When Do Husky Ears Stand Up: (Are Floppy Ears a Concern?)

When do husky ears stand up? One of the classic physical traits of the Siberian Husky is their erect triangle-shaped ears, so when will your puppy’s ears rise up?

Siberian Husky ears begin to stand up at around 6 weeks of age. However, it can sometimes be earlier, or later and is usually affected by bloodline, diet, teething, and physical growth.

Please note that it can take up to a few months before a husky’s ears finally stop moving around. This is completely normaly.

Do Husky Puppies Have Floppy Ears?

Siberian Huskies are one of the more visually striking breeds above many others. Their wolf-life features, piercing eyes, coat markings, and not to mention their erect triangle-shaped ears.

However, despite this classic feature, huskies actually start life with floppy ears, that fold over to the front side.

So yes, husky puppies do have floppy ears.

I know it can be quite a concern for husky puppy owners as this is one of the most frequently asked questions on all the known forums.

It’s not surprising either, as we all have the classic image of what a husky should look like, boasting big perky triangle ears.

Thankfully, floppy ears are completely normal in husky puppies and there’s nothing to worry about.

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When Will My Husky’s Ears Stand Up?

So let’s move on to the question that likely brought you here, when will your cute husky puppy’s ears perk up?

In most cases, the ears on your husky puppy will start to perk up around the 6th-week mark.

This is a really rough timeline often given out by the breeder. To be honest, the time can vary from before 6 weeks, all the way to 10 weeks. It’s not uncommon to see floppy ears at 8-10 weeks still.

As well as the time differences, you may even witness one ear going up before the other. Just when you think it’s happening, that ear you saw perk upright, has suddenly gone floppy again! Again, this is super common

So from this, you can understand that it varies drastically and it’s hard to pinpoint an exact time. Ear development is quite erratic in growing puppies.

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Psst. A quick word on training! Brain Training For Dogs is one of the best training methods suitable for a husky. Other owners and I are seeing improvement in obedience, behavior, and stubbornness quicker than ever before. I seriously recommend checking it out.

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Why Have My Puppy’s Ears Gone Floppy, Again?

It’s common at this moment to start thinking you’re doomed and their ears will never stand up. But not all hope is lost.

Teething can play a big part in ear development and many owners report their puppy’s ears dropping back down when teething starts or as the adult teeth are pushing through.

This can be the case, even if your puppy has had erect ears for a week already, they may still dance around for a little while.

By the 6th or 7th-month mark, the ears should be standing upright. After this, you can visit your local veterinarian for some further advice if they still aren’t erect.

3 Main Reasons Why Huskies Have Floppy Ears

There can be certain factors that come into play that may contribute to extra-floppy ears! Let’s take a look at the three most common causes of floppy ears.

1. Weak Cartilage:

Weak cartilage can be a contributing factor to floppy ears. The ears are made from bones and cartilage, both play an important role in the structure and strength of their ear.

Only when their bones and cartilages are firm and developed will their ears stand up.

Weak cartilage could be caused by rough play when they are young, this could have been done from other puppies, or mistakenly by someone. Roughing up their head and ears could be a cause.

2. Breeding:

Bloodline also has something to do with their physical makeup. It’s possible that if your husky’s parents or their parents had floppy ears, it may pass on to your husky too.

If your husky pup comes from a show dog bloodline, then you don’t have anything to worry about, the ears of show huskies are always prominent, it may just take some time.

Try asking your breeder for some information on your puppy’s parents to find out more.

3. Teething:

All puppies have to go through teething. This process can take several months and has a big effect on their ears.

Why does teething affect their ears? well, teething puts all kinds of new stress on your puppy’s jaw and neck muscles, which also happen to be responsible for healthy perky ears.

Some say that when these muscles are under stress, their ears flop down as a natural response. It’s really common to see your pup’s ears go floppy during teething.

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Healthy Habits For Healthy Ears

Let’s run through some things that you or your puppy should be doing to promote healthy, strong ears. Let’s take a look at four common ways to help your puppy’s ears.

