# GSD puppy ear flop after bite



## Rdb996 (Jul 7, 2019)

Hey everybody, I’m new to this site and owning a GSD. I have a 14 week old puppy and his ears went straight up around 10 weeks old. Yesterday we were at my friend’s house where there were 3 other dogs playing around. My pup tends to play a little rough with the older dogs and I think it may be a dominance thing. I’ve been working with him on that and he’s starting puppy training tomorrow. Anyway, he was playing rough and one of the other dogs (A fully grown GSD) bit him in the ear. His ear started to gush blood for a bit, but he seemed to be fine and ready to keep being a hyper puppy. This morning I noticed that the ear that got bit has dropped to the side. Being the worried dog parent I am, I decided to look it up. What I saw was that he may have the flop due to teething, but I did read that trauma to his ear might prevent it from going back up. I’m kinda freaked out about the latter. His bite was at the very tip of the ear and not at the base or middle. Has anyone experienced anything like this? And what should I do to help him?


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## Kennaandkurama (Apr 15, 2019)

At his age his ears are very fragile, and have barely any strength, a simple bump could’ve knocked it down lol. Kuramas danced for a week, she’d roll over on it and boom down it went! If it was at the Tip, and took that long to flop down it makes me think it may not be a break. It’ll probably go back up within the next couple weeks as it gains strength. If you don’t see any improvement with time, is when you should start worrying a little and see what else you can do. I don’t suggest taping unless it hasn’t come up past 6ish months as that can damage it further. I’m sure your pups ear is fine and will stand Quickly but you really never know with them.. time will tell! Either way he’ll be a cutie ?


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

Has he gotten all his vaccinations? If he hasn't, he shouldn't be playing with other dogs. Anyway, if you're worried about his ear, your best bet is to go to the vets. It could get infected too. I'd play it on the safe side and have it checked out.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

And this is another reason I don't allow rough play. It all too frequently escalates into something more and I am done dealing with the injuries. Even if it had been two adult dogs, when things escalate, I have seen ears literally bitten off on other people's dogs too often. A puppy's soft ear cartilage can be permanently damaged.


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## Jchrest (Jun 5, 2019)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> And this is another reason I don't allow rough play. It all too frequently escalates into something more and I am done dealing with the injuries. Even if it had been two adult dogs, when things escalate, I have seen ears literally bitten off on other people's dogs too often. A puppy's soft ear cartilage can be permanently damaged.


This ^

It’s not always the big dogs causing the problem either. We took our Shepski to the vet awhile back for an ear infection, and while the vet was examining him, he found lots of tiny punctures in both ears, and under his muzzle. I posted pics in a different thread. Anyway, it was my hubs best friends puppy that caused the damage. Puppies have razor sharp teeth, and it’s easy for them to puncture the bigger dogs as it is for the bigger dogs to cause injury to the pup. 

We let our pup play with our GSD because she is very gentle and loving with her, but only with supervision, and if my pup starts getting too mouthy or hyper with the older GSD, we separate them again. We let our Shepski and the pup swim together with no issues, but the pup isn’t allowed to play with him because he is too rough. 

We don’t allow her to play with any other dogs because she’s not fully vaccinated, and we don’t want to take that risk. Our older dogs get tittered twice a year, and have never needed a booster shot, so we feel safe having her around them.

As for the ear, it may be floppy because it hurts when erect. It could be common teething and nothing to worry about. But if the ear was punctured (even if it was just the tip of the ear) I would be setting up a vet appointment. Not because I care what the ears will eventually look like, but because bites are notorious for breeding infection. It’s easier (and cheaper) to catch it before it turns into a full blown infection. 

Good luck with the ear, and please stop the play dates until your pup is large enough!


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## crittersitter (Mar 31, 2011)

They can hold their ears funny when they are bothering them. Hopefully that's all. I would not let your pup play with the bigger dogs though. It's not wise. I always separate my pups from even my own older dogs. The only older dogs I let my pups hang out with are the bitches that have had pups and have that maternal instinct. Even then I remove the pup when they become too much of a pest.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Hindsight often sucks. If the other dogs were vaccinated, it's not a concern. As far as the ear going back up, I guess you'll have to wait and see. If a hematoma occurs, then it's unlikely it will go up. My adult male had an ear down this week from swimming. I cleaned it out, put Otomax in it and it was back up in a couple of hours. So they will drop it if it hurts. It's hard to say if the cartilage was damaged just from a post. I would be more worried about infection because dog bites are full of germs and his immune system isn't fully developed. So take him to a vet and get an antibiotic.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

If your pup is not shaking his head or pawing at it chances it will heal nice. A vet appoinment as advised may give you peace of mind and prevent infection. A few months ago Luna bit the tip of Max’s ear they were playing a bit to rough. I don’t allow rough play but things can happen in seconds. He has big ears so always a concern they are easy pickins. Luna was in heat and a bit extra intense or it could of been well deserved. It was a very slight tiny tear but upsetting. I did clean it out very gently and pit neosporin on it. It looked like it would heal okay but did looked like it need a stitch. I really would want put him under anesthesia for one stitch. I was a bit paranoid that his ear may drop from a hematoma so decided to bring him to the vet a few days later. The vet said as long as he is not shaking his head pawing at it should be fine. He told me not to put anything on it or clean it which may cause him to shake his head, scratch at his ear as would a stitch and cause issues that can lead to a hematoma. The vet said just to leave it alone. He did give me oral antibiotics to prevent infection. It did heal nice no hematomas which can damage cartilages. I had no issues and is barley noticeable now.


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## Rdb996 (Jul 7, 2019)

Thank you for your answers. He does have all his vaccinations, and it looks like it’s healing fine. I’ve been watching him to make sure he’s not scratching his ear, which he hasn’t done. He occasionally shakes his head. I’m taking him to the vet tomorrow where they can see if he needs any additional treatment. As for his ear it sometimes flops back up but then goes back down. Here’s a pic of him.


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## wolfmonte (Aug 28, 2019)

Rdb996 said:


> Thank you for your answers. He does have all his vaccinations, and it looks like it’s healing fine. I’ve been watching him to make sure he’s not scratching his ear, which he hasn’t done. He occasionally shakes his head. I’m taking him to the vet tomorrow where they can see if he needs any additional treatment. As for his ear it sometimes flops back up but then goes back down. Here’s a pic of him.


Did it go up?


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

If it stands back up sometimes, that is a good sign. Like Jax said if he gave a hematoma it isn't likely to go back, ask the vet to check for one tomorrow.

If you showed me that pick without telling me about the bite, I'd say they were normal uppy downy wonky 14 week old ears. So fingers crossed!


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