Dear All,

[corbinam]

Oh, how I wish (as do many, many Sheltie owners) that it were true that a "breeder Sheltie" automatically meant nicely tipped ears. Bits , Beckon and Layla come from the bluest blood of Sheltiedom. Bits' ears tipped naturally with no assistance. Beckon's were glued until I was sure they'd be perfect. And
"All the king's hprses and all the king's men
Couldn't get Layla's ears tipped nicely again."

P.S. Annie Laurie, our rescue from a backyard breeder, has lovely ears, by the way.

Oh yes! I wish, too! We got Bentley from a reputable breeder/pedigree and we tried and tried and his ears had a mind of their own. They now stick straight up and we still love him

 

[Strider]

Hi Anne, just to tell you that we didn't have to do anything with Cassie's ears. They were standing up for awhile, but because she is a pure breed her ears came straight down by themselves.

If your sheltie was purchased at the breeder's most likely you don't have to do anything. If you purchased your doggy at the store and not sure if she is a pure breed then you may want to wait a little and see before applying any paste.

I wish that were true as well. Deja is definately pure bred, registered with full pedigree and her ears are stuburn as all get out. Every sheltie breeder that I know that shows, works their pup's ears because you never can tell if they will tip natuarlly or not and most don't want to risk a champion show dog because they 'just knew' they would tip on their own.

 

[BarbV]

Pure bred or no, Champion stock or no....those darn Sheltie ears will often do their own thing. If you are going to show, you just have to be anal about it, and keep at it.

There appear to be some genetics involved (e.g. a propensity for thinner or thicker ear leather which will contribute to either pricky or droopy ears.) Bacca has very fine ears that flop right over. I should have braced them UP instead of gluing them down.

btw - when I had a Sheltie growing up, we used to put chewing gum on the tips of her ears to weigh them down. It was the only time we were allowed to chew gum as kids.

 

[tesslynn]

they have a mind of their own

Ears are hilarious...my 1st sheltie, had wonderfully tipped ears, then at 3 or 4, they went prick and nothing stopped them, they would not come under submission. Not sure the cause, but there was no cure...so we gave up. My 2nd sheltie had the perfect ears...never did anything to them and they always looked precisely right, natural and beautiful. Now on sheltie #3...she started with the tipped ears-the just so kind, chewing/teething commenced and I am gluing like crazy hoping that the wonky attitude of those ears will be trained out. She is coming up on 7 mths, and as I do repeat gluing for when it comes out, she appears to have the right tip, but I don't want to take chances, ha. She doesn't like the gluing procedure, but I assure her that beauty takes effort and we are almost gorgeous. She has the most sensitive ears of all my shelties so far, not sure why. I am thinking about getting sheltie #4 soon, just cuz they are the BEST. The breeder I got her from, most of the dams have tipped ears, the sires, they have wonky types...they breed mostly for temperment and agility, as they have a working farm and they use their dogs for herding. Ears are not their primary objective. She is so attentive, smart, so if the ears aren't perfect I still have a great woof.