# damaged ears?



## sandor (Oct 29, 2010)

my pup is 15 weeks and a couple days now, which i know is still quite young for his ears to stand, but i'm worried that the cartilage could possibly be broken. our neighbors have his brother (from the same litter) and his have been up for quite awhile. also, we have another young pup at home (5 month old beagle/pitbull) who i sometimes catch nibbling on his ears. i stop him from doing this every time i catch it, but sometimes my little guy runs up to me with soggy ears where i didn't even see it.

previous to the past couple of days, one of his ears would occasionally stand, and both would semi-stand, flop over, etc. but now they just sort of flop to the sides. should i be worried? here's a pic of him from yesterday...















edit:
here's from oct 15th (10 weeks old)


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Is he teething? Do you give him anything to chew on? Have you tried taping them?


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

looks like a goofy ear stage to me. his ears also look rather large too so the weight could be having an effect. 15 weeks is just under 4 months old so teething with also have an affect on his ears. They'll be wonky until teething is done. Other members will have suggestions for you as well regarding what you can give him to help. I know cottage cheese is something you can give that may help.


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## sandor (Oct 29, 2010)

yes, i believe he is still teething...his vet appointment tomorrow will confirm that though. he has hundreds of dollars worth of toys of all different sorts so he's content in that area. i haven't tried taping yet because the breeder advised me against it, since she has never had a pup with soft ears.

and thank you zoppa, i've never heard of the cottage cheese thing, i'll have to try that


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I'm not talking about toys. I'm talking about something hard to chew on, like a bone, to work the muscles in his jaw and help lift his ears.

I've heard of giving cottage cheese also. Be careful not to give to much calcium though.

Look in teh puppy section and search for ears. Lots of threads on taping and age to do it.


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## sandor (Oct 29, 2010)

he doesn't have actual rawhide bones, but he does have a couple nylabones a kong, and a couple other hard rubber toys.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Not a rawhide. Those get gluey and can cause obstructions.

Hard bones...like a marrow bone or a knuckle bone. If you have a butcher in your area, call him and ask for beef knuckle bones. If not, go to your grocery store and look for marrow bones. 

Just clean the marrow out of it. It gives some dogs diarrhea. I've never had that problem but I've seen a few posts about it.


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

You are still ok at 15 weeks, it' still early. Get some Solid Gold Seameal to add to his food. I don't start to worry until 5 months. If they aren't up by then I use forms.

Here's a thread I did on some of the stages:

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ears-up/145073-ear-stages-pictorial.html


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## sandor (Oct 29, 2010)

thanks alphamom, i saw your thread earlier, it was helpful. i'm only so worried because of the other dog constantly chewing on his ears, and the fact that his brother's have been up for awhile...although i know each dog would be different, it still doesn't calm my worries any! hah


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

I totally understand but littermates ears can go up at different times. I would, however, restrict the chewing on the ears though!


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## sandor (Oct 29, 2010)

it's restricted but can't always be monitored, because i'm the only one who is correcting the behavior...it's my roommates dog and it's terribly misbehaved, and only listens out of fear of his owner (he's the type who'll beat his dog over anything). luckily, i've kicked him out (partially due to how he treats his dog and in return how his dog acts!) and at least his dog will be gone by tomorrow.


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## CPH (Sep 8, 2010)

If he is only 15 weeks get prepared for some funky ear stuff to happen. They will probably get worse and more awkward before they get better. My guy had both ears flopped over the top of his head for a month or so until teething was over. His didn't fully stay up until about 5 months even though they were up (and pretty food looking) and 13 weeks.


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