hi can someone help me, i have a 12 week old cairn terrier and we have noticed that he has one floppy ear, i don,t know if this has been from birth and we are just noticing it now he is getting bigger,
i think it gives him character but i want to know if i should be worried about it please help.

I would give it a little more time, he is still very young. IMHO. Shirl :D

You'll find that the ears can go up and down, particularly when they are teething - my 10 month old Aussie still has short periods of 'funny' ears :)

Daisy

Hi,

All Cairn's ears are floppy at birth, but most of the time the ears will be erect by four months old. If you are worried, may I suggest you contact the breeder? He or she should be able to tell you typically when it will go up for their line. If you are really really worried, and the breeder thinks the ear needs a bit of help, the ear can be taped up (usually around something like a small spongy hair roller) for a couple of weeks so it stands up. It should do so by itself when the tape is taken off.

Unless you are planning to show your Cairn there is nothing wrong with a floppy ear. My Yorkie had two ears that just half tipped over - they were supposed to be fully erect -- and I always thought it made her look much cuter that Yorkie's with erect ears. Sorry, Yorkie breeders :-)

By the way, most of the time if there is a real problem with "soft" ears it's both of them, not one.

Stacey