to have erect ears so perhaps its a matter of genetic predisposition encouraged by chewing. Don't know how that works with wild dogs but I do know I have seen a puppymill GSD who had only 3/4 erect ears. Quote
Mary's Mama Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 In terriers, floppy ears prevent dirt and underbrush from getting in their ears during a hunt. Not sure how this relates to the other groups. Jacks are supposed to have flop ears so their ears dont get full of dirt while they are in hole. My jack had flop ears at 9 weeks, at about 4 months they were half mast, and since six months they stand straight up. They are called prick ears and considered a "fault". It can be cartilage (which some vets will break, but it is discouraged b/c it is very painful), muscles or size and placement on the head that make them prick. Mary's ears are small and set too low on the side of her head so they dont flop like they should. I had hoped that since it started while she was teething, they would flop back over, but now I love her sticky up ears! Quote
humboldt505 Posted February 14, 2003 Author Posted February 14, 2003 thanks for all the help, i swear, i am going to get photos developed and placed on a disk, so i can upload them them TODAY. i want everyone to see how cute my dog is! her half mast ears (i like that term!) she looks kinda like richard gere, mixed with a bunny rabbit.... well you'll see. I think her ears are too big to go all the way up, however they are a pointed shape, humby's ears if erect , would be sooo funny, like slices of pizza on a babys head. te he. Quote
Mary's Mama Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 slices of pizza.....never thought of it that way but yes. Here is Mary's website, the pic on the home page is about 5 months. The rest of the pages are much more recent. www.geocities.com/marysmoma Quote
Guest Anonymous Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 Marry is VERY cute! I love that one little ear that's just flopped over on the tip!! :D :lol: Quote
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