August 4, 2026

If you have a dog that has long fluffy ears, then you know what a magnet those cute ears are! Our black and tan dog gets dog food, grass, dirt, dog chews and water hanging from his ears! The water drips all over the floor and then you step in it.

Hair scrunchie

One easy solution to the ears getting in the way, is to put the ears on top of their head and gently hold them there with a hair scrunchie. They don’t mind having their ears out of the way and it is a simple solution. You can make a scrunchie for your dog’s ears. It’s a quick and easy project.

Gather supplies

• 4 inch by 21 inch piece of fabric
• 1/4 inch wide elastic- 6-8 inch long piece
• safety pins
• optional- tube turner

Directions

• Ironing the fabric removes wrinkles and makes sewing easier.
• Fold over the short ends 1/4 inch and press. This will give a finished edge so the fabric won’t fray.
• Fold the fabric length wise with the rights sides of the fabric together. Iron.

Preparing the fabric

• With the right sides of the fabric together, sew the two edges together.
• Using a safety pin or a fabric turner, turn the fabric right side out.

Adding the elastic

• Using a safety pin, put it through one end of the elastic. You can also put another safety pin on the other end to help keep the elastic from sliding back in the fabric tube.
• Once you have the elastic pulled through both ends of the fabric tube, overlap it so it can be sewn together.

Finishing

• Sew the overlapping elastic ends together.
• Overlap the fabric by putting one end just inside the other end. Sew across the ends.
• Adjust the fabric to evenly space it out around the elastic.

Using the scrunchie

Oliver can eat his food or chew on a chew and see what he is doing. He doesn’t like it when I have to pull things out of his ears.

Dog chews can be especially hard to get out of their ears.

Always go slow when introducing a new habit such as using a scrunchie. Supervise them and remove the scrunchie when they are done.

Ear sponges

While the scrunchie helps with the food and chews getting stuck in their ears, it doesn’t address the water bowl issue. The long ears end up in the bowl when they drink. I was finding a trail of water drips through the kitchen from dripping ears.

Fortunately, they make water bowls just for dogs with long furry ears. Their mouth and nose fit in the dish, but the ears stay outside the bowl due to the slant in the bowl.

I know that dogs like my daughter’s Basset Hound have issues too. They can step on their ears, as well as, getting them dirty and wet from being outside. Having a towel handy can help with that.

I hope this helps you deal with your dog’s long ear issue.

Kelly