Shelties Bend Ears

thoughts

well, i do not have the answer to your question but would like to say we did a similar thing with prince. we unglued his ears and went with the natural look. i think the bent/tipped ear look is precious and at times wonder if i should not have pursued that path but overall glad we chose to go with natural.

 

They still have amazing little expressions with tipped ears. I can often tell Fiona's mood just by how she's moving her ears. I think many moons back it had something to do with keeping dirt/debrit out of their ears when they were in the fields. Two of mine have tipped and Lucy's ears look like someone tried to tip them but they had a mind of their own and are sort of half-tipped. It only adds to her character. It's purely just your preference.

 

It's mostly a cosmetic thing, done to adhere to the breed standards. According to Wikipedia, "To conform to the breed standards, the Shelties' ears should bend slightly or "tip", this contributes to the 'proper Sheltie expression.' The ear is to have the top third to a quarter of the ear tipped. If a dog's ears are not bent (referred to as prick ears) some owners brace them into the correct position for several weeks to several months"

If you're not showing the dog then it is completely personal preference.

 

Actually the tipped look is natural for alot of shelties. We just glue their ears to insure they stay that way. Some of them will even have too heavy of ears and tip too far over.

The reason they are called for being tipped in the sheltie standard actually has a function when you look at were the breed was developed and the function of the dog. Shelties were developed on the shetland island a rainy harsh enivronment. The tip gives a natural umbella effect to the ears to help keep rain and moisture out of the ear canal(pervenet infections) yet give them the better hearing associated with pricked ears needed to be a herding dog.

I glued all my shelties ears but Ember and Diva would have had naturally tipped ears if I left them alone. Both had tipped ears at 8 weeks , I stopped gluing Ember ears at 5 months when I took them out for a puppy match. Diva I stopped at 8 months. I didn't brace Diva's after 5 months. Both of them have perfect ear set. Ember's dad never had his ears glued and he has perfect tipped ears.

 

This is what I've read regarding the purpose for the tipping as well.

My two both have tipped ears (they were both the show prospects for my breeder). Believe me, they are still very expressive even with the tipped ears; CJ especially since her ears are larger than Edan's.

That's not to say I don't think the foxie look of pricked ears isn't adorable also! I just happen to love the tipped ears. As others have said, if you aren't doing confirmation with them, then it's personal choice. I'm sure he's going to be simply precious with or without tipped ears.

 

My first Sheltie, Neechee, had tipped ears at first, and I did attempt to glue them, but in the end, the ears won. He had enormous pricked ears, and I wouldn't have had him any other way. They suited his fiesty little personality.

Bela (whom I adopted at age 5), has perfectly tipped ears. Since she was a puppy mill mama, I don't know if she ever had them taped, but they looke pretty natural. At some point, she had an injury to the edge of one ear, and the scar sometimes makes that ear stand up instead of tip. Most of the time, both tip. And I wouldn't have her any other way, either. It suits her dainty little personality.

It's purely a matter of personal taste, if you aren't showing. But it's just so cute to see the tipped ears bouncing when they are running towards you!

 

Justicemom gave an excellent reason for the standard.

Unless you are showing it's personal choice. I personally prefer the tipped ears. I find they truly show the Sheltie expression.

That being said unless I was showing I would not get to anal about it.