Puppy ears - Page 1

My puppy is now 11 weeks old and up until a week ago he had both ears up. Last week he was playing with my other dog for only 5 mins and i noticed that his ear was down. I have not let them play since then and that was the first time they had even played together. but the ear has not come up. It goes up sometimes and then goes back down again. I give him a lot of toys to chew on as well. I am worried. what should i do? any input will be greatly aprreciated

Don't panic, ears are closely linked to teething, give the pup plenty to chew, especially marrowbones as it will keep the pup interested for hours. If the ears have been up, they will generally go up and stay up in there own time. The worse case scenario is that they are up too ealry and this can indicate infection, where the ear tissue swells, in this example, they may not go up again. In this case, it sounds normal, try not to worry

Hi, A pupps ears will go down and up occasionally. They will go down especally when they start teething. Since his ears were up I m sure that they will go back up again. Make sure he has a well balanced diet to help with his calcium since when the pups start teething they use up a lot of calcium with their teeth. Hope this helps Jess

You are doing the right thing and it sounds as if you have normal puppy. I would not allow him to play with the other dog, as that dog might grab an ear and damage its cartilage. I will follow what J F U says about the calcium. Now is a time for the puppy to receive some natural calcium from an occasional piece of raw chicken neck. This is a very good food for the puppy, is usually cheap, and is safe since the bones are not cooked. Keep him occupied with chew toys. The movement of the jaws stimulates the muscles that lift and move the ears. J F U is correct when he says that the ears will go up and down until they finally stand. I would not supplement his diet with calcium doses that are available from pet stores, as I feel this is too much too quickly, will throw off the body's calcium:phosphorous balance, and will alter healthy skeletal development for the worse. He can receive the proper amount of calcium and other nutrients from a high-quality food that is developed for a GSD puppy, plus an occasional piece of raw chicken with some bone. Today, right ear up-left ear down. Tomorrow, left ear up-right ear down. The day after tomorrow, both ears down. A day or so later, both ears up. That is very normal especially while the puppy is making adult teeth. Bob-O

If you're really nervous, try a little experiment tonight. Give him a bowl of milk and 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt. If by tomorrow morning the ear starts to go back up, it shows your pup is going through a growing spurt. When the ear went down, calcium was being utilized for bone growth and teeth, rather than helping cartilage in the ear. Over the years, I saw this mainly in pups that would be bigger dogs. They were slower to mature---lots of growth spurts, with ears permanently going up later rather than sooner.

Thank you all so much for the advise. I appreciate it greatly. I feel much better now. LMH i will try what you said, and you're right, he is seems like he will be a big dog. Bob-O thanks for the suggestion on chicken necks, will start doing that as well. Thanks again.

Maverick13...Just make sure that the chicken is "RAW"...as in Do NOT COOK...if you cook the chicken then the bones become brittle and will hurt your puppy (could even kill him)...I give raw chicken to all my dogs...and as Bob-O said you can give the younger pups a little piece now and then...It's the greatest supplement in the world... ~Bob~

i'm going through the same thing with my puppy. How often can I give him milk and yogurt? How often can I give him a chicken neck? thanks!

I would not give him milk and yogurt together and in such a high amount, as it may cause him to get diarrehea. My dogs get chicken wings and necks every morning, i alternate daily between them. You can mix in a tablespoon of yogurt every other day for a week and then every day after that. Just would hate to see you chasing a pup out the door because he has a bad tummy. Kari

The milk could definitely cause loose stools, but I use yogurt everyday with my adults and puppies.. there is plenty of calcium and it is great for balancing the bacteria in the gut..... it contains acidophilus and lactobacillus and other other active cultures that help maintain a healthy level of bacterial flora I use yogurt when they have diarrhea and it helps to get things back in order, cottage cheese is also good but I have much better success with yogurt...