paper thin ears

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tesslynn

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Savannah has the thinnest ear leather I have ever had on a sheltie. She is my delicate, whispy pup. She is teething-seriously now at 5 mths. So her left ear is a bit wonky. This is about the time I started gluing Kaleigh's ears, but she had thicker, tougher ear leather. Up until now her lil ears tipped very nicely, and in the colder temps, they would sorta droop like hound ears, like they were trying to cover and keep out the cold...once inside and she warms up they return to regular "height". Cracks me up.

My question, has anyone glued an ear on their sheltie when they had super delicate/thin ear leather? My "fear" is that any attempt might result in hound ears, which I don't want. Kaleigh's had a bit of substance, for lack of a better term. Savannah has grass like, bend in the wind, wimpy structure, a gentle breeze flops them over. I am wondering if just using glycerin on the crease might be a better solution. Kaleigh's ears turned out pretty cute.

Any thots????
 
This is a tough issue to work with. You need to stabilize the cup of the ear, and not let it develop a crease too low. Which will happen if you leave it, or use only glue. Kind of like bending leather in the same area over and over.
This is where Japanese tape is needed up the length of the ear pocket, and then a roll over piece to set the "break" in the ideal spot.

Now, all this said, it may not work. Thin ear leather is actually harder to get the ideal ear set then thick prick ears. Gravity works against you. This is also a case where you leave the ears in tapes for a long time. Certainly worth trying.

Some people have also tried using the nasal strips, which are firm, and cut paperclips taped inside.

If you do nothing, eventually you will have hound ears.
 
IMO the ears do not thicken. You have what you have. I don't believe mole skin is the answer here, because of the weight of mole skin its self. Also, the removal of mole skin on thinner ear leather is a nightmare, and can do more damage then help.
Mole skin works better on prick ears, (which would be thicker ears) that need the extreme influence of a strong brace.
I have never been in favor of mole skin, since the newer techniques work well, with less trauma to the skin....not the ear, but the skin. 25 years ago, it was just about the only option. Now we have a wide variety of products and techniques.
 
Excellent!
Thin skinned ears are usually too thin to support an upright ear. The leather is just too thin, soft and pliable. If the ear is upright or even prick, the leather is thick enough to support the ear. You may think of it as thin skinned, but it is strong enough to give you the desired result.

Thicker ear leather usually goes hand in hand with prick ears. You can't get the tips to stay over, even after a bracing regime.The exception would be when the ears are so large (heavy) they just collapse. (Think of a German Shepherd Dog puppy). Some puppies just have very large ears.

The issue of ears is made more difficult if the puppy's ears are not addressed at a very young age. That is why we are relentless with our show puppies. Doing the ears is just part of the whole program, as they are on their way to a show career.
 
LOL. Part of the reason we got Faith is because her ears wouldn't stay down no matter what her breeder did. (And she grew a little oversize as well.) Her ears are prick, but they are small and fit her head, not like bat ears, anyway.

Good luck!
 
those goofy ears

well, I finished out Kaleigh's ears with chewing gum, lots easier than the glue. So I am gonna try an ever so small piece on Savannah's wonky ear and see if it does it. Hoping for the best, because sheltie's really are cuter with tipped ears imho...Her teeth are coming in FAST...Kaleigh's took a bit, not Savannah's. so maybe this will "set" that ear and all will be ok...one can only hope :-)
 
teeth are almost in

tesslynn said:
well, I finished out Kaleigh's ears with chewing gum, lots easier than the glue. So I am gonna try an ever so small piece on Savannah's wonky ear and see if it does it. Hoping for the best, because sheltie's really are cuter with tipped ears imho...Her teeth are coming in FAST...Kaleigh's took a bit, not Savannah's. so maybe this will "set" that ear and all will be ok...one can only hope :-)
Click to expand...

Update: so the teeth are almost in, and the goofy ear is going back to normal...I didn't do anything, with the cold temps here, she had the droopy ears outside, then once inside and warm, they went back in position...it is just strange.
 
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