Chihuahua puppies go through their own unique stages. As newborn puppies, their ears are floppy. As they grow older however, those ears eventually grow strong enough to stand up. Floppy ears are a normal stage for puppies, but sometimes they never do stand up. If your puppy’s ears have not stood up by 6 months of age, they are probably not going to. If your dog is still young and you’re wondering what age you can expect your chihuahua’s ears to stand up, we can help you figure it out.
It’s uncommon for purebred chihuahuas to have ears that stay flopped, but it can be a genetic quirk in some purebreds. It’s much more common in chihuahua mixes, where long eared crosses such as Chiweenies can be too much for your puppy to hold up.
Issues That Cause Floppy Ears
If your puppy’s ears were upright before the age of 6 months, but then suddenly flopped over again, don’t panic. Teething can cause upright ears to fall over again. They should pop back up again once teething is over. According to Lil Treasures Chihuahuas, this is because the jaw muscles are connected to the ear muscles. After a long day of chewing to relieve teething, they might not have the muscle power to lift their ears too.
Other factors, like malnutrition or poor health, can sometimes cause your pups ears to flop when they shouldn’t. Correcting these health issues may cause their ears to stand.
If your dog is a long hair, excessive ear hair may also be pulling the ear down. You can ask your groomer to trim back the ear hair to see if this is the cause of the ears not standing up.
How To Tell If Your Dog’s Ears Will Stand Up
If you’re burning to know and the dog hasn’t reached that 6-month mark yet, try making a funny noise at your dog. If your dog can stand up their ears to listen to an intriguing noise, even if they flop over again, chances are they will stand up at some point in the next few months.
Although there are methods to try and train the ears to go up, such as taping the ears, these can be uncomfortable for the pet, and excessive for a companion animal.
Your chihuahua is just as cute whether their ears are upright or flopping over, so don’t worry too much if they haven’t decided which way they want to go yet.
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Is there a correlation between the age at which a Chihuahua’s ears stand up and their overall temperament or behavior?