soft ears - Page 1

I had a few questions concerning my dogs ears. I had a shepherd in the past whose ears never went up. He was an oversized dog that my mom got for me as a kid from a backyard breeder and he died before he ever turned two for unknown reasons. I currently own an import  dog who will be two in sept 2009. He is about 90 pounds lean and seems to have a great temperment. My question is about his ears. His ears came up at the right time and have not fallen since them. I was very worried about this since the last dog i had never had his ears go up. Last summer, the dog was getting bitten by horse flies that we have in our area. His ears became wobbly and would tip at the top when he ran. The problem seemed to go away once the tempreture cooled and the flies went away. This summer the same problem returned. He is a great looking dog as far as I am concerned (Bailey vom Nadelhaus II) and i want to correct this problem. He holds the ears up all the time, but when he flicks his ears to get rid of the flies, now the tops are flapping a little. Is there a way to correct this. I have been told to give him coral calcium or just calcium. he drinks a big bowl of milk a few times a week and loves it. Am i screwed and just going to have a dog with wobblers or can i strengthen them. And his parents and pups that i know of havent had any problems with thier ears standing, although all report that they have thick ears, but no problems in terms of soft ear.

In my experience if dogs have an irritation to their ear they will get softer and jiggle or hold them out to the side. Like if a bug/weed seed gets inside or ear an infection. Once the problem is corrected the ears firm up. If I were you I would just get something to deter the bugs from biting his ears... is he outside all the time? If so can he come in during the worse time of day the bugs are out? If not just some OFF for people might work, spray it on your hand or cloth and wipe on his ear.

You can get an Ointment for Ears at Pet Smart (or similar store) that repels flies.

Please don't put OFF on your dog!  This can harm dogs.  MaggieMae is right- you can purchase several kinds of ointments that will help.  We used a product called SWAT this year and it was very effective.  Plus, it is bright pink in color so you can easily tell when its time to re-apply.  Good luck!

thanks for all the replies everyone! I will def go out and get some of the SWAT ointment. the vaseline and the horsefly spray works decently well, but i think i need something a little stronger. Does anyone know of anything that will help his ears get more rigid as well. I have heard of Coral Calcium, knox gelatin, and even eggshells. I have given him the gelatin and eggshells (separately) in the past. Lately he doesnt want to eat the eggshells. Any advice on this. I love being able to chat with folks. His pic is up for Bailey vom Nadelhaus, it was taken when he was ten months old.

Hey everyone thanks for the advice on the SWAT ointment. Its easier to put on and the smell alone seems to be something that a fly would shy away from (smells like pine). I also got a spray for the coat called Zoink or something simliar to that. Works really well even though i sprayed a week ago. The lady where i buy stuff for the dog also gave me some steamed bone meal that is a good source of calcium. But overall im just happy i have a dog that i like that listens.

He is a very handsome dog!  What happened with the dam's side of the pedigree?  Nothing there??

Thanks for the comments.

I dont know what happened with the Dam's side. I entered her information in but it didnt come up. I think she may not be entered into the database. I entered it the same way it is listed on my AKC paperwork.

as far as the database

search the kennel name and see if you can find her that way, if not, add her - very carefully to not make a typo...

very nice dog......