Glueing/setting ears?

My Staff is 10 weeks old and has really floppy yet upright ears, kinda makes her look like Mickey Mouse when she's alert. I've read into glueing/setting the ears and just wondered if anyone would recommend doing so?

I've heard of people doing this too.
Personally I wouldn't worry what my dog looked like I would let him/her grow naturally. Just because it says in some book there ears should be this way.
It's the little imperfections that make the perfections

What the hell? I just looked this up...Why do people do this? is it to conform to kc standards or something? Or just stupid people pushing their own vanity onto their dogs?

I can see absolutely no good reason to do this, Chase has got floppy ears, But his only 8 months old, his still growing, if they change they change if they don't they don't. Your pups only 10 weeks old! Let nature take its course.

Yes, I read on another forum that this is what breeders do! Hence why I posted to see what other peoples opinions were on the matter, ie is it cruel/unethical or an acceptable thing to do?

It is a purely asthetic thing, I am aware of that yet I just wondered if anyone has done this!

Luna is 12 weeks and has the same thing going on. (with less symmetry though ) I am thinking that perhaps, over time, their ears change?

Donna
x

Their ears will change a lot by the time they are mature.

I see no reason to change the true nature of the ears unless you want to show, the ears are really bad, and you wish to cheat - because that's what it is! Unethical is just the kind way of saying it.

The dog is the same.

Aww Luna is lovely
I see what you mean, Ruby's are more "sticky-upy" for want of a better word lol and yeah, they probably will change as I've read they change vastly during and after teething! We'll see.

And I don't want to show her, she's a family pet! Well more like a family member to be honest, I was just curious as to what people do. She's adored by us all regardless of her ears, as you say the dog is the same!

Some people who show their dogs will glue or tape the ears if they're not 'right', but I'm not a fan of it myself. The point of showing should be to promote your dog or bit.ch for the betterment of the breed (ie, show that he/she is good enough to breed from and that their parents produce good pups!). If you falsify anything, then others will not get a true picture of what the dog & it's ancestors can produce.

If the dog's a pet, then what's the point anyway!

As I say I was just curious as to if anyone had done it really, there's actually videos on youtube of people doing it. It didn't seem to bother the pups but it's not something I particulary want to do (the taping seemed a little rough though!)

I'm not going to show her yet I do have intentions of having her producing a litter so obviously I do want the best of the best as far as that's concerned but like you say, others won't get a true picture! False advertising I suppose lol

It's just a way to hide the truth. I the Pit world people sometimes crop "bad" ears to hide it. I am of the opinion that anything done to a dog for the benefit of the human (declawing/devocalization) or for cosmetic reasons (ear cropping/tail docking) is just not ok.

Yes the cropping of them is horrendous, I'm glad it's illegal here, as with docking! Even if some breeds do look strange with a tail lol ie rottweilers and boxers.

I'm a true believer that we should deal with what we're born with if it's just for the sake of "looks" If it does'nt affect the health or daily functioning then why change it.
People , dogs, whatever . But that's just my opinion

Ruby86 wrote:Yes the cropping of them is horrendous, I'm glad it's illegal here, as with docking! Even if some breeds do look strange with a tail lol ie rottweilers and boxers.

First time I saw a Rottie with a tail I thought it was strange, too! Didn't look right, but you'd get used to it after a few generations. I wish cropping/docking was illegal here, but I don't think it would ever pass.

Loopy wrote:I'm a true believer that we should deal with what we're born with if it's just for the sake of "looks" If it does'nt affect the health or daily functioning then why change it.
People , dogs, whatever . But that's just my opinion

I agree! Great philosophy!

CatStina wrote:It's just a way to hide the truth. I the Pit world people sometimes crop "bad" ears to hide it. I am of the opinion that anything done to a dog for the benefit of the human (declawing/devocalization) or for cosmetic reasons (ear cropping/tail docking) is just not ok.

yes and I agree!!! ( and most of it is cruel )

anyway Jethro's ears were floppy like that and then one day they just changed.... let nature take it's course I reckon. I wouldn't care what sort of ears Jethro had anyway..... I would still love him !

