# adult with floppy ears



## mssblack09

HI!,

My german shepherd is 1 year and 4 months and his ears have yet to stand up. he weighs about 102 lbs so he is rather large. he comes from an excellent blood line with no mixed breeding as far as i know. even when he was a puppy his ears would never stary up for more than a few minutes. my husband and i tried taping them but that didnt seem to help. he is cute with his floppy ears but not very intimidating. when my husband deploys it will be just me and Bowser (the dog) and since he doesnt have a viscious bone in his body i at least want him to look like a guard dog. I do not want to get his ears cut tho. Does anyone have any advice or tricks? should we try taping again?


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## GSDBESTK9

Sorry but at that age, they will not come up no matter what you do. And cut them? Who would do such a horrible thing to a GSD?? :nono: If you want protection, get an alarm and/or a gun.


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## Courtney

I agree, at a year + they will never come up.

Also agree 100% about an home security system/gun for protection.

Deployments are tough (my husband has deployed _several_ times) thank goodness you have a buddy to keep you company! Maybe to keep yourself busy and your mind off of the deployment enroll in some obdience classes with your dog. It's something you will both benefit from!

Absolutely no cutting of a GSD ears!!!


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## LaRen616

GSDBESTK9 said:


> *Sorry but at that age, they will not come up no matter what you do. And cut them? Who would do such a horrible thing to a GSD?? :nono: If you want protection, get an alarm and/or a gun*.


I couldn't agree more :nono:


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## lrodptl

I think you've run out of time for them to come up naturally. There is a link on the pedigreedatabase.com for implants.


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## Lucy Dog

They probably won't stand up since he's already over a year and it hasn't happened yet, but since when is a 100+ pound GSD (floppy ears or not) not intimidating? 

That's still a lot of dog, ears standing or not.


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## Baersmama

I would NEVER cut the ears of a dog!!!!!!!! We had a wonderful girl that always had floppy ears.....but, she had the HEART of a shepherd, and was BEAUTIFUL. Our other dog at the time looked like Rin Tin Tin, and I got very tired of answering the question (about the "floppy" ears...) "What is she mixed with?" 
Good luck with the deployment of your husband. I know it can't be easy.


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## mssblack09

just for the record i would NEVER EVER even consider cutting my babies ears. if they arent gonna stand up without that kind of thing then thats fine. i just didnt know if there was something i missed.


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## Courtney

mssblack09 said:


> just for the record i would NEVER EVER even consider cutting my babies ears. if they arent gonna stand up without that kind of thing then thats fine. i just didnt know if there was something i missed.


It honestly didn't sound like that was your intention and it's obvious you love your boy!


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## mssblack09

well since its obvious they arent going to stand does anyone know what may of caused it? could it be his size? he is unusually large and his ears are very thick. could it be his size? he has always had things to chew on and there was never any injury to the ears that i know of. we got him when he was 8 weeks.


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## khurley

mssblack09 said:


> just for the record i would NEVER EVER even consider cutting my babies ears. if they arent gonna stand up without that kind of thing then thats fine. i just didnt know if there was something i missed.



No, you haven't missed anything. I'm afraid, at over a year, that ship has sailed. I dare say, however, the presence of any 102 lb. GSD, floppy ears or no, will serve as a pretty strong deterrent. It's generally the teeth, not the ears, that give people pause.


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## Courtney

Do you know if any of his littermates also have floppy ears? I *believe* in could be genetic in alot of cases-sounds like you did everything right (chew toys, etc.) that's the only thing I can think of?


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## GSDBESTK9

Size, genetics....


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## mssblack09

Courtney said:


> Do you know if any of his littermates also have floppy ears? I *believe* in could be genetic in alot of cases-sounds like you did everything right (chew toys, etc.) that's the only thing I can think of?


my mom has his brother and his ears stood up after a month or two and have been up ever since. but his brother is also only about 70 lbs. he is much more streamline the smaller whereas bowser is a lot taller and bulker, not fat just big. i dont know about the other littermates. both his parents ears stood up.


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## Lucy Dog

mssblack09 said:


> well since its obvious they arent going to stand does anyone know what may of caused it? could it be his size? he is unusually large and his ears are very thick. could it be his size? he has always had things to chew on and there was never any injury to the ears that i know of. we got him when he was 8 weeks.


Genetics. I'll bet anything that your pup has at least one other dog in his pedigree with soft ears.


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## DianaB

I like the GSD's with floppy ears 
Our breeder told us that if you crate the dog too much then it can impede the ears standing up. This would have to be a lot of crating in a crate that makes his ears go down when he stands up, not just the crating itself. Not sure how much truth there is in that.
I wanna see a pic of the cutie patootie.


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## paulag1955

Agree, I want to see a picture, too. My puppy's ears are starting to stand up, and I'm going to miss the adorable floppy, puppy ears.

What does chew toys have to do with ears?


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## bianca

My girl is nearly 9 months old and has one soft ear. Just found out that her sire's first litter had 3 pups whose ears never went up  Molly's litter there are 4 from 9 whose ears are still not up. So it seems genetic's is the best guess. In her case, the sire should never have been breed again. P.S I have glued, so am hoping that this may work.


