# flattening ears



## Mr & Mrs Kirkley (Mar 9, 2012)

Is it a bad sign if a German Shepherd puppy flattens its ears when approaching strangers in public? Our puppy loves approaching strangers with tail wagging and ready to lick (as long as it's in public), which makes her sound like a confident puppy. We don't force her to do this. She does it on her own. So why does she put her ears down?


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

Putting hears down/back is a sign of submission.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

GSDBESTK9 said:


> Putting hears down/back is a sign of submission.


Agreed, she's being cautious


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## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

My dog puts his ears down when he's happy. If we talk to him in a happy voice the ears go back, when he's out for a walk, the ears are pinned flat against his head for the entire walk, unless something piques his interest and then the ears come up. When he gets loved on, the ears are back.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Wolfiesmom said:


> , when he's out for a walk, the ears are pinned flat against his head for the entire walk,


That's because Wolfie is listening to me...he knows I stalk him....:wub:


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

Doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Depends on the situation and what her other body signals are like. Is she flattening her ears, belly crawling and urinating submissively when people approach? Or is she wagging her wail, excited and has her ears back? 

My girl Wiva is very submissive to her handler. Many times if I look at her, she will flatten her ears and wag her tail. She's just a happy, sweet girl who bonds _very_ closely to her person and expresses it in a physical way when she is around that person. She will also flatten her ears to her breeder who raised her till she was 9 months old. But this isn't done out of a negative place...she is showing her submissiveness to her handler and expressing her affection. 

All of my dogs will flatten their ears if they are displeased with something or receive a correction during training. For example, I give a pop on the prong and their ears go down for a split second at the correction.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

My boy will flatten his ears and turns into a wiggle butt when he's happy to see me, my husband or our girls.

When he was a puppy I remember my parents coming to visit & to see him for the first time. My dad got out of the car & Rusty was looking at him, my dad bent down and said with his arms out, higher voice "come here bud", ears down, tail going he ran to him, licking his arms, then mouthing him LOL


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Flattened ears are simply a sign of submission or appeasement, which is appropriate when approaching friendly humans. It is a dog's way of making themselves look smaller, as though to say, "Hello, I am just a friendly little dog and no threat to you, please accept my approach."


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