Why is My Chihuahua With Floppy Ears? How Can I Stop The Flop?
A chihuahua with floppy ears is not an anomaly. A little chi-puppy has a lot of reasons why its ears will flop. A Chihuahuas ear will flop because the cartilage hasn’t fully developed.
You may have noticed it has a floppy ear, and you ask yourself, “Did I just get a floppy eared Chihuahua?” Wrong purchase (maybe it’s a new breed of a chihuahua with floppy ears).
Chi puppies less than 5 months old may have floppy ears due to the fact that they are still developing. It can take anywhere from five weeks to eight months before the ears of a chihuahua puppy are developed.
In this article, we are going to explore all the reasons why the ears of the puppy haven’t developed fully and what you could possibly do about it.
Do Chihuahuas’ ears flop at birth?
Yes, Chihuahua ears flop from birth. These ears won’t stand erect until they begin to get older. In that case, one ear will most likely stand ahead of the other, and in some cases, neither ear will stand at all.
There is absolutely no cause for alarm; this is a natural phenomenon with Chi-dog. As newborns, the muscles at the base of their ears haven’t developed fully. This is why their ears won’t stand erect.
The cartilage would need time to develop. This can take anywhere from 5 weeks to 8 months. Your dog is still beautiful, it’s just that you are unsure of what the ears should be like.
Every dogs are born with a flopped ear, the chances of a Chihuahuas ears standing straight is thoroughly dependent on genetics. Chihuahua is a very fun dog to have, as they make lots of fun faces.
Floppy eared Chihuahuas and causes
If you have noticed your dogs ear is floppy, it shows you’re a great dog parent. Not every dog parent pays attention to their dogs. So, why is the chihuahua with floppy ears?
Will my chihuahua’s ears flop while teething?
The jaw muscles of a Chihuahua are connected to the muscles of its ear. When your dog is undergoing the process of losing its milk teeth, it could cause its ears to droop.
Chi’s start to lose their baby teeth up untill six to eight months. In the early stages( at two to 4 -5 weeks) you’ll see some baby tooth lying around, as they start putting anything in their mouths.
Most breeders I have spoken with acknowledged that the majority of the chihuahua puppies they have for sale have floppy ears when teething. As their ears are connected with the jaw.
At this stage of their lives, they would love to chew a lot, and they gnaw incessantly. This is when you will notice that they may have had an upright ear before teaching, but they will lose this perkiness. while teetering.
Does genetics lead to a Chihuahua with floppy ears?
Most breeders try to ensure that the Chihuahua has perky ears. Well, you can’t always have all you want. Controlling how the dog should turn out can be a difficult task at times.
The parents of the Chihuahua could have erect ears according to AKC standards (floppy-eared chihuahuas can’t participate in competitions).
Crossbreeding may cause a mutation, so it’s also best practice to inquire about the parents of the dog. If a chihuahua puppy has a flopped ear and both parents have perky ears, does that mean the puppy is unhealthy? No!
Does domestic syndrome cause floppy ears in Chihuahuas?
Domestic syndrome It’s basically what happens when a wild animal is tamed to be domesticated. This results in the animals having a floppy ears. The only animal that has a floppy ear in the wild is the elephant.
A lot of hypotheses have surfaced claiming or proving that when wild animals are domesticated, it could result in them having floppy ears.
This theory was first associated with Charles Darwin. He was able to link a connection between the floppiness of an animal’s ear and tameness.
Charles Darwin observed the uprightness of all the ears of wild animals, and he also noticed the flapping ears of tamed animals.
Another contributor to this ideology is a Russian scientist who is known as Dmitry Belyaev. He performed an experiment where he bred and tamed wild foxes. As soon as a fox was tamed, the ears became floppy.
There is a lot of scientific research and data claims backing up this theory.
Poor dieting can lead to a chihuahua with floppy ears.
In preparing a diet for a Chihuahua with floppy ears, it is very necessary that you consider the skin, cartilage, and joints.
A diet that does not contain the necessary nutrients your chihuahua needs to develop could cause your chihuahua to not have an upright ear.
Your chihuahua would require a good amount of protein. Ensure your dog gets his 200 calories per day.
You should also provide omega 3 and 6. You will find these fatty acids in oily fish.
You should probably avoid any unnecessary snacking, except during training sections where you have to give them treats.
Is it a pure breed?
