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Do Blue Heelers, or Australian Cattle Dogs Have Floppy Ears?

The blue heelers are also known as the Australian Cattle Dog or widely known as the cattle dogs, will be a great friend of yours if you work at a farm. They are also very loyal, obedient, and energetic little dogs that many think have floppy ears.

We will be discussing if these blue heelers or cattle dogs actually have floppy ears, Are blue heelers born with floppy ears, are blue heelers born with floppy ears, and if they do for how long, how to make a blue heelers ears stand up, why might they are not standing up and more!

Do blue heelers, or Australian cattle dogs have floppy ears?

Blue heelers or Australian cattle dogs do tend to have floppy ears, especially when they are young. They tend to stand after 6 months of age. These ears occur due to Domestication Syndrome which basically is a sign of tameness and obedience. From 4 to 7 months, they start to stand up. 

Blue heelers, also known as the Australian Cattle dogs, have floppy ears because of the domestication syndrome. This phenomenon happened after humans domesticated them and tended to stay that way from a decade ago. 

They are a sign of tameness and obedience, and loyalty to humans.

Most puppies have floppy ears when they are small, but from the age of 4 months to 7 months, they start to rise, if they are supposed to. Just like in the case of blue heelers/Australian Cattle Dogs, they start to stand up from 6 months of age. 

This happens due to a genetic mutation or predisposition.

 This also depends on two other factors being cartilage and collagen. Cartilage and collage amount during the growth period varies the reasons if they have a floppy or straight years. They should stand up after the age of 6 months to  7 months.

If they still are not, that might be caused due to a nutrient deficiency such as protein deficiency can be a very common reason to keep one of the ears of the dogs floppy. Some puppies have floppy ears forever. This also occurs for some gene-related mutations. 

Do blue heeler puppies have floppy ears?

Yes, blue heeler puppies have floppy ears. Because of the amount of collagen and cartilage during their birth, they remain floppy till they are 6 months old. Some blue heelers may have floppy ears for the rest of their lives as well. It is a sign of tameness due to domestication.

Most of the heelers, including blue heelers, have floppy ears. They are also very obedient and loyal puppies for your home. They are extremely playful, but it is better not to keep them alone with very small children. 

Their ears usually stand up when their senses are heightened or they have heard something that they humans can not hear due to their frequency level. They can also depend on their mood and emotional status.

How to keep blue heeler ears floppy?

Blue heelers can naturally have floppy ears, whilst some might want to keep them floppy. Blue heelers or the Australian Cattle Dog has floppy ears when they are a puppy up to six months of age.

 Some may have them in adulthood due to some genetic conditions, and some pet owners want to keep the blue heelers ear floppy. We would like to mention ways you could try to keep their ears floppy, even though it is a natural process and might just not work. They are: 

Adhesive Dog Tape: 

There is a special kind of dog tape with adhesive over it that is not harmful to use over dogs, more like a Kinesiology adhesive tape that helps neuro-receptors. Use these tapes from the middle end of their ears to the last end and keep them for a couple of weeks. 

Change them after a while, so it does not cause them any irritation. As the bone structure of the cartilage in the ear is very soft, it could remain bendy. It might also not work, depending on the bone structure of your puppy. 


You could also try some ear exercises with your dog regularly to change its shape naturally. 

But we suggest not to use any adhesive tape and just let their ears grow naturally, as it might cause ear problems in the future and also, from an ethical viewpoint, you do not want their discomfort. 

Are blue heelers born with floppy ears?

Yes, blue heelers are born with floppy ears. Many puppies are actually born with floppy ears for having softer bone structure and cartilage in the ear region. That makes their ears floppy.

But eventually they tend to be stronger and get straighter as they grow up. If your puppies are not getting straightened ears in their adulthood, please check if they lack any nutrients and the bone muscle they need to have the straight.

Do blue heelers’ ears stand up?

Yes, blue heelers’ ears do stand up after an age. They start to stand up from the age group of 4 months to 6 months as the major development comes in these puppies at this age.

 They deserve a high nutritious diet during this age for their proper and healthy growth. Many blue heelers have soft ear cartilage for a lifetime leading them to have floppy ears forever with a genetic disposition, but they can also grow straight as they grow older.

How long before blue heelers’ ears stand up?

Blue heeler’s ears stand up from the age of 6 months. Their prime growht period leads them to have straighter ears, with stronger bone cartilage and ear muscle. If they do not have a straight ear, or one of them might be floppy.

That means they might have protein deficiency. Take them to a vet or a professional to get checked for the reason of that. It might also just be a genetic factor.

How to make a blue heelers ears stand up?

We would like to suggest some ways through which you get your blue heelers ears to stand up if they aren’t. But it is nothing to worry about as some of them do not stand up before 25 weeks.

 It is a patient process. Let their bone cartilage do their own thing. The ear is not exactly a bone, but a bone structure, cartilage, and it grows stronger as they grow. Some of the ways are: 

Regular Exercises:

The only natural way is to try to move their ears up and down but not a lot of times that they might feel uncomfortable. It’s best to leave them up to their own natural growth, but you could practice some exercises for the stimulation.


 Sometimes puppies or growing puppies tend to have one ear floppy due to lack of enough nutrients. They can occur due to the deficiency of protein. Go check-up with a vet if their one ear is floppy and get the required nutrients they need. 

Why won’t my blue heeler’s ears stand up?

Blue heelers have their ears stand up by their 6 months old, but sometimes other outer physical or genetic problems may arise that cause not erect ears, resulting in floppy ears. Even though floppy ears look cute, it might always not be a sign of a healthy body. 

Genetic Results:

Genes are the most common reason for having lifelong floppy ears in blue heelers. Some may have the very young, some when they are about 30 weeks old, while some for a lifetime.

Development of Cartilage:

The erect ears mostly depend on the structure and development of the cartilage and collagen in them. When they are small, these cartilages are not fully in their potential form, but as they grow, it increases. 

These are some of the reasons that might contribute to the blue heelers ears not standing up. If you think there is something not normal, please check up with a vet or get some professional help before their health deteriorates. 

Is a blue heeler a cattle dog?

Yes, blue heelers are cattle dogs. Blue heelers are referred to as the Australian Cattle Dogs with an overall blue cover. They are also known simply as cattle dogs. They are a great resource to someone with farmland.

They are domesticated to work with farms. The red heelers are the ones with the red coats of the Australian Cattle Dogs, but all of them are cattle or herding dogs. 

Can cattle dogs have floppy ears?

Yes, cattle dogs can have floppy ears. This phenomenon can be seen in many breeds of cattle dogs, including the Australian Cattle Dog, both in blue heelers and red healers.

The Texas heelers also have floppy ears. Floppy ears can be both due to breeding and genetic factors, but genetics are more common for floppy ears in cattle dogs than breeding.

Final thoughts:

Blue Heelers do have floppy ears till a certain age, but after that, they tend to stand up. Later on, floppy ears refer toward domesticated syndrome which basically means tameness and obedience. But you should let their ear grow as they are if you want to ensure the comfort of your lovely pet.