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ForumsGerman Shepherd Dog > Ears-for everyone who said they have never seen this before (51 replies)
by Emoore on 27 October 2011 - 02:46 |
| "That comment was useful. Why do certain people have to be sarcastic. If you don't have anything useful to add to the thread, don't say anything. And yes he has seen alot of shepherds. I have never seen one in person either with a floppy ear. It just shows it is not that common" It actually is somewhat common, especially among show lines. I know several showline owners who have had to tape their ears or they wouldn't have come up. I have owned a floppy-eared GSD and a good friend of mine owns another. Both were verified to be purebred Shepherds. I was merely pointing out that it's not that uncommon. Obviously it's more common in some lines than in others, but it's certainly not rare. The rescue I work with gets them dumped off with AKC papers occasionally when the owners realize they're not going to stand. You started an entire thread to "prove wrong" the people who said they'd come up again if they were up before teething. I can certainly post n the thread to let you know it's not unheard of. |
Emoore by Triskell on 27 October 2011 - 09:09 |
Hi - I had a Male - sired by a very popular Germn import. My pup had very large ears, and I don't think they would have gone up without my help. You are running out of time as the cartilage in the ears will soon harden. What I did at 5 months.......... I cut up some foam cups and used very strong sticky tape to help them stand. Leave them for 2 or 3 weeks without checking them. Even if you are tempted - leave them alone! If they come loose re-tape them. Don't give up yet. You can still do it. Don't wait - do it today. Good luck  |
by Sunsilver on 27 October 2011 - 16:00 |
| One of my friend's pups had his ears up before he went to his new home at 8 weeks. His ears came down when he started teething, and they STAYED down! Why? I'm convinced it's because he's very submissive, and he lives with two bitches who boss him around! The owner bought him as a pet, and did not worry about taping the ears. (He's definitely NOT breed quality.) He was here visiitng on the weekend, and we saw him put the ears up a couple of times when something really caught his attention. Out of 9 pups, he's the only one with ear issues, though his sire had one ear that was floppy until he was well past a year old These dogs are Shiloh shepherds, though, and mature later than GSDs due to their large size. |
Sunsilver by missyfly96 on 27 October 2011 - 18:55 |
| Sunsilver, I am wondering if you are on to something there. She is extremely submissive to the two adult dogs and her brother. When she goes up to them she gets low to the ground and has a submissive pee. Do you think she holds them down on purpose because she is so submissive? Has the cartlidge already formed and she will always hold them down. |
by jah on 27 October 2011 - 20:28 |
| There are as many methods as Carter's has Pills, but some dogs do well gluing foam in the ear using srugical glue so the chance of irritationis lower. Leave the supports in until the start to come loose at the egdge, and remove using surgical glue remover. I have seen this done in dogs in my club, and some didn't even start until the dog was 8 months old, and they still got the ears up...took a few months though. The example below is a 5 mo. male with HUGE ears. You have to prevent them from scratching out the foam the first few minutes, then they forget it is there. It does not block the ear from breathing so no infection risk. You cut the foam from a piece of pipe insulation (Home Depot) and fit it well down in the ear so it supports it properly.  |
by missyfly96 on 27 October 2011 - 20:35 |
| If I am able to get the ear to stand will it always be "soft" or will it firm up with time? Anyone that has used a support to get an ear to stand may know the answer. I was under the impression most of the cartilage has formed at this age. |
by jah on 27 October 2011 - 21:01 |
Same dog aas the photo above as an adut---has VERY firm ears |
by starrchar on 27 October 2011 - 22:37 |
| Missy, I would definitely try to brace your dogs ears. I've known of pups that had floppy ears at 5 or 6 months that ended up with perfect, stable erect ears. Some needed help and some didn't, but I personally would not take a chance. |
starrchar by Dawulf on 28 October 2011 - 05:02 |
| Also forgot to mention my last GSD's ears never went totally up... they just kind of hung out in that halfway stage. The only time I ever saw them up was when she was really alert/chasing something. We never tried to tape them or anything. |
Dawulf by Bhaugh on 30 October 2011 - 03:28 |
| Emoore, I agree with you on what you said. Its VERY common and I see it all the time. The ear leather is too heavy and after it creases, its hard to right. Im nutty about ears and a good carriage in both parents is a must for me. I also have issues when someone posts on a FREE forum and goes off on a comment not to their liking.  . So instead of possibly getting any further assistance, people dont want to help you. So why say it?Barb |
Bhaugh by missyfly96 on 30 October 2011 - 15:33 |
