Is it normal for a dog’s ears to be floppy?
Some may be wondering if their dogs ears should be floppy. It is important to distinguish between normal floppiness in the ears and something which is abnormal. Firstly, if you have a puppy of a dog breed which would normally have ears standing up, dont worry.
Puppies are born with floppy ears. They have not yet developed and the physical features they present as a puppy can be much more different when they are an adult. Simply being a puppy is one of the most common reasons your dog has one floppy ear. As the dog develops, one ear might become erect more quickly than the other, although it usually should follow suit rather quickly.
How long it takes for a puppys ears to stand up depends on the breed and the individual dog. For some it may only take 8 weeks, for others, it may be 8 months. However, generally a dogs ears should be standing up after they have finished teething. If the puppys ears have stood up and then fallen again after some time, it is likely one of the problems below.
Another factor is that a dog can move their ears. If you see a dog with one ear erect, but the other turned to the side. It may be they are listening out for something. We should distinguish between this and when there is a problem.
Lastly, some dogs will simply never have erect ears. Due to breeding, some dogs have distinctive floppy ears. These breeds include:
All of the dog breeds which have floppy ears will have both ears flopping downward. When one ear is floppy and the other is not, it is likely the sign of a health problem.
Why is one ear up and one ear down on my dog?
Ears up, erect, and tilted forward are a sign that your pet is stimulated and possibly aggressive. If you have a dog with “up” ears, they may have one ear up and one ear down. This is just another casual ear position that he is listening, but not so intently that they are searching for something.
Why Do Some Dogs Have Erect Ears?
If you are concerned about your dogs ear flaps not standing up, most likely you are the proud owner of a purebred dog whose breed standard puts an emphasis on erect ears. Whether you have plans of showing your dog in the ring or simply want a nice representative of the breed, that floppy ear may become a source of concern. I have known dog owners who really couldnt sleep thinking about it and obsessed over it.
If you own a puppy of a dog breed where hanging ears are considered serious faults, dont panic. I have known many pups with floppy ears who have blossomed into beautiful representatives of the breed. I cant deny, though, that I have also known a few pups whose ears have remained floppy, although I must admit that they were nonetheless adorable dogs.
Lets go over a bit of anatomy. The part of a dogs ear that causes the most concern is known as the ear flap or “pinna.” The pinna is a flap of skin covered by fur and composed of numerous muscles attached to the curved cartilage. Depending on the breed of dog, the pinnae vary greatly in size and shape. You may see pinnae that are short and erect and some that are long and floppy. In this article, we will be discussing the pinna of dogs that are normally erect by breed standard but for some reason are not carried that way.
My DOG Has a FLOPPY EAR (Causes and Solutions ✅)
However, it becomes rarer as the dog starts to enter its middle-age years. This is when the dog is at its peak and will have its ears standing up observing everything it hears.
In some situations, those floppy ears can return. This can make you ask, why are my dog’s ears floppy all of a sudden?
A dog’s ears can become floppy all of a sudden because the ears are injured or there’s an infection causing inflammation on the ear. This can lead to the dog’s ears starting to flop. The best course of action is to treat the ear and inspect what the root cause is.
It’s important to note, a dog’s ears flopping is not normal. It is best to consult with a vet to figure out what the main issue is with the dog’s ears suddenly flopping.
This article will take a peek at why a dog’s ears are floppy all of a sudden and what to do about it as a dog owner.