Puppy EARS please help - Page 2

i had a puppy that had one ear up and the other one never seemed to be fully  go up only half way, i tryed the whole taping thing and it never worked , but as soon  as i stopped tapping, it came up at 8 months, my pup has very good size ear , so those one seem to take longer, chewing on bones and massage is a very good idea. i also heard of giving calcuim supplements helps.

Wow - Nice Flaming ..

Every animal has NUTRITIONAL NEEDS- Rather its because of bad genetics for ears or whatever ! Soft ears CAN be caused by Maluntrition!! 

We are talking about GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS - Look them up Jy - They should have errect ears. I am not saying you cannot love a dog with down ears, I am saying that Malnutrition or damage can cause them to stay down . Why not get off your high horse and re-read what I said , I said it with kindness.

GSD Travels- If one of my Customers tried to complain to me that there dogs ears where DOWN - you better belive I would investigate what happend including forcing them to prove that they where feeding premium foods and using supplements and that there Vet can check that there is no damage to the ears.  If it turns out that I was breeding dogs with soft ears I would have to suggest diffrent supplimentation- because down or soft ears could also be a sign of weak ligaments and joints!! Hello ? To BETTER the breed you have to look at the whole situation, and make the best possible call for that situation.  If a dog has weak ears- not tippy ears that are errect and hard- then you have to be thinking Malnutrition period.


Whisper

 

Edit- I had to re-read agian - Noddi : You can be FAT and still have malnutrition, infact some fat people/dogs  do have nutritional deficiancys ( I am chunky and Yes I need specific supplements ). There are fat dogs all over the world, do they all have good hips ? Why do you think Vet's always say " Keep your dog trim to Protect the hips" ..? Woud it not make sence that trim dogs that are getting good nutrition have a better chance of having strong ligaments and had they been started that way would have better hips? The same goes the other way with Skinny dogs- just because you can feed them a dog food that is void of all nutrition ( carboard practicaly) it does not mean its getting what it needs.    There are dogs that can survive on Pedigree for upwards 14+ years.  Some dogs are not as lucky geneticaly and have DIFFRENT NEEDS.  

I am not saying that all problems should be blamed on this one concept- but it is my own view that I am sharing - and I don't deserve to be treaded on like some posters do.

 

Whisper, I still disagree.  Nutrition plays and important role in all facets of a dog's health but I don't believe it has much to do with the ears being erect.  You, yourself, stated that you massage soft ears.  So, in other words, you've experienced soft ears.  Had you not massaged them, do you think they would have stood on their own?  It says nothing in the standard about having to manipulate the ears to MAKE them erect.  It states they should be erect.  First of all, I would NEVER return a puppy for any reason that I can think of off the top of my head.  If I had a health issue or structure issue, I would still keep the dog.  If it were purchased as a pet, it would be a pet with floppy ears.  I would alert the breeder for to let them know they may have an issue with soft or heavy ears.  (I had a dog with a retained testicle and had him neutered because of it.  I called the breeder to let him know and that was the end of it) But, had I purchased that dog for breeding, I would ask for at least a partial refund due to soft or heavy ears as it is an inherited trait.  If you have had to massage ears to help them stand, the leather is not correct.

We like to play with the ears, and milk them up just like you would like to touch a puppies toes to get it used to being restrained for its nails done. Its not manipulation to rub ears up, some people will have surgical plastic put in there dogs ears- like some women have breast implants- that is manipulation. Saying that is minipulation is like saying its wrong to use food drive as a reward- shouldn't the dog be smart enough to just get it without food - shouldnt they just "want" to make you happy ? Is giving calcium supplements as mentioned by Bea considered manipulation? What about meaty bones, gee if the dog chews its way into stiff ears , I don't know..   Its just what we do, no one has to try it.

I ment to imply that people will call me and complain like this poster that there puppies ears may not be standing , usualy around 4-6 months old, and I would want to investigate why. I have never had some one return a dog because of limp ears, leaning ears, or a cosmetic flaw. I would be appalled if that happend, like the floppy ear lover that posted above.

I am just trying to state you can do something about it if it concerns you. 

  BTW - YES I have given a puppy away that was 6 months old and her ears would not stand up, she was raised by a co-breeder until 4 months old and I was unable to place her - so I gave her to close friends. It was not until after a year that my friends had her ears standing just fine, they flapp in the breeze sometimes but they are up majority of the time.  ( this was not a puppy I intended to keep for myself, I was helping the co-breeder place there puppies when the owner broke his knee)

Thank you for a nice answer GSDTravels.