Alice White
According to the requirements for the appearance of adult Chihuahuas, their ears should be in a standing position. However, you can often find dogs whose ears look to the sides or even hang down like spaniels. Let’s figure out what can provoke a similar problem.
When Should the Ears Go Up?
Chihuahuas are born cute and lop-eared. Their ears are not fully formed, they are soft, close to the skull. It is worth saying that the passage itself opens only by the month. Just by this time, the cartilage becomes stronger, but the ears still cannot rise and take their proper position.
In most representatives of the breed, they take their usual form and shape only by the age of 3-4 months. The maximum allowable age for this is 8-9 months. If by the age of nine months the puppy is still lop-eared, then it will remain so for the rest of its life.
Why Do the Ears Remain Saggy?
In most cases, this pathology is hereditary. If any of the parents have obvious or latent genetic defects, then in a similar way they can be reflected in the offspring.
Interesting! In representatives of the long-haired variety, sagging ears may be associated with a large amount of covering hair decorating the shells. It is worth a pet to trim a little, as the problem goes away without a trace.
Sometimes it also happens that the ears of the puppies that have already risen earlier fall. This may be due to a change of teeth, a deficiency of vitamins and minerals. In most cases, everything returns to normal after the last of the molars have erupted. In addition, the reasons why Chihuahuas do not get their ears to include:
- stress experienced by the dog;
- phosphorus deficiency;
- lack of calcium in the body;
- the irregular shape of the ear canal;
- problems with the development of muscles.
What If the Chihuahua Puppy is Lop-eared?
First of all, the pet needs to be shown to the veterinarian. The specialist will be able to give recommendations suitable for each specific case:
Trim off disturbing hairs.
Take a course on vitamins and minerals.
Introduce an aqueous solution of gelatin into the diet.
Add food for decorative dogs to food.
Take a massage course.
Put the puppy on the ear set.
Try to put your ears on your own (glue).
The last item from the above list often causes confusion for inexperienced owners. Don’t worry. In fact, staging is not that difficult. To do this, you need the following set of tools:
- plastic sheet;
- cotton pads;
- alcohol lotion;
- scissors;
- tissue adhesive plaster.
First, you need to clean the outside and inside of the puppy’s ears. Then cut the plastic into strips 7-10 mm long. In this case, the length should be slightly less than the ear itself. The excess part of the strip is cut off, rounding off the ends. One side is glued to the sticky part of the patch and secured inside the ear with a second strip. The same procedure is carried out with the second ear. Such a frame holds the cartilage and tissue well and tightly. The frame is removed after 5–7 days. If necessary, the procedure is repeated after a few days.
If such manipulations do not help, the veterinarian may perform stitching. But not all dog owners agree to such operations. Mostly those who do not want the pet to take part in exhibitions and breed breeding in the future. They love their sneezes and lop-eared ones.
