All Belgian Malinois puppies are born with irresistible floppy ears. These look very cute but it’s expected that drooping ears will stand up at some point. When this should happen? And what to do if your Mal’s ears don’t erect as they should?
Most of Malinois puppies ears will start erecting between the age of 4 and 6 months. It’s not uncommon if Malinois ears go between standing up and flopping down several times before they mature.
They should be fully erected at the age of 8 months. This process coincides with the teething phase. Both should be finished at the same time. If Malinois ears don’t stand up straight by the age of 8-9 months, probably never will.
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Do All Belgian Malinois Ears Stand Up?
Although the Mal puppies are born with drooping ears, they should stand up by the age of 8 months.
Belgian Malinois breed standards suggest that ears should be firm and erect in adult dogs. The size should be proportional to the dog’s head.
Belgian Malinois will have drooping ears only if something is wrong with breeding/genetics, health. An early period trauma can also be the cause.
Drooping ears or only one floppy ear would surely disqualify your Mal from the American Kennel Club shows.
How Much Time Is Required For Malinois Ears To Stand Up?
This process may take a while. The ears may start erecting even before 4 months of age but it’s more likely to happen between 4 and 6 months of age.
The ears are made of cartilage and not bone. What may happen is that ears that once stood up ( especially if erected around or even before 4 months of age), now come back down.
You might read in some articles that this is happening due to a teething process and redistribution of calcium but the truth is that calcium is not needed for proper cartilage build-up.
If your Mal puppy has had erected ears at some point and then they both or only one ear has drooped, most probably the reason is the development of Frontalis and Temporalis muscles on top of its head.
The temporalis muscle is directly involved in giving a Malinois that upright ears look. This should not worry you, it’s only temporary. If your dog’s ears stood up once, they will stand up again.
If you notice that your Mal’s ears don’t stand up by the age of 6-7 months, you should consider taping them. Ears should stand up as soon as the teething process is finished. If they are not, they need a little help from your side.
The age of 8 months is crucial as after that you won’t be able to do much for your Mal’s ears and their upright position.
What Can I Do To Stimulate My Malinois Dog Ears To Stand Up?
Floppy ears in Belgian Malinois dogs are usually a question of genetics or poor diet.
In the case of genetics, you cannot do much. Once you have decided to get a Malinois dog you should contact a reputable breeder and ask tons of questions. Require to see the puppy’s parents.
If you bring a puppy with a perfect genetics background to your home, the rest it’s on you. Proper care and a high-quality diet will ensure your puppy develops as it should. His ears as well.
High – Quality Diet for Malinois puppy
Since the ears are made of cartilage, your Mal puppy needs a lot of protein in his diet. Don’t overdo with protein though as excess protein may lead to obesity.
Although calcium is super important for bone development, it’s not crucial for cartilage. High-quality puppy food should contain enough calcium so never give calcium supplements to your dog without a consultation with your vet.
Too much calcium can bring many troubles to your puppy. It may cause serious imbalances in other minerals and problems with bone growth. Calcium supplements will not have any effect on cartilage development though.
A glucosamine supplement is also a good idea. Humans and dogs are using it in case of arthritis as helps maintain healthy cartilage and create joint lubricants.
You can find this supplement in liquid form ( Terra Max Pro’s for Dogs) which is the most suitable form as it is to ingest.
If you are looking for a more natural way to include Glucosamine in your Mal’s diet then whole food might be a good choice :
- Homemade bone broth
- Chicken feet and neck
- Duck feet and neck
If you feed your Malinois with raw food, the whole food option won’t be a problem but if your Malinois is eating only dry food for dogs, try to switch at least 10% of dry food to whole food.
Another thing that can help in building cartilage is Vitamin C. Although dogs are able to produce their own vitamin C ( unlike humans) it’s recommended to feed them with whole food that contains this valuable vitamin.
It’s not only important for cartilage but also vitamin C is a great source of antioxidants.
Puppy-hood can be a rather stressful period – moving to a new home, vaccination, rapid growth… so whole food vitamins support is crucial.
Whole food that contains Vitamin C :
- Pumpkin
- Apple
- Carrot
- Celery
- Sweet Potato
Don’t forget to wash the food thoroughly and cut it into smaller pieces. Remove all seeds, stems, and leaves. You can also offer steamed or blended fruits and vegetables to your puppy.
