Gsd puppies ears - Page 1

A question for the longtime experienced gsd breeders. Is it common for a 6 month old gsd puppy with the bigger ears for them to still not be standing perfectly straight yet? They kind of lean towards each other in the middle. Should I be worried about this yet or is their a good chance that they’ll still stand up straight? I know one of her siblings had its ears just stand up a couple wks ago. But Mina’s (my puppy) have been standing up for awhile just leaning in towards each other. Could I have some advice or anyone else who breeds the Shepherds with larger ears have any experience?

Its not unusual for a GSD to have inward-leaning ears, while a growing puppy, whether or not they are bred as the larger variety - (IS anyone deliberately breeding for bigger ears ? Sounds crazy IMO).

Has the pup in question finished teething ? Often the adult teeth coming through will cause disruption in whether the ears are up or down, or all points in between, even when the ears have been standing fully erect for a while before that. I would not worry personally about this, as it will almost certainly sort itself out as the dog matures and the cartilege strengthens. Once they are 'up'. they usually stay up; although it is also possible that if the ears are unusually big and heavy that even when UP they will always be a BIT soft, and therefore inclined to blow around in the breeze (or while gaiting).

Thanks for the info, that’s what I hoped/figured.
And to respond to you question on breeding for bigger ears, I didn’t mean to imply that, that was a goal. I just meant more like the line of German Shepherds they breed. So I knew that they had experience with the GSD’s with bigger ears. I know they all don’t have as big ears as some. So no, I dont know of anyone deliberately breeding for bigger ears.

Good question. I have an approx 9 week old puppy (I haven't got her papers yet but according to FB the litter was born around Aug 21st) and her ears still flop over. When can I expect them to stand? She is WL so not huge ears.

IIRC, my GSD ears didn't fully stand up/stay up until she was about 8 months old. I worried, too, especially after she got her head stuck in a wire create as a very, very young puppy and the ear that got folded over was bent AND floppy for a long time. I bought the ear forms, but never used them. She ended up with BIG, pointy, beautiful ears that stand up nicely. FWIW, she's Czech WL.

You cannot 'expect' a particular date ! One eight-or-nine week puppy is different from another eight week puppy; there are several factors which might be involved, like how strong the particular dog's cartilege and muscle development is, how big the ears are, whether the pup has a heavy coat or not - particularly in the case of long-coated GSDs, AND environmental things like accidently getting their heads stuck (!), reaction to diet, extent of teething problems...

Certainly it is possible the ears will go up as early as 10 or 12 weeks; but it is just as likely they won't. About the only consistent truths are:

1) If they are not both 'up', and staying up, (even if only intermittently), by ABOUT 8-or-9 months, they are probably not ever going to go up properly;

2) If there are other dogs in the family lines that have soft ears, it becomes more likely that you will be unlucky - but set that against that the fact that there are WAY more prick ears in the GSD breed than not; & it does not matter what the 'lines' / type.

3) Even ears that are 'up' in puppyhood can drop a time or two in the following months because of teething pain, but go up again afterwards and end up fine.

Don't sweat it; unless you want to Show, a dog with one or both drop ears is still just as much a GSD and just as likely to be a great dog, whether companion-only or a working prospect.

My showline girl's ears were up when I adopted her at 12 weeks. They both fell down within the next 2 weeks, and DID NOT stand up for good until she was nearly 9 months old!!

I just had to grit my teeth and go with the old adage, "barring an injury to an ear, once the ears have been up, they WILL come up again!"

My working line girl had her ears up and down from the age of about 9 weeks, and they were up to stay by about 3 1/2 or 4 months, but her ears were much smaller. The showlines, especially the American dogs, tend to have bigger ears, and they therefore take longer to stand.

My boys ears were up at 6mo. I was very worried as he had big heavy ears as well.
Past dogs ears were up at 7-8 weeks and never went down.
Can be frustrating

GSCat my puppy is probably more similar to yours in terms of lines. I am glad your dog ended up being okay!
In the past I had a very high drive and 'accident prone' puppy(not a GSD) who I was just hoping would make it to adulthood..lol
I am just accustomed to cropped breeds, not a breed who eventually ears stand up on their own. Thanks for the info. I definitely don't like floppy ears on an adult unless it is a hound dog :)

The GS ears should be erect 6 weeks after all the adult teeth have come in . If I do not see this then I intervene. I will give the dog ' jello ' and supplements to help calcify the cartilage . Do not , I repeat do not have people touch the dogs ears. Strangers are notorious to grab and squeeze a cute dog's ears - I never ever let strangers touch my dogs ears . That will break the cartilage as the cartilage is calcifying andthat will cause irreparable ear damage.!! If the ears are tilted and if the ears don't go completely up after 6 weeks of the adult teeth are in place , and this bothers you , [ this bothers me personally , but everyone is different ] then you can aid in setting the ears to the cortrect postion or setting them upright. You can PM me and I share with l you what I would do and how - it is not difficlut. Do not try setting the ears with tape if you have not done that before ! [ the high end GS people in Europe use my technique ] . Personally as they do with Dobermans , I am not fond of that method , taping the ears , at all and done incorrectly that method can cause worse problems ! Good luck ....