I'm not too sure where to actually post this question, so apologies if it is in the wrong place. I'm possibly being paranoid but I'm wondering if my Jack Russell pup is going to have 'wonky ears' as she seems to have one sticking up and the other down. The other pups in her litter seem to have cute folded over ears as you see with most JRs - I have a feeling that my little girl is possibly the smallest of the litter and so I don't know if she is just a bit behind developmentally? She was 3 weeks old yesterday (born Jan 12) and I can post a picture of her taken at the end of last week - her ears have not changed position since then! I'd be grateful for anybody's thoughts about this - could this cause her problems at all if it doesn't change etc ? I'm sure she will look very cute whatever she ends up looking like but as a new dog owner I want to make sure I do the right things for her (we won't be taking her to our home until mid-March). Thanks for your thoughts . . . Terri
personally i wouldnt worry in such a young pup, Tilly's ears were all over the place and didnt settle until she was a few months at least. but they tend to find their place in the world eventually!
oh she is lovely! does she have a name? i wouldnt worry about her ears just now, she is still very young. my jakes ears changed soooo much until he was about 6 months old, and now his ears just do their own random thing (one is floppy and one sticks out to the side its like he is pointing with his ear )
Thanks for your thoughts - I've since read that their ears can go wonky when they are teething too. Both Tilly and Jake look very cute - Jake has an expression all of his own with his 'pointing ear'! We are calling our pup Poppy - not terribly original I know but it seems to suit her as she is very sweet (in as much as you can tell at this very early age!) I was rather thrown by being asked to choose which pup I wanted at 2 days old - the mum belongs to one of the mothers of a child in my son's class at school so not a regular breeder, however, Poppy's mum has a fantastic temperament and the pups are being brought up in the house around children so it suited our family situation down to a tee. I hate making decisions at the best of times and I am just hoping that I made a good choice - I had a choice of two girls (the other is now the largest in the litter although at the time I chose our pup, they were the same size - Poppy is now the smallest). I am even more worried about all this than I was when I was expecting a human baby - how daft am I??? Terri
your not daft at all. your taking in a new member of the family and will be responsible for them for the rest of their lives. daunting thought! she looks a lovely little pup though and it will be nice for us terrier fans to see her grow up!
you can massage the ear into the correct position by folding it into the shape it should be then massaging the crease with a bit of sunflower oil on the underside of the ear. but like everyone else has said. they fly all over the place until teething is over anyway
What a cutie, I love watching the ears wonder all over the place, they wont cause problems and could end up anywhere but wherever they go will be right for her so dont mess with them, just enjoy the show
Thanks everyone. I also had a reassuring chat with one of the preschool mums on the school run today - she is a vet and doggy veteran too. She was saying how the ears go every which way for a while and to gently massage the up ear if necessary. She also said that you can weight the 'up' ear down using something like blutac over the course of a few weeks which can help too although I would be worried about hurting the pup doing this! (Wouldn't it stick to the hairs on their ears? Ouch! ) Apparently it's a lot easier to get an ear to go downwards than the other way round for those breeds that generally have upright ears.
jrt's dont really have a breed standard, they are not kc reg dogs, I wouldnt worry about the ears, so long as the pup is fit an healthy
I wouldn't worry aboyt her being the smallest either so long as she is healthy, which she looks to be. My Rogue was the smallest too and she is a very bright healthy pup!!!
aw thanks he certainly does have an expression all of his own i love his ears... although the left one did take some growing on me and poppy is a lovely name, and she suits it oh, i didnt know that... why arent they kc reg?
I know German Shepherds can take up to a year before some of them have their ears erect. I would give her time. I doubt there is much else that will help.
Just a bit of an update from me on Poppy . . . Unfortunately we found out today that she is suffering from hydrocephalus and has a very enlarged head, is having problems walking and appears to be blind. We last saw her two weeks ago and the difference is astonishing - she has gone downhill really fast. :-( The breeder is upset obviously but very kindly has not sold the other girl from the litter and asked if we would like to have her instead as it seems that there will be no option but to have Poppy put to sleep. I know that some dogs are able to live with a shortened lifespan with this condition but from what I have seen today, I would say Poppy's outlook is extremely bleak - she may have other hidden health problems that we are unaware of as her whole body seems to be withered, she doesn't make any sound and has been rejected by the rest of the litter. It would seem that perhaps I had some kind of sixth sense when I was concerned that the pup was looking a bit odd . . .
Poppy died quietly yesterday afternoon. Perhaps this is the best thing for her as I don't think she really stood much of a chance with her various problems. We are all feeling very sad about Poppy and it's strange getting used to the idea that we will be having her sister instead (provisionally named Millie).