Chewing Toys for Malinois puppy
Chewing is extremely important for dogs in general but puppies in particular. Chewing helps your Mals to relieve the pain that comes from teething.
Constant gnawing contributes to jaws, head, and neck muscles’ proper development. That way, chewing has a great influence on ears upright position.
Temporalis muscle we have already mentioned in this article is highly involved in chewing. So the more your puppy chews the more it develops Temporalis muscle that is directly related to ears and their upright position.
Offer your Mal puppy a variety of chew toys. Different chew toys will stimulate and exercise different muscle groups.
Why Do Some Malinois Dogs Have One or Both Drooping Ears?
As we have already mentioned, one of the reasons may be genetics. In that case, you cannot do anything.
Some breeders tend to breed dogs with larger, heavier ears. The head muscles are simply not strong enough to hold those large ears upright.
That’s why you need to see your potential puppy’s parents before you decide to buy it. If a puppy’s parents have very large, floppy ears, anything you do won’t help your Mal’s ears to stand up one day.
An improper low protein diet may cause poorly developed cartilage and floppy ears as a result.
Presence of the worms and other parasites. Parasites steal the nutrients from the food leaving your puppy without essential elements for proper development and growth. This will influence the cartilage and ears upright position.
You should regularly check your dog’s poop and look for tapeworms, roundworms, or pinworms. For Heartworms your dog should be tested.
Trauma that your puppy had at his early age or even a minor injury of the ears may cause dropping ears in the adult period.
It’s recommended not to touch your puppy’s ears too much. Avoid rubbing, folding, or bending his ears.
Ear Taping And Other Methods
Don’t panic if your Malinois still has drooping ears at the age of 5 months. Provide a high-quality diet and offer him a variety of chew toys.
But if your Mal is 7 months old and his ears haven’t stood up yet, then you might consider a few options to help him.
Many Mal owners use Breath Right Strips. There is a video on Youtube that explains how to use those strips.
You need to clean the Pinna ( ear flap, part of the ear covered by skin) and then apply Breath Right Strip. Check every day the strip as it will eventually fall off in a few days and it’s important to change it with a new one.
These strips are really light in weight, a great thing that can secure your Mal’s ear in place without weighing them down.
Another option is to use Ear forms ( Redline Canine is usually most recommended ). They are made of special foam.
They are ergonomically designed to promote the proper shape and growth of soft Malinois puppy ears. It’s like you add one additional layer of the cartilage to support your Mal’s soft ears.
Some people prefer the Pink Roller Method. This method was described by Susan Barwig in the German Shepherd Book. Purchase these foam rollers, extra-large ( for large ears) or large ( for smaller ears). You will also need one unsharpened pencil and a plastic knife.
First, put the pencil in the whole of the roller, then spread a layer of glue ( special type, that is safe for dogs) using the plastic knife and let it dry until sticky, then apply another layer of glue.
Insert the roller inside the dog’s ears and wrap the ears around the rollers. Hold the ear wrapped around the roller until the glue is dry. Leave in until the roller falls out.
Cleaning the ear from the glue it’s not recommended because it will grow out anyway but if you try to clean it, that may cause the ear to go down.
Maybe you will have to repeat this process couple of times but it’s not a big deal for your Mal, these rollers are very light in weight, as soon as you place them, your dog will forget about them.
Ear Implants – PermaStay® implants for canine, invented by Mr. Greg Miller are implants that can help your Mal’s ears to stand up. They are ultra-thin, lightweight, made of surgical mesh, the material suitable for sensitive tissue of dog’s ears. For more about this topic, visit Neuticles permastay (article link)
Conclusion
Unless your Mal is genetically predisposed to have floppy ears or had some trauma in his early days, his ears should stand up at the age of 4-8 months.
A good rule of thumb is that the ears won’t stand up before the teething process is finished.
Since the ears are made of cartilage, you can stimulate good cartilage development by a quality diet, rich in proteins and vitamin C.
You should also provide chewing toys for your Mal to make important head muscles to exercise. Strong head muscles, especially Temporalis muscle will ensure your pet’s ear stand up.
If your puppy is 7 months old and he still has floppy ears you may consult the wet and try some of the methods many owners suggest such as the Pink roller method, Ear forms, or some other.