Chew Toys:

We can hear your puppy’s excitement already! Yes, having plenty of quality chew toys will not only help during teething, but they promote great jaw and neck strength, which we learned earlier, contributes to perky ears.

Have plenty of chew toys for your puppy to focus on, this will stop them from biting and chewing things they aren’t allowed to and will also keep their jaw and neck muscles healthy.

Don’t Play With Their Ears:

This one is for us, it’s super easy to get over-excited when we give our puppy a huge cuddle and fuss, but try not to put pressure on their ears. It’s easier said than done, but you have to avoid doing it.

Messing around or touching their ears too much could damage and break down their fragile cartilage, making it harder for their ears to grow properly.

Some breeders suggest massaging the base of your puppy’s ears, to increase blood flow. However, I cannot say yes or no to this as I have never done it.

My advice would be to keep hands off their ears. But please ask your breeder or veterinarian about this. (it may be correct!)

Vitamins and Diet:

You should already be feeding your husky puppy only a high-quality brand of food. If there are any important vitamins, minerals, or antioxidants that arent’ already in their food, it’s important these are added either by supplementation or with other forms (healthy treats, or a different kibble!).

Ensuring their diet is rich in protein, healthy fats, anti-oxidants vitamins and minerals will give them the best chance of proper physical development. I have a complete husky puppy food guide that I have linked to at the top of this paragraph. I think this will really help you out.

Glucosamine

Notice the question marks here… Glucosamine is a natural substance and is a very well known supplement for both humans AND dogs. It helps the body maintain healthy cartilages and provides joints with lubrication.

It’s a very common supplement for older dogs and grown adults, however, we tend not to give glucosamine to kids, and this leads me to think it may also not be appropriate for puppies. Source

This has not been concluded and is more so my opinion than anything. I know of many people who DO give glucosamine to their puppies, and that’s up to them and their veterinarian.

This could be an option, but I advise you to do your own research or speak to your veterinarian first.

Here’s one of my recent articles you may find particularly helpful. How to clean your husky’s ears. The safe way.

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Should You Tape Your Husky’s Ears Up?

If you weren’t already aware, many people talk about taping their puppy’s ear upright in order to help them stay there and develop.

This brings up some cause for concern and is generally not a recommended way to go about “fixing” your husky’s floppy ears.

Why isn’t it recommended? The reason is that you may be taping your husky’s ears, in the wrong position, and would you honestly know for sure that you’ve tapped them into the correct position?

If you tape your puppy’s ear slightly out of place, it could cause them to grow incorrectly or worse, cause permanent cartilage or bone damage. Who’s to say that after taping, they are in their true would-be position?

Despite how common doing this is, I myself (and most veterinarians) don’t agree that it’s the way to fix floppy ears.

In general, 98% percent of the time (made-up figure), floppy ears DO fix themselves with time.

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When To See a Vet

If you’re concerned about your husky puppy’s ears, you can always book an appointment with your veterinarian whenever you feel. There’s never a “wrong” moment to consult with your veterinarian about an issue you may be worried about.

However, that being said, it likely isn’t necessary to see a vet before your puppy is 5-6 months old.

The reason being is that your veterinarian will first consider their age, then compare that to the normal teething timeline, and will likely tell you just to wait. (perhaps a wasted visit)

By the 5th or 6th month, your veterinarian shouldn’t simply dismiss this issue with “wait more time” and you have a better chance of them doing some proper checks.

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Summary

So there you have it, you now know WHY your husky puppy has floppy ears, and WHEN your puppy should raise those droopy triangles up to the stars!

If your puppy has floppy ears or you’re worried about it, drop a comment below!

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Other Articles:
http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/community.read?post=839870-my-5-12-month-old-puppy-ear-is-now-suddenly-floppy-will-it-go-back-to-normal
https://www.husky-owners.com/topic/44012-teething-and-floppy-ears/