Do you have a Belgian Malinois puppy? Are you worried about the appearance of his ears and whether he will stand up straight? Are you confused about the answer to this question??
Read on my friend. In fact, “when” a Belgian Malinois ear stands is not that simple to answer.
Therefore, I will write this article with the topic of “Belgian Malinois Ears Stand Up” in mind.
I have tried so hard to find out “When Do Belgian Malinois Ears Stand Up?”, I even called my vet several times for an answer. But he told me there was no simple answer, but that it depended on many factors, including genetics and environment. So, if you’ve been reading this article till here, welcome to my blog (you must be intelligent enough to know that!).
Some may wonder about whether these ears stand up because of the environment and genetic development of the dog or if it is because the parents did not raise their puppies in a proper manner.
In fact, I believe both are true. That is, they are genetically developed and they tend to stand up because of the environment that they live in. When they are in the age of 2 or 3 months, they start to stand up and ears are fully developed. However, when it exceeds the age of 2 or 3 months, this is not true anymore.
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When Do Belgian Malinois Ears Stand Up?
There is no simple answer to this question. I had my puppy when he was 12 months old, so I can’t tell whether he stands up because of the environment because of his age or if the ears are bigger than normal. However, when I look at other puppies in the same period of time, they all stand up.
I have been noticing that after a period of time, my puppy’s ears are standing up and it is because he is growing out of his puppy period and getting older.
Belgian Malinois ears stand up from the day of the first vaccination. It’s strange to think that dogs can stand up their ears at such a young age.
I have noticed that when the ears go up from the day of vaccination, it means that they can enjoy listening to music without earplugs. Nowadays I will also listen to music for my puppy and he loves it most of all.
It’s also funny because I hardly believe that my dog stands up his ears to hear better sound because of the environment he is living in, or it is because his parents didn’t raise their puppies in a proper manner. But I think both are true. Still, some people believe that it’s because they are genetically developed. However, I don’t know exactly why it is so.
In fact, when my puppy was 1 year old, I saw his ears stand up on the day of 3rd vaccination and then, from then on until the next vaccination round, it is not usual for his ears to stand up anymore.
However, when he has 7th or 8th vaccination round and his ears don’t stand up anymore like before 3rd vaccine even without any injury or surgery afterwards I think that means that the growing process is finished.
So the day a puppy stands up its ears after its first vaccination should be considered as a signal that it should be going to sleep at an early age, as this is the way most puppies act.
Why Does My Belgian Malinois Have Floppy Ears?
There are many reasons for floppy ears, including:
1. Congenital problems
The first reason is congenital problems. If the puppy is born with floppy ears, then it will remain floppy through his entire life unless it gets injured or the ears are surgically altered. Congenital problems include an underdeveloped eardrum or a ruptured eardrum with little or no ear growth.
2. Infection
When the puppy has an infection of one or both of its ears then they may be floppy and they will not stand up like they should normally. Another reason is because the puppy’s ear cartilage has been torn due to severe trauma (such as a fight with another dog). Another reason also is that the cartilage has become too thick, causing a large flap of cartilage to cover the ear canal and reduce hearing in that ear.
3. Environmental factors
The third reason is various environmental factors, such as genetic predisposition, or lack of proper socialization and training. For example, if the puppy is born into a litter of floppy-eared puppies (congenitally floppy) or if it was isolated and not exposed to other puppies to learn how to stand up ears, then it’s more likely that the puppy will remain floppy throughout its life. If you know your puppy was born with floppy ears then you can take measures that will prevent a future floppy ear problem.
4. Injury
Sometimes when there is an injury in some part of the ear, the ear may become permanently floppy by itself. For example, damage to the nerves in the ear canal may cause enough pressure on them (from within) to cause them to become permanently recumbent (floppy).
How Do You Tape A Dog’s Ears To Stand Up?