If your chi-dog has hit the 8 months mark, and still has ears that are not perky there is a chance that its not a pure breed. Almost all chihuahua with floppy with floppy ears get their ears up at 10 months latest.
A chi-dog that was bred with other dogs that don’t have erect ears may produce a chihuahua with floppy ears like in the case of the chi-pom or a chi-pug. When Chihuahuas are bred with pugs, sometimes they have floppy ears.
Ear parasite
Ear mite can lead to a chihuahua with floppy ears. Ear mites infection in dogs will make the dog keep shaking its head in other to get relived or start scratching its ears multiple times daily.
Can my dog’s floppy ears be fixed?
If your pup was designed to grow floppy ears, you can’t force its genes to act otherwise. I understand you may be worried. There are workable solutions. Let’s assess them.
- Speak To Your Breeder If you’ve purchased a puppy whose ear has refused to stand over time, you should speak with the breeder. Tell them about your worries, they bred the puppy, so they’ll be able to review the history of the puppy’s parents. This may help you in understanding if your puppy will have upright ears or not.
- Speak with your vet, he might have an idea after a checkup section.
- Giving your chihuahua an excessive amount of calcium supplement would result in arthritis and joint problems. Give your sweetheart a spoon of yogurt daily. This will help.
You can skin to the down part of the article to see how you can get a chihuahua with floppy ears to stand erect.
At what age will my puppy’s ears stand up?
If there was a particular manuscript containing the age at which your Chihuahua’s’ floppy ears would become perky, I would have told you that, right away.
You shouldn’t be surprised if they never stand. Some chihuahuas will never have an upright ear. The ear could take between five weeks and eight months before it stands.
When will my Chihuahua’s ears stand up?
Is your chihuahua growing? Their muscles will be able to hold their ears In no time. These ears will stand on their own. This beautiful sighting can be sudden and unexpected.
Your chihuahua’s ears will stand upright at 6 months old. You can add calcium to their diet to quicken the process. The best way of adding calcium to their diets is to include a spoon of plain yogurt in their kennel.
Pumpkin is also a great way to supplement a dog’s calcium intake. You can get the canned or fresh one, but the fresh one contains more nutrients than the canned one.
If at 8 months – 10 months of age, and your chi puppy ears are still floppy, you should brace yourself to live with it like that for the next 15 – 20 years. However, there are things you could do to help the dog’s ears to stay upright.
What can I do to make my chihuahua with floppy ears stand upright?
The methods we will be sharing with you are methods used by many breeders and dog owners to get their dog ears to stand up. These methods may work or not.
However, it is important to note that your dog’s ears will stand if it’s genetically okay. Irrespective of what you do, the ears will eventually stand up by themselves.
How to tape the ears of a chihuahua.
A chihuahua with floppy ears might get its ears standing straight if you try taping the ears. This process is usually carried out using medical tape. We don’t recommend using duct tape to avoid bruising the dog.
Step 1
The first stage is to shave the ears.
We need to reduce the weight on the dog’s ears, this will be done by shaving the hairs on the ears of the dog. This will increase the chance of getting success from this procedure.
In shaving the ears of the dog, you need to make use of your dog’s grooming kit. In absence of the grooming kit, you can use a beard trimmer or electric mustache equipment to shave the hairs.
Dogs like to wriggle their heads at any foreign or sharp sounds. You need to get the dog accustomed to the sound of the trimmer before you use it on him. Turn on the trimmer, bring it close to its ears, and repeat till the dog is comfortable.
In shaving the ears of your dog, start trimming from the base then move out to the tip. Even though the dog may stay calm, they may still shake their heads suddenly. Using this method above, they are less likely to get injured.
In absence of all these tools, small scissors will suffice. I will advise you to include a treat, as this will help the dog relax.
Step2
Finishing out your work
When you’re done shaving the hair, you’ll need to trim out the hairs left at the edges of the dog’s ears. Asides from the part of removing weight from the dog’s ears, those hairs left on the edges can glue to the tape, making your pooch more prone to pains and injury when you try taking the tape off.
Stage 3
Choosing of the tape you’ll use
You need a tape that wont even irritates hypersensitive skin. This is why we advise the use of a medical M3-Micropore adhesive plaster. These plasters are used for small injuries. It was made from none woven viscose.
