How to Get a Puppy's Ears to Stay Up

You can get your puppy's ears to stand up by using methods called gluing or taping. The age to begin gluing or taping is dependent upon the dog breed, but is typically between 10 weeks and 5 months of age. It can take anywhere from a few months to a year for the puppy's ears to stand on their own. Again, this has a lot to do with the specific breed.

Things You'll Need

  • Ear glue
  • Paper plate
  • Thin, white surgical tape
  • Paper towel
  • Popsicle stick
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Instructions

  1. Gluing

    • 1

      Shake glue well and pour onto the paper plate. You do not want to put the glue directly onto the dog from the bottle.

    • 2

      Dip your finger into the glue. Depending on the dog breed and how you want the ears to stand, you will either place the glue on the outer edge of the backside of the ears or the top of the inside tip of the ears.

    • 3

      Press the ears into position for at least 30 seconds. If you placed glue on the back of the puppy's ears, position the ears either on the top-center of the head or the backsides of both ears together. If the glue was placed on the inside ear tip, position the ears on the forehead, above the eyes.

    • 4

      Repeat about once each month if the ears don't stay standing. The initial gluing should stay in place for two weeks to a month.

    Taping

    • 5

      Fold the paper towel to form a "pillow." This is done by folding the paper towel in half, then into fourths and finally rolled into a pillow shape that is about 1-1/2-by-2 inches.

    • 6

      Wrap the puppy's ears around the pillow so that the ears are standing vertically, and tape them with surgical tape by wrapping tape around the ears.

    • 7

      Attach one end of the Popsicle stick to the top of one ear, and the other end of the stick to the other ear with surgical tape. The Popsicle stick should be positioned horizontally between the two ears.

    • 8

      Remove the tape and repeat once a week until the ears stand up. The tape should stay in place for a week or two, if the dog doesn't rip it off. Let the ears rest for a couple of days between taping them again.