Training Yorkie Ears to Stand

You have likely noticed some variety out there in the look of Yorkie ears. Achieving a certain look though isn’t due to genetics though.

It generally has to do with the way the ears are cared for when the Yorkie is a puppy. Many Yorkshire terrier breeders use various humane methods to accomplish the looks that are most in demand.

This way they can make more money of the sale of each one.

Some potential buyers don’t realize this though and so they are looking for a Yorkshire terrier with the style of ears they want. They assume it is some particular breed that they need to seek out.

It is often this misconception that leads consumers to willingly pay hundreds of dollars more for Yorkies with ears that stand up than those lying down.

When you allow Yorkie ears to do what they want the will hang down. This is due to the genetics of the dogs.

If you want them to stand up them you have to train them from the time the puppies start teething. For most Yorkies that is about four weeks of age.

Training Yorkie ears to stand isn’t complicated though so anyone can do it. There is plenty of information you can read on the subject as well as Yorkie web sites where you can visually see the steps.

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It is important to realize that you need to keep the puppies separated when you are training Yorkie ears to stand. Since they are so playful at that age they can end up affecting the results.

They will chew on the sticks and the tape found on each other and all of your efforts will be wasted.

To start the process of training Yorkie ears to stand, you will need to clip the hair on them. You want to go about halfway down the ear.

You will also need to use a blade to cut the ear. Make sure it is clean and sharp enough to do the job.

A surgical scalpel is often used as it is very effective. Take your time to be sure you get them done the same so they will look right.

You will need to have some type of hard item you can use to create a bridge between the two ears. Medical supply stores have the sticks they use to check for strep throat.

You can use dental sticks and even popsicle sticks. You will use tape to wrap around each of the years and to the stick.Make sure the sticky side of the tape is out instead of touching the hair of your Yorkie.

This process is what gets the ears into the upright position. It can be time consuming though as you will need to take the stick off each day and look at the ears.

Spend some time gently massaging each one of them in order to help with circulation. Then you will want to wrap them back up as before.

After about a week the ears should be loose enough that they will stand up on their own. If not, repeat the process for another week or too.

Sometimes Yorkie ears will become infected during the process. This can be very painful for the puppy.

If the ears appear to be swollen, there is a foul smell, or there is discharge coming from them undo the wrap immediately. Contact your veterinarian for further evaluation of the situation.

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