Learning to read your dog’s body language is an important step in understanding how your dog communicates with you. Your Australian Shepherd’s ears can tell you a lot about what they are thinking. Not only do their ears tell us a lot about their thoughts and personality they serve a very important function for your dog.
Australian Shepherds should have medium-sized triangle-shaped ears that are slightly rounded at the tips. They sit high on their head and break or fold forward. Depending on how the ear folds they can have either button ears or rose ears. Some Aussies will have erect (or prick ears).
If an Australian Shepherd Has Prick Ears, Is It Purebred?
Probably. This trait does run in their breed, though it is rarer. The exact genetics of ear placement is confusing. It isn’t a matter of a single trait or even a lot of traits. Instead, erect ears can seemingly pop up out of nowhere, even if a breeder is specifically trying to avoid it.
At the same time, in some breeds with erect ears, puppies with floppy ears may randomly appear. Genetics are simply complicated and not completely understood. Even if you breed two Australian Shepherds together with traditional ears, a puppy from their litter may end up with erect ears.
Therefore, purebred Australian Shepherds with erect ears do appear, though they won’t be as common as dogs with “traditional” ears.
Do Australian Shepherds Have Pointy Ears?
In most cases, no. While pointy ears are technically possible in this breed, it has largely been bred out. Show dogs cannot have this sort of ears in the United States, as it goes against the AKC standard. Therefore, most breeders eliminated this trait previously. Still, some dogs may appear with erect ears.
In most cases, these dogs are not shown since it is considered a fault. Instead, they are kept as companions and usually not bred further.
There isn’t anything wrong with pointy ears, per se. It is just that the AKC doesn’t find erect ears to be the traditional ear form for this breed and therefore marks dogs off if they have this trait. As far as health is concerned, it really doesn’t matter what type of ear your puppy has.
Generally, breeders will not encourage this trait. Therefore, erect ears are becoming more and more uncommon in the traditional Aussie as well as his cousins, the Miniature American Shepherd and the Toy Australian Shepherd.
When Will Australian Shepherd Ears Stand Up?
Questions about ear placement come early, and rightfully so, ear movements change dramatically from as young as 12 weeks old. This leaves owners wanting to know if the ears will stand up? stay down? or go down after having stood up?
Australian shepherd ears typically start standing up anywhere from 8-12 weeks, but for some, it may take a lot longer. All the while teething is happening, ear placement varies dramatically.
FAQ
How do you correct Aussie ears?
Do all Australian shepherds have floppy ears?
Can you tape a grown dogs ears?