Soft ears - Page 1

I bought a 9 month old Czech female GSD from a breeder. Her ears were down although the right one would occassionally stand up briefly. The breeder said that the ears were up before she was teething and has pictures to prove it. Since I brought the pup home I have been taping her ears with the pink Goody perm rollers. Sometimes before a walk I'll  take the rollers out the ears will stay up for the duration of the walk and maybe 1 hr. when we get home (2hrs total). Once she relaxes the ears go down again. I have started to add gelatin to her food (2 tbsp per meal).  the breeder was feeding her kibble and i have gradually switched her to a raw food diet.  I'm wondering if I should leave the rollers in all the time or keep taking them out when I know they'll stay up. She is now 11 months and I've read that if the ears aren't up by now then they proably won't go up which is ok but I don't want to give up if there is a chance. 
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
thanks,
Juno11

I bought a 9 month old Czech GSD from a reputable breeder who I have had a dog from before. She is now 11 months old. The pup had not been off the breeders property, had not been trained and was living with a few littermats and other dogs. She got along well with the other dogs and was at the bottom of the pack. When we went to see her she seemed very friendly and excited to see us. I have had her in basic obedience training for the past 3 weeks. The poor girl trembles when we first get into class and the first 2 sessions she would not eat the treats I offered and got as far under my chair as she could manage. She has been gradually improving and the last class she ate the treats. The pup has started to growl (no teeth) when one of the trainers gets too close. The trainers have said to ignore this behaviour becasue its based on fear. The trainer has lots of experience with protection breeds. Lately when I've been walking her she will growl if a stranger gets too close. The breeder thinks I should be correcting her. The pup comes from good Czech lines but both her parents are alphas and guardy dogs. I plan on training her in obedience and possibly doing agility or tracking. I don't want to encourage her to be overly protective. So should I be correcting her at this point or focus on building her confidence and deal with the growling later?
thanks,
Juno11

It is doubtful that these ears will ever stand or ever have IMO. I would never tape ears on a puppy intended for breeding. Flacid ears are genetic and I would never breed a dog with flacid ears or ears that didn't stand on their own.

I would not give up just yet. Although this dog should not be a breeder, you can still keep trying to get the ears to stand. I have heard of dogs ears standing after a year. I had a male a few years back that I used the tear mender on at 7 months and it worked. You buy the tear mender on Amazon. You put some on the side of the ear facing the other ear (not the inside) and then you press it to the other ear like a tee-pee. It will bond in about 30 seconds. This wil stay together about 5 days or so. when the dog scratches it loose, wait a few days for some more hair to grow in and do it all over again.
Stephanie

Don't give up yet. My current bitch had ears that were slow coming up. One minute up then down but at 5mths old both were just hanging so I started to tape them up using the foam rollers. You need to keep them in all the time and if they work loose take them out and redo them straight away. You need to do this for at least a mth or longer & don't be tempted to see how they go. I did this & walked her and took her to training with her rollers in & got quite a lot of funny looks but it paid off in the end and she now has lovely erect ears. Its just a case of keeping them up whilst the muscle strengthens. Also my very first gsd, some 35yrs ago also had ears that were slow & she was 13ths old before her ears came up & that was without any help!

Is it normal for a dog to be with the breeder for 9months and have had no training? Even some basic obedience? I got a pup at 14 weeks from a similar situation( in a pen with other dogs at the breeder) she turned in to the most awesome dog, but was never interesting in socialising with any dogs other than my other shepherd.

a lot of Am. breeders supplement with chondrotin (sp) for soft ears.

Don't take the rollers out for walks, leave them in for a couple of weeks at a time. I use shoe cushion inserts, cut them to the shape of the ear and use the skin bond to glue them in. Keep them in constantly for a month or so. It works very well. Theresa

We ordered Calcium Lactate from the pharmicist per our vets instructions no prescription is needed but it is something that does not have a long shelf life BUT/and it has worked well for us as well as for others that we have told about it.  I learned about this with my first GSD...  she had beautiful ears until a Hematoma (?) got to her ear during her last years.

There is also "Missing Link" that has great reviews for ears and fast growers and well as to  help nurture pups whose mothers were lost to them - I used it because my GSD boy had such a huge growth spurt. 

Hope this may help someone one day.
 Marsha Mae A
(My life has gone to the dogs - ain't it great?)

What's the breeding?