Why do you glue a puppy's ears?

I am getting an Airedale Terrier in April. He will be 8 weeks old when I take him home. I googled grooming tips, and ear gluing was one of the topics I saw. Why do you glue a puppy's ears? Do you have to? When is it suggested to do this? For how long do you keep the glue on for each gluing, and how many times do you do this? When do you start?

one answer YOU DONT

You only glue a puppy's ears if their ears should be down and they want to stand up. You normaly glue a penny or two to the inside tip or glue it folded in half.

It is done to shape the ear to hold the charachteristic folded tip. It does not hurt the puppy. You do not need to do it, it is cosmetic, and done for show dogs. Some breeders have it already done before they place their puppies in their permanent homes. The breeder can show you how to do it properly if you choose to do so, but it is not necessary. Collies and shelties have this done as well.

Breed standard calls for a folded tip. Show breeders do that (same with collies and shelties) to make sure the ear conforms to the standard. This breaks the cartilage so the ear tip will fold.

We have an airedale, and I have never heard of ear gluing! I'd say don't glue the ears because airedales have small ears, and I don't think its needed. My airedale's groomer told us to clean her ears sometimes.