Hello everyone! We are so happy to have been given a 2 year old Havanese named Charlie. We have a concern about one of his ears. One ear folds forward but the other one has the tendency to fold open often. Is that a trait of the breed or perhaps it's not a full breed. Is there a surgical procedure for this? Please help. New to Havies and we love our Charlie. Thank you.
If you mean that the ear sometimes flips back, showing the inner part of the ear, that's pretty common, and just happens because Havanese have very soft ear leather. If you mean that the ear pricks up, then that would be "out of standard". Sometimes a very young puppy will have prick ears, but the weight of the hair usually folds it over pretty quicly as it geows. If your guy has a prick ear, and is in a puppy cut, you may want to let the hair on his ears grow longer so that it weighs the ear down.
In any case, whether he has a prick ear, is a mixed breed or not, there is absolutely NO reason to corrected it with any surgical procedure, and any reputable vet would refuse. (It would be illegal for showing, and without papers, and presumably neutered, you can't show him in conformation anyway) It is just cosmetic, and he will be the same sweet, adorable dog with or without "correcting" his ear set. He'll just be a little unique!
And... we want to see some pictures of Charlie! It's an (informal) forum "rule"!
Thank you so much for your info. We love Charlie and would not even think of going through the rigors of a show. We were just concerned about the exposure of the ear to the environment. I will post better pics soon. This pic shows the size of the ear (your right) as compared to the other ear. (Not a great pic) He has a fold in the middle of the ear which causes it appear smaller and fold back occasionally. We really don't care if it remains folded back, we love him the same, but we did not want to overlook anything that we should be concerned about. Thanks again for your quick reply.
BTW, many people don't want to do the work involved with training a dog to show. But for dogs trained using positive methods (as they should be) shows and trials, and training for them, can and should be a fun way to interact and bond with your dog. Check out this thread with videos of two of mine yesterday at a trial. Believe me, if they don't have fun, I don't have fun either!
Our Maggie is only 14 weeks old and both her ears are folded back half the day. We think it is to fine tune her aerodynamics...as she is a runner :smile2:
My Becky's ears often fold back, I thought as she grew longer hair on her ears they would be weighted down but at 10 months old they still often fold back especially in the wind.
My only concern is the inner ear getting sunburnt.
Charlie's picture..............who wouldn't love Charlie? Very huggable!
No, Charlie doesn't need surgery, he is perfectly fine the way he is! Although Ricky is a former award winning showdog, he has a few physical flaws, all of them cosmetic. But like Charlie, he is perfect in every way.
So enjoy Charlie, his ears are no concern for health issues, keep us posted on his progress as he matures, and post more pictures!
Charlie is perfect just the way he is. Just as cute as he can be. My two get the ear flip quite often, especially after wrestling around with each other. No big deal.
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