French bulldog ears not standing, no worries

Frenchies ears are flopping about

Are you worried about your Frenchie’s ears still being floppy? Many new owners do. It is normal for French bulldogs to have floppy ears at a young age.

In fact, most of them keep them until they after they finish teething. It can take anywhere from ten weeks to five months for them to stand up. Below I have answered the most frequently asked questions about their floppy ears for further reading.

Do all French bulldogs ears stand up?

The easy answer is yes. There is no need to worry. It may take time for it to happen but your Frenchie will grow in to his or her ears.

When do puppy ears stand up?

You can expect your dog’s ears to stand up anywhere from usually four to ten weeks. Some may take up to five months to perk up. It really all depends on your particular dog. Every dog can differ.

They usually will stand up on their ownafter they are done teething. This is the norm but can actually take longer for a few. Only 10 percent of French bulldogs have issues with their ears not standing up on their own. If the ears are not up after five months, there are few things you can do to help which I give below.

Ears too big and issues with only one ear standing up

This is common and nothing to freak out about. Just like our bodies at a young age, it takes a little while for our body to get where it is going. They will grow in to their ears and paws in no time.

Their ears may flop on one side one day and the other side can be the floppy one the next. Their bodies will catch up and both ears will be standing in no time, usually once they are done teething.

It has been over ten weeks and Frenchie’s ears are still floppy

There are a couple remedies for this to help them along. They may need more calcium. You can try Kirkland plain fat free greek probiotic yogurt or even cottage cheese. These are both good for your dog and will aid in making sure he is getting the right nutrients.

If the calcium is not helping, you can try taping them up for about three to five days. I know, right? But this can help train the ears.

Here are the directions to taping your dogs ears.

• Clean the ears in and out before applying. You can use a cotton ball with witch hazel on it to wipe down the inside and outside of the bat ears. You can also use an unscented baby wipe for this.
• (TIP): Avoid his ear canal since their ears are sensitive and you can cause damage to their ear drums. If you want a more thorough cleaning, you can squirt a cleaning solution in their ears and let them shake out all the debris and solution.
• Once dry, use a masking tape about 1.4 inches wide to tape up the ears. We recommend Duck Brand’s general purpose masking tape. You can buy this almost anywhere.
• (TIP): When you tape up each ear, please make sure to tape it up where the ear is still kept flat to avoid a crinkled looking ear base.
• Once you have each ear properly taped up, use more tape to bridge them in the back from one ear to the other. The positions of the ears should be 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock. The bridging tape will allow the ears both stay erect in these positions.
• Leave tape in place for between four to five days. Make sure to be careful when cutting the tape and peeling it off. Let his ears fly free. If they seem to be going back down after a couple of days, repeat these steps. This process should do the job but sometimes people has to apply this process two or three times to keep them up for good.

In my opinion, I would just let them happen naturally. It takes some Frenchies longer than others to perk up. I would only suggest taping the ears only if you are super worried or perhaps preparing for dog shows. Taping the ears do not hurt your dog but I would think it is not that comfortable. That is just my two cents and ultimately your decision.