more on ears - one up and one down

Question
We have a four month old male sheltie, Max, that we are enjoying immensely.   Unlike our other two shelties (one passed away last November at 16) he is very long-legged and slim, more like a collie pup.  I met his parents at the family's home where we got him, and they were the usual cute shelties with floppy ears.  He currently has one ear up and one ear tipped (for the last week or so).  I tried the bandaid method, he quickly disposed of those by head shaking, so I did not persist.  Have you ever seen one with one ear up and one ear down?  It is kinda unusual and cute, and I wonder if the other will eventually go up.  He is a pet, not a show dog, although he jumps like a jack russell -- all legs high in the air so I am thinking he might some agility equipment like a pole jump.  

We also have been working on socializing from day one (we got him at 11 weeks) but now he is kinda standoffish at strangers; does not like people to approach him but will warm up after a bit. He has wrangled out of a harness to get away when people are too much for him! My older 10 year old rescue is actually more social, and we had thought he was not at all.   Any thoughts on this and the ears?  

Answer
Hi Norma,

I am sorry for your loss.  You are asking about the "broken ear" and that reminds me of Tucker that we lost in December of 2005 and still dearly miss.  His right ear would not tip for anything and the left one was perfect.

That's how I developed my philosophy about tipped ears.  It really is for show and has no function.  We got lots of comments about one ear being tipped, and we always said he had a broken ear.  Only Sheltie people get which ear is broken and which ear isn't.  If you aren't showing or breeding and aren't a Sheltie nazi then don't sweat the ear.  I think it adds individual personality to a breed already full of character.

As for the strangers, try to restrain people from him until he warms up-I know what this is like.  People lose control of themselves to pet Shelties.  Make sure he is comfortable and he'll be more open to meeting others.  We usually end up holding ours so that strangers can pet them.  Once they understand who is not a stranger they usually warm up.  Not always, and sometimes that's ok too.

Also, keep in mind that he is growing and maturing and is in some "awkward teenage phase" right now.  Possibly maturity and confidence will help him through some of these other mild issues.

I hope that helps!

Dave