Thursday, December 30, 2010

Yorkshire Terriers Ears: Floppy or Not?

Like German Shepherds and Pomeranians, Yorkies have typical "prick" ears. They're meant to stand up in a triangular point but sometimes they need a little help. If your Yorkie pup's ears are floppy, here are some tips on getting them to stand.

When are Yorkie ears fully developed?

Sometimes it can take 6 to 8 months for your Yorkie pups ears to stand upright. However, starting around 3 or 4 months old, Yorkie puppies begin teething and that usually means their ears flop down, or don't start to stand up. Don't panic - this is perfectly normal during teething.

Why would teething affect ears? 

I haven't studied this closely but it seems ANY illness can cause puppy-ears to "wilt".
Just like babies, teething is a real challenge for puppies. It puts a strain on the dog's overall health because:
- the jaw itself is growing quickly
- the baby teeth are re-absorbed into the gums
- bone & enamel is being deposited for the permanent teeth
- and there are possible gum infections along the way
The body fights a new tooth like it is a full-blown infection. And no wonder: a new tooth that's getting ready to emerge is usually covered with a red, swollen lump and looks very painful.

"Can I help the ears stand up" 

YES! What to do if your puppy's ears "flop". If your dog isn't teething, then there are three things you can take to help your Yorkie's ears stand up:

1. Trim or shave the hair on the ears, which reduces the weight, so they can stand up (this is part of "true" Yorkie grooming anyway). This is actually part of regular Yorkie grooming anyway, but will certainly help your puppy's ears to "learn" to stand up. Trim the top half of the ear on both sides - with an electric hair clipper such as a Wahl. Take it very slow - and don't expect your puppy to like the sound and vibration of the clippers at first.

2. Massage the ears daily to stimulate growth. Massaging your puppy's ears every day will not only help them stand up, but your Yorkie puppy will love the attention.
Just 3 or 4 minutes twice a day when the puppy is 3+ months old, has helped many Yorkshire Terrier ears.

3. Tape them for up to 3 days at a time. Breeders often do this if the puppy's ears don't appear to be standing on their own (and the pup isn't teething yet)... you can do it too; look up "yorkie ears" on YouTube and you'll see several videos with detailed instructions, or talk to your breeder for more help.

The Floppy-eared Yorkie

Rarely, you'll find a flop-eared Yorkie puppy whose ear cartilage is just too weak to support upright ears. You can try one of these methods to get them to stand, but sometimes they just don't. That's OK too. After all, there are dozens of types ears in the dog world, including Blunt-Tipped, Button, Candle-Flame, Flying, Folded and Heart-Shaped!

Cropping Yorkies ears

Are Yorkies' ears cropped to make them stand up?
NO, never! Yorkies ears are never, ever cropped.
Although their tails are usually docked or cut short -- and that's a very controversial subject these days -- ears are never cropped.

Muscle-bound? 

Dogs ears have up to 18 muscles; ours have 2.
  • dogs have ear mobility which allows them to rapidly pinpoint the exact location of a sound
  • eighteen or more muscles can tilt, rotate, raise, or lower a dog's ear
  • a dog can identify a sound's location much faster than a human can, as well as hear sounds at four times the distance.
In conclusion, most Yorkies ears will stand upright at around 6 to 8 months; although teething or illness can interfere with this development. If your Yorkie is lagging, you can trim the hair on the upper half of the ears (both sides); massage them or tape them temporarily to help them stand.
But most breeders advise the best thing to do: be patient. Your Yorkies ears will almost always develop into bright pointy triangles as your dog grows.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Monday, December 27, 2010

Eros getting ready for the New Year


My friend, Carla, has a Poodle Parlour in Menton and when I called in the other day, she was smartening up this little Jack Russell type dog for the New Year. He's called Eros and lives in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.

Apologies for the not quite sharp photo - I had the wrong lens on the camera (honest!)

Saturday, December 25, 2010

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Friday, December 24, 2010

The Christmas Dog


Happy Christmas everyone! This is one of four dogs in the Jardin Bioves in Menton, bringing you a nice pressie! When I took this photo, the sun was shining. Since then we've had endless heavy rain for days and he now looks somewhat bedraggled!

Have a great day and thank you so much for your visits to this this blog. Woof woof!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Spike


Is he a Boxer or a Bulldog? This 9 months old pup caught my eye walking through the Christmas Fair in Menton. Legs are too long for a bulldog yet too short for a boxer and right, he's a mix of the two. Isn't he gorgeous?

Spike lives in Genoa, Italy - just along the Ligurian coast from Menton.

Monday, December 20, 2010

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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Pink for a Girl, Blue for a Boy...


Two adorable Bichon puppies out for a walk in Menton's pedestrian street yesterday afternoon.

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Saturday, December 18, 2010

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Friday, December 17, 2010

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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Fidgie, the Wolfdog


The fishmonger in Carnoles has a new young dog. She's 12 months old and is called Fidgie. He spent most of the time we were talking throwing her heads of fish.

He told me she is a Wolf and he had to wait a long time to get her from a special breeder. He insists she is pure Wolf but to me she looks mostly German Sheepdog Dog with perhaps a bit of Wolf mixed in. He told me she's not an easy breed. He also told me that Wolves only come into season once in their life, hence his long wait for a puppy.

I gather that Wolf hybrids are now classified as Wolfdogs and that would seem to be what Fidgie is and probably what the fishmonger meant, with me misunderstanding his French.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Gigi


This lovely dog is giving me the 'do-I-have-to-do-this?' look. Gigi is a 6 year old Petit Bassett Griffon Vendeen and lives in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I got a yard!!

Hello everybody! My family and I had to do something called move from the condo we were renting because of something else called foreclosure.  But guess what? I now have a yard and I love it!! This yard is nothing like the scary one I was chained too, at that mean guys place.  No this one is lots of fun and my mom tells me I can be the "King of my jungle". Whatever that means.
Thats me waiting for one of those pesky squirrels to throw another walnut at our shack.  At first the loud thunk would scare me, but now I am braver and like to try and find the walnuts.
Oh and that's Doja my sister, she has a stinky butt. Hee-Hee! Shh, but don't tell her I said that. 


Oops, sorry Doja!  I guess even when your a King of the jungle, you sister will ALWAYS be the bossy, queen. Jeez!
OK, gotta run.


~Love Frodo~


Cookie


This lovely English Setter was walking along by the sea in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin this morning. He's 3 years old. I love this breed - look at the gentle, trusting look in his eyes.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Village Dogs


Village dogs have a good life. They can wander anywhere they like, off lead. These two wire-haired dachshunds (teckels in French) live in the medieval village of Castellar, which is in the hills above Menton.

One them, as if to emphasise how cute she is, rolled on her back when I tried taking her photogaph. Yes, I know...submissive behaviour really.