Ask the French Bulldog Veterinarian - Floppy Frenchie Ears?
lorihuntdvm June 5th, 2008
A question about floppy ears -
I just acquired a 10 week old male brindle French bull dog from a not very reputable breeder, totally our fault, my husband got him on the spur of the moment as an anniversary gift and we did not do our home work. The baby was sold to me with a taped ear, the breeder stated he was developing a kink so I should tape it and it will straighten out with time.
Eight days later my puppy was diagnosed with cheyletiella. My husband, two pugs and I had to be treated for this mite issue and are still under treatment. It has resolved in the dogs, I have not been that fortunate.
Ten 10 days after we brought him home his other ear started bending back as well. Two vets have told me his ears will most likely not grow straight. I have read over the internet that taping the ears and giving calcium may help this issue. I continue to tape his little ears at night with a breathable non adhesive tape and I am giving him calcium and vitamins. I have noticed an improvement but I am not sure if the improvement is due to the taping of the ears at night and I am afraid to stop the calcium or the taping for fear that they might bend back again. I have enclosed photos of one of the ears and how it started to turn back, unfortunately I do not have photos of the other ear which is taped in the photo and was much worst. The third photo is after giving him calcium and taping every night.
What are your thoughts.
Where are you located ? If you are not located in the area, would you be so kind as to recommend a French bulldog expert close to Los Angeles.
Dr. Lori writes -
Hi there… I would stop worrying about those ears… they will end up just fine and they are just a growing phase… the calcium and taping may end up doing more harm than good… I have seen many many frenchie puppies have ears just like that and they end up as big beautiful bat ears…
As for the cheyletiella issue, it is great that you have it cleared in the dogs as that is more than half the battle. Humans are an accidental irregular host, so your symptoms should resolve in their own within 3 weeks, but of course, I am a veterinarian, so if you symptoms are not resolving, you should consult with your physician.
You may be able to find a veterinarian by checking out the links available on this site - http://frenchievets.ning.com
Good Luck, but please don’t lose any more sleep over those ears!
Dr. Lori Hunt, DVM
(editor’s note: As Lori said, there’s really no need to worry about your little guy’s ears. In the photo above which you sent to us, he looks like a typical French Bulldog puppy of his age, and his ears do, too.
I’ve had pups with ears that flopped over and curled up until four or five months of age, but I’ve never had one whose ears didn’t eventually end up just where they should be. Tips, especially, can tend to ‘curl back’ for quite a long time. Once the ear leather stiffens up, the curl will usually disappear. I don’t tape or muck about with them - just leave them be and let Mother Nature do her thing…
Here’s a photo of Tucker, whose ears seemed to take forever to go up - and, even when they were up one day, they’d be back down the next.
Now, at almost 8 months old, he has lovely, perfect Frenchie ears. It’s all in the waiting..)
