8 month female boxer ear issue

Question
Hello,

I have a female boxer that has natural ears. She's eight months old and is the light of my life. I'm confident that she's the best dog to have ever been born...

However ... there's this one thing that is driving me nuts...

About three weeks ago, my little girl's right ear started to stand a little higher than the other, which flops forward and looks "normal." I had hoped that one or the other ear would either fall or stand - for conformity's sake, if anything...

I must confess that it is starting to bug me and I'm a bit ashamed about that. Still, it seems the ear that is "growing up" is becoming more prevalent as time goes by. I hope you can educate me about this malady...

My questions:

1. Will the tall ear eventually flop back down like the other one? Or, as she continues to grow, will the normal looking floppy ear start to straighten?

2. Is there anything I can do to make the ears both fall the same way? Either up or down. Both ears on their own are perfectly acceptable, but with one ear pointing up and the other flopping down, she looks ... UN-symmetrical.

She's currently on a major growth spurt, if that helps. Other boxers that have shared my life have all been cropped, and it was simply a matter of rolling and taping the ears - that's easy. This is my first "natural ear" boxer. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,

JD
Dallas, GA.


Answer
I'll state right off that I am glad they are natural ears. I am against cropping the ears.

She is still growing as you stated. Probably in that lanky stage or growing out of it.

There are always changes as they grow.

Remember children go through that lanky stage, snaggly and missing teeth, too long legs, big ears, too long arms, too skinny, etc. She is going through this.

And the one ear up and one down, is normal. Some Boxers, (a lot of them) have an ear that is flapped down front and one more backward. Just as some Boxers have the red in the eye, one or both, which is called "third eye." Some don't have it at all.

Also, the ear difference can be caused by the way she sleeps. Just like in the mornings when we get up, the side that we sleep on, hair is different; sticks out or up like a cowlick, straighter or curlier; but different than the side we sleep less on. The typical "cowlick" syndrome.

This could be the cause of the difference in the ears.

It's cosmetic and not a problem except to your irritation concerning it.

Be thankful she is healthy and you are happy with her.  Don't let the ears bother you.

Think of it as "character."  I'm sure other people will think it's endearing.

She will probably grow out of it-- but if she doesn't, it's just her genetics.