floppy ears and teeth for two

Question
Dear Melinda

We have a five month old yorkie named Nina.  About a month ago her one ear started to hang.  We took her to the vet who said it was wax build up and removed it.  However, nothing changed.  We took her to another vet who said it was an allergy and he prescribed medication.  Nina finished all the pills but it made no change.  A week ago the other ear also started to hang.  She is also busy teething.  Some of the baby teeth has fallen out, but the top front teeth and the bottom K9s has formed two rows.  When should we start worrying?  My husband loving reveres to her as our factory reject. Is there something wrong or is she just special?

Regards,
Celani Nel


Answer
Celani,

Of course she is "special".  I have never heard of the ears flopping for any of the reasons that your vets have treated her for.  Of course I am assuming that when you say her ear is hanging you mean that it is flopping over.  When they are puppies the cartilage that holds the ear up is very weak.  If for some reason the cartilage is damaged the ear will hang. It is not difficult to damage the cartilage, just pressing too hard on the ears when petting them can damage it.  If you pet her on top of the head avoid touching the ears.

Yorkies also have the problem of having to grow into their ears because by five months of age their ears are about the size they will be when full grown.  It is not unusual for their ears to not stand up, but it is unusual for them to have been standing up and then start drooping.  I will have to assume that the cartilage in her ears is damaged.  

Don't panic.  It is still possible to fix it.  Get some scotch tape and place it across the back of her ear about half way down.  Pinch the ear together and the tape should be stuck together.  When you have done this the outside edges of her ear should be touching and her ears should be standing up.  I use scotch tape because when it comes off it will not hurt them by pulling their hair out. Using scotch tape will cause you to have to re-tape the ears several times but it is more comfortable for them.

You should keep the tape on the ears for three days and then take it off and see if they stand up.  If they do not stand up put the tape back on for an additional three days.  You should do this for two weeks.  If by the end of the two weeks her ears are not standing up on their own then you will just have to love her the way she is.

As far as the teeth, having more than one row of teeth is not that uncommon.  I had a yorkie once that had three rows of teeth.  As long as she isn't having any problems eating you can adopt a wait and see attitude.  If the extra teeth have not fallen out by the time she is six months old you may want to consider having them pulled out.  Sometimes if you leave the baby teeth in and the adult teeth are not permitted to move into the correct position they will either fall out or be permanently stuck in the wrong position.

If you are concerned I suggest you take her to the vet now and have the baby teeth removed.