An important reason why I recommend this tape is because, it is breathable, flexible, and soft on your dog’s skin. When it’s time to remove the tape, it’ll come off smoothly without leaving, and don’t or traces of bandage behind. This is the perfect tape for a puppy’s skin
Notwithstanding, you can use any other type of tape that matches the criteria of the tape above. You can easily find this tape in most med stores in the US. If you live outside the US, you can check in with your local med stores.
Step 4
Get the ears cleaned
In other to avoid creating a breeding place for infections and bacterial, we urge you to clean the dogs ears with a disinfectant or alcohol. This will ensure you won’t be trading wax dirt and any sort of dirt when you bind the chihuahua with floppy ears.
Step 5
Taping the ears of a chihuahua with floppy ears
You can begin this process by cutting out two strips of tapes, place their tips on a table or roll on a pen. You want to cut the tape to be equal to the length of your pooch’s ear.
Hold up the ear uprightly the place the first tape in the inner part of the dog’s ear. The taping should start from the immediate opening of the dog’s ear canal and extend to the tip of the dog’s ear(ensure you’re not blocking the ear canal).
Repeat this process on the other ear, then cut out another tape that is akin to the length of the dog’s ear. You will be binding the tape at the base of the dog’s ears externally(this is to aid the ear to stand firm). Ensure you don’t bind too tightly or loosely.
When you’re done with this process correctly, the left ear should be at 11:00 (using a wall clock as a marker) and the right ear should be at 2:00.
Step 6
Making a bridge between the ears.
The purpose is to keep the ears standing by binding tightly. Cut out two stripes that could loop a bit on both ears while crossing the head of the chihuahua.
In explaining what I wrote above, you’ll take a long enough strip of tape. In the front of the dog(facing the dog) loop it a little on one ear, the other side of the tape, loop it on the other ear. Then repeat with another stripe from the back. This will keep the ears standing.
Final step.
You need to know how to maintain this little construct on your dog. Let’s go!
You shouldn’t leave the tape on for more than a streak of 3 days. Change the tape and inspect the progress of the chihuahua with floppy ears.
While trying to change the tape, if it proves to be a bit difficult. Just use the scissors to cut the tapes out from the sides.
Clean the ear if you notice a build-up of dirt. It is better to have a dog with a floppy ear than to worsen its situation by creating an infection. Infection heats the ear, it’ll naturally make the ears droop.
Remember, disinfectant or alcohol. Taping the ears doesn’t guarantee it’ll become perky immediately. This process is best carried out by the breeder most times. You could resolve this with your dog’s breeder.
Watch this video on how you can take on this process.
Calcium supplements for the chihuahua with floppy ears
Supplementing the calcium intake of your dog can help boost the cartilage’s strength. Many people have reported success using this method. Getting calcium supplements for the young puppy will enable them to develop properly.
A great source of delivering this supplement is pumpkin or yogurts. I don’t preach supplement capsules. I prefer supplementing with natural means. This will ensure you don’t overdose your dog.
Studies have proven that too much calcium in the dog will inevitably less to the development of hip dysplasia. To avoid your dog developing this sickness, supplement their calcium intake with pumpkin(canned or natural.
Anxiety and stress.
I wrote a guide on chihuahua shaking. If you read up, you’ll see that a chihuahua reacts terribly to anxiety and stress. Just as stress can take a toll on our body weight or our well-being. Stress can lead to a chihuahua’s ears drooping.
It is a herculean task to eliminate stress from a chihuahua as the psychology of their breed will ensure they face anxiety from time to time. Great training routines and techniques will always help reduce how often they will get anxious.
Avoid feeding the wrong foods.
Most of these tips provided to you are from our personal experience interacting with this dog breed. It is not a bad deal ticking all the healthy boxes, ensuring you are not in any way preventing your dog’s ears from getting to their perky peak.
As you should already know, onions, garlic fried foods, food with high sodium content, and some foods and snacks which we humans take, will eventually be harmful to your pooch.
I avoid my pets eating dairy products as they find it hard to digest lactose.
If you have fulfilled all righteousness and you still ask “my chihuahua ears never stood up and are still floppy” well, on the brighter side, chihuahua lives the longest, so brace up to enjoy a 15 – 20 years of fun and joy with your sweetheart. Take pictures and send to us.
Final thoughts on chihuahua with floppy ears
You know dogs sense feelings. You don’t want your dog feeling like, A chihuahua with flopped ears is a condition. This is just a phase that will pass.
Take proper care of your dog and avoid every urge to touch the ear. Make sure to feed your chihuahua properly, this will ensure the ears stand.