There are a few ways to tape a dog’s ears to make them stand up. The most common method is with medical tape or athletic tape, also known as “tiedowns”. Medical tape has adhesive that sticks to itself so it needs to be peeled off by hand after several days. Athletic tape does not have this self-adhesive feature. The other technique is using duct tape, which can be found easily at any hardware store.
Here’s an example of how you might wrap the top of an ear using the medical method:
- Take one piece of medical tape (18″ x 1/2″) and lay it on a flat surface like a table or counter top with the sticky side facing up; apply some water on the tape so it will stick better to your dog’s skin and then press it firmly on the top of the ear.
- Next, fold over the tape and stick it to the top of your dog’s ear so that it is even with the rest of your dog’s skin. This part is important because you don’t want to overlap any part of the medical tape (called “beneath”), unless you’re ok with your dog having protruding ears all day. Another reason is because you don’t want another human or canine pet seeing parts of your dog’s ear sticking out when they look at that ear from straight on (called “Feline Upright”).
- Then, take another piece of medical tape and apply it to that folded-over piece and stick it firmly on both sides of your dog’s ear so that it goes beyond into both ears equally. Next, repeat this step with a small piece of athletic tape across each side under the top flap.
- Finally, always make sure you have a small piece overlapping part way on the non-touching side of your dog’s ear so that the tape is more snug and won’t come loose.
What Else Can You Do To Make Belgian Malinois Ears Stand Up?
Here are a few alternatives to taping up their ears:
K9 Collars
An alternative to ear tape is the use of a dog collar with a pronged, metal, or plastic point (called “Prong Collar”) that goes into your dog’s ear. The purpose of this is to hold your dog’s ear up – not aid them in being able to hear better. It is especially important if you have an animal that doesn’t like having his ears handled. An example of this would be an animal that has anxiety issues around loud noises, barking dogs, people, etc.
While some dogs think the collar looks funny and are reluctant to wear it, others consider it very “cool” and they wear it proudly. In addition, some dogs have become so accustomed to wearing this type of collar that they like it even better than regular collars – making it easier for them to accept taping their ears as well.
Extensions For Ears
There are also some devices designed to make the ears stand up which are really just extensions. Some examples of this would be “Extension Collars” and “Ear Buttons”.
An Extension collar is very similar to a normal dog collar with the exception that it extends with a metal bar that goes into the dog’s ear canal. There are several different types, each with varying effectiveness.
Some of these come in a variety of colors and patterns (see pictures below). The purpose is to block out sound that ordinarily intrudes into your dog’s ear canal but he doesn’t hear it, thus preventing him from reacting wrongly and possibly injuring himself.
Ear Buttons are like Bonsai Tree plant pots for your dog’s ears; the bottom half simply sits in your dog’s ear canal, unlike an Extension collar which goes into the canal (called “Earbutton Collars”).
They come in several different types and shapes. To put on the ear button, remove the top half of your dog’s normal ear extension and place it on the dog’s head, then place an ear button in his ear canal.
Then, place the bottom half on your dog’s head and then reattach the top half to his head. This is done just like you would slip a ball into a Bonsai tree to help it bloom and keep it healthy.
The main advantage of these is that there is a little less work involved than with an extension collar or ear tape – so many people prefer them. However, some dogs do not appreciate this type of intervention – some can be very vocal about their dislike for them!
Final Words
It’s important to remember that dogs are different from each other, just like any four-legged creature. This means that there exists no one single effective method for all dogs.
Therefore, you need to decide for yourself which option suits your dog best and how it can help him behave when he does not perform as expected – then make sure you adhere strictly to the plan in its entirety. No half-way measure will have any beneficial effects whatsoever!
A good rule of thumb would be to use the technique that is most convenient and effective (without any drawbacks) for you as an owner; this should usually be the first choice. If this is not good enough, then use the next best option (if possible) until you find what really works best for your pet.
At last I hope you have found this article to be of some assistance.
