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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on July 4, 2009 at 6:47pm

We brought lance home and one ear was standing and one wasnt. I called a vet and they suggested massaging the ear while he was laying in my lap so that the ear would be in a standing up position while laying down. I did this everyday until the ear stood up. It didnt take too long, I dont think longer than a month, sorry for my poor memory!!! : ( Lance is 3 1/2 now.
The breeder did tape it before we left her but we kept it on for a week and it still wasnt standing after we took the tape off, and I couldnt bear to put more tape back on, it just seemed like it would hurt, even though he was a trooper about it. I really would massage it and keep up with the yogurt, I didnt know about that trick then either. Good Luck!

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Permalink Reply by Kyle, Megan and Loki on July 4, 2009 at 9:18pm

Just curious, but how does the yogurt help their ears stand?

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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on July 4, 2009 at 9:21pm

I believe it is the calcium that helps in the yogurt.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on July 5, 2009 at 9:25am

Hmm. Our dog's breeder recommended taping the ears. We picked him up at 10 weeks, and all of the litter had their ears down (his ears were huge!). She said that they "almost always" go up on their own, but she has seen a couple that never went up, and once you realize they are just not going up it can be too late. So she recommended taping.

Truth be told, I felt bad doing it, and Jack hated having it done. If you tried to hold him still on your lap he would scream, so I needed to find a way to get him to stay still long enough without gripping him firmly; not easy. Moreover it was a very hot summer. I would not tape them if it was over 90 degrees because I felt bad for him.

I think in total I taped them once for about 2 days, then the tape came off and they stayed up for a day then flopped again. I taped them again for just a day or so and they mostly stayed up after that. For a little while he had one up and one down, and I was ready to tape the down one but then it went up on its own. Just two layers of plain masking tape at the base of his ear did it. But he is a tiny bit head-shy (only if you go straight at his face from the front) and I sometimes wonder if the fiasco of trying to get them taped contributed to that.

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Permalink Reply by Cindi & Twinkie on July 5, 2009 at 10:56am

The advice our breeder gave was to trim the hair from inside the ear. Maybe the thought is that it lightens the ears? Ziggy isn't a fluff so maybe that won't help. The other thing I have heard used on many breeds that want standing ears is to cut a piece of "mole skin" to fit and put it inside of the ears. Mole skin is a felt-like material that is used on blisters (like for hikers) it can be cut to shape and I think it come with adhesive on one side. I think it can be found with foot products (like corn pads) at the drug store. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Sam on July 5, 2009 at 4:08pm

I would tape them. I chose not to use the mole skin method nor medical tape. I use masking tape as it stays well but much less painful when it comes off. My method is to lay the pup on his back so you can see the natural position of the ear. Start taping as close to the base of the skull as you can. Continue to tape upwards until the tape is high enough for the ear to stand on its own. Repeat on other ear. It is very important that you not have any folds in the ear when doing this as it could cause damage to his ear. I leave the tape on about a week then check the ears. If they flop repeat the process.

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Permalink Reply by Bill, Sharon, Zoe and Ziggy on July 5, 2009 at 7:29pm

Thank you all for all of the wonderful information. I really appreciate it. I am going to tape him tonight (after he gets sleepy). I'll keep you posted.

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Permalink Reply by Bill, Sharon, Zoe and Ziggy on July 16, 2009 at 12:06am

Well fellow corgi moms and dads, not so good news. I have taped Ziggy twice in the last two weeks without any good results.I left the tape on for 5 days the first time and 4 days the second time. Poor guy.... He's been so tolerable of the whole deal and doesn't even squeek when the tape comes off. His right ear seems even droopier that it was originally and there isn't much baby fur left on those ears at this point in time.

Should I just give up and let the "ears fall where they may" or continue to put on the tape? He will be 16 weeks old on Sunday,7/19/09. Are we past the point of no return? We love him no matter what and Zoe won't care if his ears are up or not. She just wants to play.

Thanks for all of your wonderful advice. It is much appreciated

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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on July 16, 2009 at 1:49am

Have you tried the massaging of the ears?

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Permalink Reply by Carlie on July 16, 2009 at 7:25am

Kiwi's ears didn't go up permanently until she was 9 months. They had periods where they would go up and then fall back down...we had decided we didn't care whether they went up for real or not. Orzo, is about4 months old and he only has one up right now. I'm sure they will eventually go up, but if you're that concerned look up some information on taping ears, our breeder used duct tape. I'm sure he's still cuter than ever, whether his ears are up,down or sideways :).

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Permalink Reply by Beth on July 16, 2009 at 8:28am

Did you get Ziggy from a breeder? If you did, I would call him or her to discuss the situation.

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