No, the set of her ears is fine. What you would be doing with tape or glue is working on getting them to tip. (You have me laughing, because "too high" is
not something we try to correct!)
However, given her age and what I see in the picture, I don't think you're going to make a whole lot of headway. Plus, it sounds as if you haven't done anything with her ears for months. The problem with that is twofold: one, you have a decidedly pricked ear, and two, you have a puppy who (as you say) will not sit still for love or money while you work on her ears.
Part of what makes ear training "work" is that the puppies have their ears glued as soon as the ears can be pulled together (around five weeks) and taped as soon as they're big enough (around ten weeks). We do something with their ears week in, week out, every week, until they're a year old. This means that the ears are being trained, and that the puppy is being trained to let us mess with her ears.
OK, lecture over! Sorry about that.
I take it you aren't planning to show your puppy, so it's not the end of the world if her ears aren't perfect. For reference,
here is a document that has some line drawings and discussion of heads. It will give you an idea of the ear you are looking for: 3/4s erect, placed high.
I strongly prefer tape over glue, because glue needs to be cut out (and then you lose hair) and because tapes give you much finer control. Yes, a full set of tapes and yarn is complicated. However, on your puppy, you wouldn't really need to set up a brace/full set. You'd just be working on the tips. I
still prefer tape over glue for "rolling" pricky ears.
So here is what you do:
1. Assemble your supplies. You'll want cotton pads, rubbing alcohol, a small pair of scissors, and your Japanese tape. Make sure you have some kind of adhesive remover, too (though you won't be using that today).
2. Get your puppy relaxed and OK with you messing with her ears. Set her up on a grooming table or other place where she can't just leave, and play with her ears and give her cookies until she's starting to get the idea.
3. Clean the ear leather thoroughly. You don't have to remove any hair; her ears will be hairless enough inside. Wet a cotton pad with the alcohol and rub the inside of ear up from the head. You're removing any skin oils that would keep the tape from sticking. Let the alcohol dry, and give the puppy another cookie.
4. Cut your pieces. You're going to make two "back" pieces that will lay along the length of the ear. Your back pieces will be as long as the length of the ear from the nodule at the bottom to the start of the hair at the tip - maybe an inch, inch and a half. Eyeball it. Use your scissors to round off the top end of each piece.
5. Stick the back pieces into the clean, dry ears. The bottom, inside corner of each piece should be laid in right against the nodule on the inner-lower corner of each ear. Press it in from bottom to top with your thumbs.
6. Cut your "roll" pieces. These will tip the ears over. They'll each be about an inch long, to make a roll with the sticky side out. Not too big, not too small; again, you have to eyeball it for the individual dog.
7. Stick the roll pieces in, about 3/4s up the ear, and roll the tips down so they stick onto the tape.
Don't fold the ear or pinch it; you can cut off circulation and kill the tip of the ear. Just roll them over and make sure they stick.
8. OK, you're done! You'll want to change the tapes about every week, to keep them fresh and to see what you have. When removing the tape, go gently, use plenty of adhesive remover, and
only go from the bottom of the ear to the tip (tip-down can pull the skin right off).
That is how I would do it. You have other options, of course:
1. You can just take a gob of glue and stick it to the hair in front of the dog's ears and fold the ears over into it and hope for the best. But given the variables (age, and how pricked the ears are now), I think that if you're going to have any success trying to de-prick the ears, you're going to need to use tape.
2. You can find a Sheltie breeder in your area and have them see your puppy for regular "ear" appointments, and let them deal with the whole tape business.
3. You can just love your puppy the way she is, and never mind the ears!
