I have recently purchased a mini schnauzer pup;she is lovely but as she grows (she is now 14 weeks) her ears have started to partially stand up.There was no evidence of this when I bought her;her ears sat neatly and bent over as they should.Day by day her ears are 're-aligning' and to be honest have started to look quite odd! She is not for showing ,so it is not a problem but she is just beginning to look a little different to my other 3 whose ears are all perfectly symetrical.Perhaps as she becomes adult they will flop back over as she grows.. Does anyone have advice as to how to keep them down/bent as I will be disappointed if she turns out to have 'stand up' ears which is not a correct characteristic of the breed.Other than that she is a darling,but I am slightly concerned she is not as pretty as she should be!!Thanks.

>she is not as pretty as she should be!!

?? can't you see her for being 'pretty' as she is

Yes,of course I can! She is lovely but if there is a way I can encourage her ears to 'flop down' I would like to try.Anyone would.Sensible replies to the 'problem' are asked for please;not smart,flippant ones!
Thanks

taggartgolf, obviously not 'anyone would. it was not a smart flippant one, if u want me to be i can. as a compasionate person i can love an animal for what it is, not what it looks like, i am unsure if my gsd will have ears that stick up but i wouldnt for one minute decide to change something that was obviously meant to be, its not a medical condition and thats my personal opinion, there was no need for 'smart flippant reply' really was there, maybe im mistaken and i cannot post my opinions incase of upsetting posters such as yourself

I think most people would want their dog to resemble its breed, wouldn't they? After all, they bought it because that's the look they like! ;)

i understand that jeangenie, just personal opinion, i love all of my pets and children for what they are, not what they look like or if they are not perfect

Of course, 'new owner', but if your child had buck teeth would you get them straightened, or leave them as nature intended?

yes if my child had buck teeth i would BECAUSE it would more than likely end up being bullied at school and because of society have very low self esteem, forgive me if i am wrong but do dogs bully each other or have low self esteem because their ears did not look perfect? i am sorry that i have a different opinion to both of you but it is the opinion i have, i merely asked a question, i did not want to get into a heated debate about it, i apologise

Apology not necessary! We are all entitled to our individual opinions even if they vary;which they usually do. I was just looking for real advice,but no offence taken.
Best Wishes

>do dogs bully each other or have low self esteem because their ears did not look perfect?

Now that's something we'll never know! ;) I do know that, at shows, mine have stopped and stared at dogs with unusual coats ... but that's another topic altogether! :D

That's tantamount to discrimination that  is! You'll need to have have a quiet word in your dogs' ear (pointy or otherwise!)!!
lol

Lol JG, you should have seen the look on my Cav's face when he saw 2 Chinese Cresteds at a winter show, wearing woolly jumpers, he was obviously thinking 'what on earth are they???' :-D

JG the landlady at our local has a girl about 7 years old and she has some very major buck teeth :( She looks dreadful :(

Lucy
xx

Forgive me ,I do not want to enter in to an argument but 'loving 'my dog and seeing her as pretty is not the discussion! Of course I love my dog/s,horses/ children/husband  etc for what they are.They are not all pretty either!! However, If I use the analogy of a child with 'goofy'/buck teeth and a dentist was able to correct that slight,'god given' genetic 'fault' (term uses very loosely),then I would.I think 99% of parents would too...There is no reflection on the parents' feelings towards the child. We all want what is best for our kids/animals/friends.Even if my pups ears point to the sky forever more,I will still love her unconditionally...always.

I don't know if schnauzer ears are likely to come down again. Hopefully someone else or the breeder will be able to tell you. If they don't you can get Cherry Knoll Ear Weight and Cherry Knoll Ear Fix here - http://www.hubintsecured.co.uk/acatalog/Camouflage_Products_-_NOT_for_the_UK_Showring.html

I used them with success on my younger sheltie when her ears went up. She will not be shown but I wanted her ears to tip anyway because I think the head and expression are nicer with properly tipped ears. Obviously if you were going to show glueing or weighting the ears would be cheating.

Thanks Jas
I will look that up. Much appreciated!

Ears can do very strange things when the puppy's teething. Hopefully they'll tip themselves back, but if not it's possible to correct this by slightly weighting the ear tip. I'm sure other people wil be along to advise on the various substances that can safely be used. Good luck!

Thank you JeanGenie.
I shall look forward to receiving all the suggestions!

my staffy had perfect ears as a wee pup but they went all spangled when she was teething and they never recovered.  Now she has one perfect ear and one that sits at a jaunty angle but it just adds to her cuteness in my eyes.  unfortunately I have no advice for you but I presumed they would correct themselves after teething but it seems one forgot to fix itself.  good luck

we have a 10 month schnauzer his ears are stood up and have been like that since he was a pup.at the very beginning they were bent then one lobsided over then after that they stood erect and have never folded over.in my opinion he will be like that for life.he does look slightly odd to other schnauzers and he has a line down his back that is a different colour to his coat.it could be that maybe he didnt come from a good line of breeding.you will get used to her and as she grows up they do begin to suit them.he looks like a kangaroo actually.to me he is the most beautiful boy in the world i love him dearly.its just one of those things.hey maybe there is something new going on here and we have a new line of kangaroo schnauzers!bidding please commence(no less than a million pls!)and your still not getting my baby boy!;)

What?  A schnauzeroo??  Eeek another of those designer doggies :D

CG

It may just be a phase she is going through whilst she is teething. When she is sitting with you just gently rub her ears into the right shape. If they do end up stood up she will look like a cropped Schnauzer without the pain of cropping. personally i think they look great cropped - but I dont like the thought of cropping!

As spmeone with a breed that are meant to ahve stand up ears what you describe is how the ears progress from flopped over to upright.  Unless something is doen to weight the ears of this dog they are likely to stay up, and if the shelties/collies I ahve seen that have things tuck intheir ears to keep them down, and removed just before going in the ring, this seems to only work temporarily in some cases, as when really excited or seeing somthing up go the ears.

Tip tilted ears se to be the hardest to get carrigare right in, as opposed to simply floppy or erect.

hi i am new to this site could i ask a quick question?? i have a kenal club reg blue staffie pup 9wks old her ears have looked perfectly normal up until yesterday one is pointed up and flopped and the other is just flopped like thers no life ther do u have an idea on whats happend to them thanx...

She is probable starting teething the best person to ask would be the breeder as they will know when this is likely to happen and if it effects their ears.

I would talk to the breeder - other people have used plumbers mate or chewing gum on ears to weigh them down, this can be permanent or not... I have my eldest sheltie because her ears 'pricked' so she wasn't suitable for showing, but I don't mind, I think she looks cute.  Fortunately I didn't want her for showing :-)