Proper tip gluing?

[Daisy's Mom]

Daisy's ears have come unglued again, thanks to her antics with my other dog. She is 7 months and one ear is still sticking up, with one pretty well settled down. As I prepare to reglue I always try to look at a video to get it right, but I have seen two ways to glue the tips:

The first way is to apply the glue to tip, outside the ear, then fold the tip under so the glue adheres to the hairs at the base of the ear. This way, the ear is curled under.

The second way is to apply glue to the underside of the tip so it just folds down and adheres to the hairs at the base of the ear.

So, which is better - gluing the inside or the outside of the tip? I have tried both, but her ears aren't set so I don't know how they will ultimately turn out.

 

[corbinam]

There are a million and one ways to glue ears—and breeders love to tell you which one is right . It’s all about what works for you. I’ve always glued the underside of the tip to the base at the inside (towards the face). Good luck!

 

[Daisy's Mom]

Thanks for your reply @corbinam! Everyone seems certain their way is best, and I have been unhappy with some of my glue jobs.

I did end up gluing as you suggested and they look even, so hopefully they turn out well. One ear still looked good after several days unglued. The other...needs work.

 

[corbinam]

It definitely tries your patience! The good news is that I seem to remember it getting easier the more practice I got. Good luck!

 

[ghggp]

This is a great website on the topic...

https://www.yankee-shelties.com/sheltie-ears.html

 

[jaleely]

Wow, I didn't even know about this. I thought they were all born with floppy ears and my Finn was weird for having one up, one down!!
At what age are they too old for this to work?
Finn is 5 months.
Will I be seen as an improper Sheltie owner bc of his ears? Lol, seriously!

 

[Ann]

Wow, I didn't even know about this. I thought they were all born with floppy ears and my Finn was weird for having one up, one down!!
At what age are they too old for this to work?
Finn is 5 months.
Will I be seen as an improper Sheltie owner bc of his ears? Lol, seriously!

Many Shelties have ears that don't tip, since a natural tip seems to have been nearly bred out in most lines. So breeders and those involved in conformation showing "train" the ears from a young age, starting around 8 weeks, to tip with either special tape or glue.

You may be able to still get Finn's ears to tip at 5 months, especially if they have some natural tip to them. If you don't want to hassle with tape or glue, you can buy a bottle of pure glycerin at the pharmacy (you may have to ask the pharmacist to order it for you) and just put a dot on the inside and outside of the ear tips every other day or so. If there's some natural tip, this will help weight the tips down some.

If you want to try gluing, this is the best tutorial I've ever seen, and the method I use on my pups.

http://wyndewayshetsheep.com/ears.htm

 

[Calliesmom]

You may be able to still get Finn's ears to tip at 5 months, especially if they have some natural tip to them. If you don't want to hassle with tape or glue, you can buy a bottle of pure glycerin at the pharmacy (you may have to ask the pharmacist to order it for you) and just put a dot on the inside and outside of the ear tips every other day or so. If there's some natural tip, this will help weight the tips down some.

if you want glycerine- try Hobby Lobby...............

 

[Daisy's Mom]

I've thought about moving on to glycerine for Daisy, but my other dog tugs on her ears when they play. I'm guessing the glycerine won't hold up very well with puppy play, but let me know if I'm wrong on this.