| Bhaugh, Emoore's first comment did not offer any assistance at all. It was just a sarcastic comment. Why do people have to just post sarcastic comments without adding any assistance or anything to the thread? It has nothing to do with not likeing your comment, but if you are going to say something like that back it up. Don't just leave a sarcastic comment out there. Emoore's second comment had more details and an explanation for the comment. That I can respect, but a lot of times someone will just make a statements and not back it up. Ok so there may be some floppy eared sheperds out there, but let's not compare apples to oranges (are they purebred, where there ears completely up before teething) Just because we have never seen and PUREBRED floppy eared shepherd does not require sarcastism. Maybe we aren't breeders or rescusers, but we've seen more German Shepherds than the average folk and we have never seen in person a PUREBRED flopppy eared Shepherd. I posted this thread because EVERYWHERE I read and EVERYONE'S advice (even those her on the forum) said don't worry IF THEY WERE UP BEFORE TEETHING THE WILL COME BACK UP! So if you guys have seen floppy eared shepherds before were their ears up perfectly normal for weeks before teething? There maybe floppy eared shepherds out there, but I do know if each and everyone of those floppy eared shepherds had perfectly erect ears at one time? All those dropped of at rescue do you know if those dogs had erect ears at one time? I am not talking about a puppy whose ears NEVER came up or hung out half way. You may have seen floppy eared shepherds because you are a breeder or rescuer, but almost every average person I meet and see her with ears taped don't even know that german shepherds are not born with erect ears. I'm not gonna argue who has seen more floppy eared dogs this thread was to those whose puppies had erect ears before teething and they never came back up and to those with first hand experience with that. |
by susie on 31 October 2011 - 18:04 |
| Without any pictures of your dog nobody can tell you if the ears need to be taped or not. If your puppy wasn´t underweighed or sick in the age of 8 weeks and the ears were standing well it´s really unusual for German spepherds to have floppy ears later on ( but not impossible). 5 months is very early to tape ( are you really sure that all teeth already came thru?)-but if you tape it´s absolutely wrong to change the tape after a week- if you tape, do it for weeks, not for days. Taping ears isn´t that easy, should only be done by someone who knows what he is doing, otherwise there are far more possibilities to do worse than better. Hope the best for your puppy- Kind regards from Germany Susie |
susie by mikej on 31 October 2011 - 20:16 |
| I had the same thing happen, black male.. at 10 weeks both were up straight as cold be. then one fell..did not comeup.. at 6 months i taped.. was never 100 % but was about 90 % up.. |
by missyfly96 on 01 November 2011 - 01:40 |
| This is a picture of her at 8 weeks old Then a picture of her today with ears braced with cardboard on inside (sorry it is blurry took with cell phone) .jpg)  |
by Hedi on 02 November 2011 - 00:10 |
| I have used breathe rite strips with some lash glue and that helped my GSD out. He just needed a little support and that seemed to be enough without the added weight. I also have dealt with doberman ears. That procedure of taping is different due to the lack of bell (with a "show" crop). So for my GSD pup that kind of tape job was not an option. The strips were great and flung off, so I did not have to worry about infection and retaping every 5-7 days. The cardboard job (on your photo) appears to be ok, as long as the dog tolerates having that in the ears. If you do decide to brace (in terms of crossbracing) I would not let the ears get closer together than 10 and 2 (think of a clock). Hope that can provide you with some additional ideas. Best wishes! |
Hedi by zirgus on 21 November 2011 - 14:54 |
| Hello I have seen this and was looking for answers . Pups that have ears up strong st 8 weeks and then suddenly go soft and down at 14 and up weeks . Try everything and can't get them back up . Feed eul lg breed puppy . Wondering if something is missing . Do yogurt etc , nothing. Do now when I see early up ears I really worry . Pups in litter that come up slower stay up . Do any one have a blue to this . Breeders have strong est sets . So not genetic . What could be missing that would do this . |
zirgus by ggturner on 21 November 2011 - 16:40 |
To the OP, the same thing happened to my 14 month old female when she was a few months old. We taped large sponge hair rollers in her ears and it did the trick. This is what she looks like now: |
ggturner by danbee on 22 November 2011 - 04:18 |
| The foam/surgical glue method works well. In my experience if ears are standing prior to teething they will stand again UNLESS something else interferes. If she's submissive and holding those ears down, that will interfere. Also, taping incorrectly or messing too much with the ears can make them worse. If you're going to tape/glue, you have to leave them in, taking them out every few days stresses the cartilage and can be counterproductive. You may have to keep her pretty much housebound (away from dirt & water) while they're taped but it should only be a couple of weeks. And I've seen ears stand at 8 mths so it's not necessarily too late but if she's keeping them flattened/submissive it's going to be harder. |
by amysavesjacks on 23 November 2011 - 02:15 |
| I find that most pups that have problems with the ears flopping after they have already been up... has alot to do with diet/growth. And alot of these same dogs tend to get panosteitis. Is your pup still on puppy food? |
amysavesjacks by missyfly96 on 23 November 2011 - 18:21 |
| I don't think it is diet and growth. She has never been on "puppy food". She is on Acana grain free "Wild Prairie" and always has been since she's been weined. Her brother grew up in the same household, same food, everything the same and his ears went back up after teething. She has had bones, cottage cheese, gelatin, cosequin supplements. She has has a very good diet (just not raw). |
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