I don't know if my staff's ears are the norm but i love the way their changing, they make him what he is

When i was little we had 2 rough collie bit.ches and dad put chewing gum on their ear to make them flop over but i think they would have done anyway but i was a child and my opinion didn't count at the time.

My friend has 2 rotties Bella 2 without a tail and Homer with a tail, but i must say it was funny to Homer with a tail, after Bella was the first rottie i had anything to do with

I havent glued or set any of my dogs ears but to be honest its not in the same league as tail docking ear cropping ect so cant really be compaired to it.
Its a well known fact the ears change shape when the puppy is teething and at 10 weeks your puppy really hasnt even started to teeth.
I suppose it all comes down to the individual would they if at around 5-6 months the ears are all over the place would they help them to be correct or are they not bothered it certinely does not cause the dog any discomfort or harm.
My dogs have correct half pricked ears but I have to say big floppy ears dont do the stafford any justice they unbalance the head but if your not bothered how your dog looks then leave them alone

Well just an update to say you were all right, her ears are going into the correct position now and she's teething so they're changing a bit more at the moment! Here's a pic of the ear progress lol

They look great! She's a cutie!!

Their Fine I think Bruno's ears look funny but that just makes the little character he is, very cheeky

I adore floppy ears i think they add so much character to the facial expression, they do make the head seem slimmer and more long and in some cases thats not liked by the owners because they look too much like crosses or pits

I think that odd or floppy ears are so cute - they can give so much character to a dog's face!

Vinnies were floppy when he was a few weeks old, but when he reached about 4months old they started standing up, and now there always perked with a flop at the top (if that makes sense) haha

So, exactly what are their ears meant to look like when they're fully grown? According to official standards, anyway? Does anyone have a pic, or should I just Google it...

Here's an image of the correct and incorrect ears: Proper SBT Ears

Oh, and here's a really good one for the APBT, it's the same as for the SBT, but so far as I know cropped ears are not correct for SBTs: Proper APBT Ears

Thanks I think Duke's ears are pretty much standard. But frankly, it really wouldn't matter either way. But they seem to operate independently! It's so funny, they're like little satellite dishes!!

Ernestine wrote:Thanks But they seem to operate independently! It's so funny, they're like little satellite dishes!!

I know, it's hilarious sometimes just watching them swivel around!

Haha, it is too funny how their ears go!

Thanks for this post - not something I'd heard of I read with interest and then horror! I'm afraid I don't understand this practice other than aesthetically 'pleasing' to humans, and making breed standard. I'd not seen it so just watched several on you tube including the bull dog's ears which should be 'rosed' .... I guess from the fighting days which I kind of get as it would protect the ears but they don't do that anymore but it's breed standard so.....??

I saw various methods for different breeds and came accross the taping method.....this dog didn't like her new 'improved' look....and I'm sure she's not alone! Oh dear oh dear, poor thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQisQGW-25g

Sorry forgot to say I think your staff. looks great with the others

Milo's ears are even more 'sticky-uppy' and he too looks great!

Well that shows how ignorant I am. My eldest Kita (14yrs) had perfect ears or so I thought as they'd been this way since I got her at 9 weeks of age as she fitted the breed standard in this description. When we got Izzy last year at 9 weeks also, she had floppy ears but I didn't think too much about it at the time. After a while her ears did change but for some reason this seemed to relate to when she had her collar on. If it was off for any length of time her ears flopped again and then when we put her collar back on they rose again. We often laughed over this, especially as we had a JR that's ears rose and stayed upright like a kelpie and never flopped again.
Thanks for the info, I'll know next time. Lee

Ruby86 wrote:My Staff is 10 weeks old and has really floppy yet upright ears, kinda makes her look like Mickey Mouse when she's alert. I've read into glueing/setting the ears and just wondered if anyone would recommend doing so?

Awwww Ruby is beautiful, leave those ears as they be, cute