I know, I know...shut up with the ears already!

It's not "important" its just a question of esthetics! We all strive for the perfect ear tip. The reality is that most of amateurs won't every get it exactly right.

We finally accept that our pups ears will tip or not, or tip too much and be hound ears

What you can do, is learn to groom to compensate a little. There is nothing like a well groomed Sheltie ear, tipped or otherwise. There are several great books on Sheltie Grooming. My favourite is the Illustrated Guide to Sheltie Grooming by Barb Ross. It gives suggestions on how to groom to compensate for less than perfect.

Don't rely on your groomer. In all the years that I've had a Sheltie I've only found one groomer that knew how to do ears.

If your breeder is close enough, he/she will probably help you out as well.

I'm not going to comment on ears anymore! Despite my sage advice on grooming to compensate, I went nuts on Bacca's ears this weekend. As he has no ear prick at all, I should have left some hair on the back of his ears to create some illusion, instead, I decided I wanted a nice trim ear.....the result is predicatable......

There ain't nothing like a hound dog.....:uhoh::rolleyes2::o
 
Success!!!!!!!!

Calibers ears came undone lastnight, so I cleaned them up and left them overnight to see what they were going to do, and to my surprise the actually STAYED TIPPED - even until tonight!!!

SUCCESS!?!!

The break was a bit too high for my preference for his gigantic monstrosity ears, so today I re-glued them a little lower, and I thought I'd give the "top twist" a try to see if it would bring his ears a bit closer together for when they come unglued again. If it doesn't, oh well, but it's worth a try! He's only almost 7 months, so I'm sure it won't be a complete waste of my time, and will help a bit. Anyways - I was so proud of my work I NEEDED to show everyone! I suppose with the amount of times I've had to do it, I'd be pretty good at it. :rolleyes2::lol:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5585664&l=4e983&id=503765166
 
But Caliber says "Moooooooommm.....I didn't want my hair in a pompadour......"

LOL.

I can't give any useful reply TaraLynn, I never messed with my dog's ears. Indy was my first pup and the breeder asked me to bring him back to her for "ear training" if his ears stood up. They did, and so I obediently took Indy over for his ears to be glued. I spent the next two days hearing Indy crying pitifully...his ears blistered. That was it for me, I love my babies and they aren't going to be shown so their ears go where they go. Indy has "foxy" ears, Emma has tipped to hound ears, Sasha has "foxy" ears, and Figaro has one ear up and one ear tipped.
 
good job on the ears!! After they are undone you will know if it stays tipped after a few days when they settle into their own.
 
Calibers ears came undone lastnight, so I cleaned them up and left them overnight to see what they were going to do, and to my surprise the actually STAYED TIPPED - even until tonight!!!

SUCCESS!?!!

The break was a bit too high for my preference for his gigantic monstrosity ears, so today I re-glued them a little lower, and I thought I'd give the "top twist" a try to see if it would bring his ears a bit closer together for when they come unglued again. If it doesn't, oh well, but it's worth a try! He's only almost 7 months, so I'm sure it won't be a complete waste of my time, and will help a bit. Anyways - I was so proud of my work I NEEDED to show everyone! I suppose with the amount of times I've had to do it, I'd be pretty good at it. :rolleyes2::lol:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5585664&l=4e983&id=503765166

It looks like a great job! Can you come do Bacca's for me! The last time I did his, I put so much glue between his ears, it looked like I had built the Berlin wall! Getting that mess out was some fun! (that's when I had to cut them!)
 
I just recently heard about gluing shelties ears when I took CoCo to the vet. A woman who I guess bred shelties saw CoCo and asked if I glued her ears. When I responded with no, she told me I should be proud of CoCo's ears that they are begining to stand up beautifuly. She then told me about gluing ears and well I'm not a hundred precent sure that I wish to do it. I love the look of the floped over ears but at the same time I dont want to "alter" the way she is supposed to be..if that makes sense? So I'm kinda sitting on the fence about gluing her ears.

I dont know what do you all think? Mind you yes CoCo is only 10wks old so they are gonna be really floppy right now. I took these pictures today. Another question would be when should I start looking into gluing her ears?

http://i42.tinypic.com/14siogo.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/2gv58js.jpg
http://i41.tinypic.com/1zwl1f8.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/33mmtk3.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/mcukd1.jpg
 
honestly if she is going to be a pet I wouldnt worry about it too much as they are over..A little low but they are down! She may have natural ears...I would let them go for a few weeks and see what happens. thats just my opinion though..
 
I'm with Lightplum on this. They do seem a little low, but it's early yet. They certainly don't need tipping, but perhaps a little bracing between the ears might be required later.

Watch them closely for a few more weeks. If one of the ears starts to fly, then you might consider it.

But ultimately, it's really up to you if you want the hassle. If you are not going to show, it's really not necessary!
 
Coco's ears look like she might have naturally tipped ears. If they start to stick up, it's up to you whether you want to go through the trouble of glueing or bracing. And, if Coco is has very sensitive ears (i.e. allergic to glue, etc.) then you should take that into consideration. It is only necessary if you plan to show Coco. BTW, she is a gorgeous little girl. Give her kisses for me. And thanks for the pictures!!!
 
I havent decided on showing CoCo or not yet, probably not. However I do like how the ears look so I may do the gluing just to have the look. CoCo will be mainly a pet that I do plan to breed once or twice but mostly a pet :) Thanks everyone for your suggestions! Thanks for the Compliment Crystal
 
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