Can a Corgi's ear "break"?

3dogs1corgi · New member Joined: 24 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

Bruster, my 1 yr. old Corgi, has an appointment with the veterinarian tomorrow morning, but I'm hoping someone here can help allay my fears until then. When I arrived home yesterday, his right ear was "flopped" or folded over toward the front. He has the typical Corgi ears, and they've always stood just fine (I acquired him when he was 6 mos. old). Of course, this was a shock to me, and I quickly took him inside to investigate. Upon examination, it felt a little like he might have been stung or bitten by something, as there was a place toward the center of his ear flap that felt sort of swollen. I checked both ears, and cleaned them well, even using some BioGroom drops for ear mites (he did have the typical black, crusty stuff common with ear mites, and I don't know how I missed this...he hasn't been shaking his head or scratching, and they didn't have a foul odor). After letting him back outside, he did shake his head and start to scratch a few times, but his buddy Bella (a one year old Blue Heeler/Border Collie) kept his mind off his ears by playing "tag". He hasn't scratched again, but the ear was still folded over this morning.

Is it possible for a dog's ear to "break" if it usually stands? I thought they were just muscle and cartilage. I'm hoping he just has an infection, and once the vet prescribes meds to treat the infection, that the ear will stand. I'm not normally hung up on appearance, he is the same dog inside even if the ear is permanently folded over, but it really has changed his cute "pixie" like appearance. I'm really upset over this but won't know anything 'til after tomorrow's DVM appt.

Thanks for any advice...

Sara · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 5:34 pm Post subject:

An Infection or ear mite infestation sounds like the culprit. Dog's ears are made of cartilege and other soft tissue so they can't really "break"... Like a cropped dog(longer crops like Dane's or Dobies) who wasn't healed correctly can have a folded ear, it's not a break it's simply that whomever had the dog didn't tape the ear properly for the cartilege to harden...or for the scar tissue to build up in a way so that the ear stands...OR the dog doesn't have the muscle and ear set for a crop to stand as is common in shorter crops like on a Pit Bull.

What your dog is probably doing is favoring the ear sort of...like if it's painful or uncomfortable the muscles are doing something different so that it is more placid and folds down...probably because air is causing pain...or discomfort. I would figure that once you get the ear taken care of and healed (in a timely manner of course) the ear will stand up again. I would also imagine that it could also learn to stay that way if allowed to do so for a long ammount of time.

I hope I didn't confuse...

Sara

True_Pits · Super Senior Member Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 1433

Yeah it is possible. My dogs grandsire fell out of a tree and broke his ear. He has to go to the vet.

Sara · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:21 pm Post subject:

Where'd it break...because I didn't think the cartelige went too far out to the ear... was it broke or like a soft tissue tear inside the ear...that'd be interesting to see...

I still think it is probably the dog holding his ear funny if it's inflamed or infected etc... I could see a dog falling out of a tree breaking it but not sure what a corgi could do to cause that kind of damage.

Sara

True_Pits · Super Senior Member Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 1433

Oh I didn't read your post before, sorry I was in a hurry. But it could be an infection thing, when Maxi and Angel both got hemotobas (SP?) in their ears they held them different, noticeably different.

Well I'm not sure how exactly to explain, I suppose you could say a tear in a sense, because it snapped. I think it hit it right on. That dog loved to climb trees.