My puppy's ears dropped. Is rough play causing ear cartilage damage?

As much as you can keep the other dog from chewing on her ears, do so, but it's not the end of the world. Their ears will go up and down as they're teething and growing, so they may tip up and down for a couple months more until they stand for good. Congratulations on your new baby, she's absolutely beautiful!

His ear is not broken. Your puppy is still very young and the ear position is not final until your puppy is about 15 months old. So there is a possibility that the ears stand up and flop several times as your puppy is growing.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It takes time for the cartilage in the ear to strengthen and stand up permanently. I wouldn’t be concerned at this time about his ears as he is still young and growing. It is also normal for his baby teeth to fall out- and all should have fallen out by 6 months. It sounds like Noble is right on track! Kisses to Noble!

I am sorry to hear about your concern for your puppy! Unfortunately in many dogs we can have changes in the carraige of the ears as they grow/mature. In some breeds, such as german shepherds, the ears will be taped by a vet or experienced dog breeder in an attempt to get them to stand in a certain manner, but this is not a gaurantee of the altering of the ear carraige. If you are not planning on showing your dog, I would accept her for ear sweet self and learn to love her funny ears (and they may continue to change as she grows). I myself have a lab mix with ears that do not match in their carriage. It gives them character!

The outer ear of the dog (the pinna) is made of cartilage, and that is what helps Rolo's ears stand up. It sounds like she experienced some damage to her ears if she had a aural hematoma in them (what you referred to as blood clots), and there is the possibility that the cartilage was damaged enough that her ears will remain floppy. Over time, however, they may heal and her ears could return to standing up. Unfortunately I can't say for certain one way or another, only time will tell. Best of luck.

Hello. You can try taping the ear up by using something like a tampon on the inner surface ( concave surface ) & putting an overwrap on this. But, the ear may stand up on its own. Sometimes an ear will temporarily fall during the rapid growth phase see at this time & age. But if you do decide to tape up the ear, you must make sure it is not too tight, too heavy or too uncomfortable for Mini to wear. You might talk to your vet who can do this with all the proper materials. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

No extra supplement has been proven to help unfortunately with ears. It can be completely normal that ears are not erect at this stage but unfortunately they can take up to one year of age to fully grow as a normal purebreed Akita. (just a matter of being patient). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.