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Pug Ear Taping for AKC Shows

People have asked me about the pugs, “Why are their ears taped?” The short answer is because they’re show dogs.

The long answer is because owners want their dogs’ ears to form correctly. See, ears get their shape from cartilage, and cartilage can be formed into shape over time. The idea behind taping the ears of pug puppies is to help shape their cartilage as it grows, so that their ears “fold” correctly, according to the AKC Standard.

Yes, ear-taping is legal to do, as it’s not actually surgery.

No, ear taping does not really hurt the dogs. At worst, it itches them a little bit, but from what I’ve seen, it’s not very bothersome to even the most rambunctious pup.

Some Pug owners find that 3M Transpore tape works the best. Being surgical tape, it’s designed to be less irritating on the skin. For your convenience, i’ve put a link to 3m Transpore here: 3M Transpore Tape

You can read a tutorial on taping pug ears

Gizmo with Taped Ears

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5 Comments »

  Urban Pug » Blog Archive » Taping Ears? wrote @ June 28th, 2005 at 2:29 pm

[…] me about why the pugs’ ears are taped. Well, I went and created a little page about taping pug ears Posted in Pug | By matt […]

  Suzi J wrote @ July 2nd, 2007 at 2:06 pm

Seeing these pictures of Pugs reminds me of my lost girl.. I had to put her down 3 years ago and sure do miss her. She use to go sailing with my ex and I and hated her lifejacket. I now have Australian Shepherds cause I needed to get a larger dog. But I do miss Missy.

  Adrienne Reed wrote @ August 8th, 2009 at 7:19 pm

I have a four and half month fawn pug called Lily.
Since I got her at eight weks her ears have been more up than down, sometimes one up and one down, I think this may be flying ears? I’ve taped a very small coin on the tip of her ear to weight it or tip the ear over. I’ve taken these off after a week and found this a succsess for about one -two days then they start to pop up again standing very strongly up. I’ve been doing this since I got her. Will they go down or should I continue with process? I’m really worried they will be permanantly up and she looks very odd with her ears standing straight up!

I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards. Adrienne Reed

  matt wrote @ August 8th, 2009 at 7:33 pm

It’s hard to explain exactly how to tape them, but taping a penny is not the right way. You should ask your breeder or your vet the proper way to tape the ears.

  Darren Perks wrote @ March 22nd, 2012 at 8:06 am

i have to pugs and taped there ears for 3 weeks end result perfect.

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