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## mazza

Why on earth would you consider "cutting" his ears? That is animal cruelty in my book! My Vinnie is 11yrs old and his ears are floppy that's just the way he is do I love him any less NO. I have every confidence that should I ever be in a bad situation he would be there "protecting his mum" but he is part of the family like my others are


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## MaggieRoseLee

mssblack09 said:


> HI!,
> 
> My german shepherd is 1 year and 4 months and his ears have yet to stand up. he weighs about 102 lbs so he is rather large. he comes from an excellent blood line with no mixed breeding as far as i know. even when he was a puppy his ears would never stary up for more than a few minutes. my husband and i tried taping them but that didnt seem to help. he is cute with his floppy ears but not very intimidating. when my husband deploys it will be just me and Bowser (the dog) and since he doesnt have a viscious bone in his body i at least want him to look like a guard dog. I do not want to get his ears cut tho. Does anyone have any advice or tricks? should we try taping again?


I agree with everyone else, his ears won't go up at this age. If you go back and read all the other posts in 'Ears Up????' early intervention is key. 

GSD's aren't like Dobermanns, you can't cut their ears to make them stand up. Doing some weird cosmetic thing like ear implants can be VERY dangerous (major surgery!!!!) that can have serious complications that may end up with the ears looking worse.

What has the breeder suggested and did this happen to the rest of the pups?


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## Hillo

I'm somewhat in the same boat as the poster. Its really frustrating. And try as you might you cant help but be sad about it. I spoke to my breeder about my floppy ear 11 month old and they suggested "posting" the ears by having a vet put a plastic tube in the ear then wrap the ear. My gsd developed a **** of an ear infection as a result so I gave up and just chose to love him the way he is.

Turned out several of the litter mates have floppy ears also, genetics.

My gsd is huge as well, plenty of intimidation to go around.


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## mssblack09

here is the picture of my baby some of you were asking for. we have just started trying the breathe right strip trick just as a last hope. if it doesnt work then thats ok. i love him floppy ears or straight ones.


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## mssblack09




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## Miikkas mom

Awwww, he’s so cute!! :wub:

What does it mean to “cut” the ears? I’ve never heard of that before. It sounds like a horrific practice.


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## Fuse

mssblack09 said:


>


His crate is waaayyy too small.

:laugh:

Seroiusly though, he's a cutie with his ears just the way they are. I dont think you need to worry about him not being intimidating either.


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## Courtney

Great looking boy!


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## Stosh

He is a great looking dog. When our male's ears started to stand up my husband said he was going to miss the floppy ears, he looked great with them. And he's a 68lb 6 mo old. Good luck to you and your husband, my nephew is deploying to Afghanistan in two weeks and his wife has two big dogs to keep her company while he's away.


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## jdh520

*your story is mine word for word about the floppy ears*

I have a white shepherd however and he is 120lbs and has the same build as yours. His ears have always been floppy but I think I actually made them a little worse by trying to tape them when it was too late anyways. Like your said though, I'll love him the way he is.


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## Jmeade

My 7 month old puppy Shadow has one floppy ear. It will stand when she is at attention but only for a minute or two. I have come to accept that it won't stand. It gives her character and is definately a conversation starter. haha
I never saw Shadow's sire just the dam but I found out that Shadow isn't the only one in a litter of 6 puppies that had a floppy ear... so it must be genetic in her case because she is on the small side.


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## Emoore

Miikkas mom said:


> What does it mean to “cut” the ears? I’ve never heard of that before. It sounds like a horrific practice.


I think the OP was just mistaken. Some breeds of dogs like Pit Bulls and Dobermans have their ears cut to make them stand up. GSD ears are not cut ever. Sometimes people will tape them up to try to get them to stand, but cutting just isn't something that is ever done to German Shepherd ears. Some people _believe_ they are, though; probably getting them confused with Dobermans. 

To the OP: My GSD that recently passed had floppy ears and I :wub: them. Floppy-eared GSDs are the bestest!


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## CarrieJ

I just had a soft eared GSD at my job and I love him to death!
Oh, he's in that fun punky brewster age about the same age as the OP's dog...

Trust me, from what his owner's say...he's a PIA resource guarding them on the leash...
And, I've seen him get annoyed at another dog...ears are nothing it's the sharp end you got to watch out for.


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## kr16

> *I do not want* to get his ears cut tho


 
Why are people yelling at the OP when this is what they said? 

Asking for advice and saying I do not want to get his ears cut tho. I would take that as please give some advice and this is not an option as in cutting the ears like people do with other breeds.

I have always used tape and a tampon when the ears did not go up.

Here is a link on this subject

Leerburg | Taping German Shepherds Ears


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## CarrieJ

He's adorable. 

Probably not what you want to hear thinking about protection and all.
But at his size, it's just the bark and the visual; people will think twice about doing anything unacceptable like breaking into your house.


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## baileys423

jdh520 said:


> I have a white shepherd however and he is 120lbs and has the same build as yours. His ears have always been floppy but I think I actually made them a little worse by trying to tape them when it was too late anyways. Like your said though, I'll love him the way he is.


He is still a BEAUTIFUL boy even though his ears aren't perfect.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN

This thread is over a year old. Check the OP's posts.


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## PaddyD

Jmeade said:


> My 7 month old puppy Shadow has one floppy ear. It will stand when she is at attention but only for a minute or two. I have come to accept that it won't stand. It gives her character and is definately a conversation starter. haha
> I never saw Shadow's sire just the dam but I found out that Shadow isn't the only one in a litter of 6 puppies that had a floppy ear... so it must be genetic in her case because she is on the small side.


You are on the cusp of being too late. But since you say her ear goes up when she is at attention try to find situations where she is frequently at attention, it could possibly make the difference. That was a 'trick' I learned many years ago from a breeder.


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## Bingo

Cut his ears????? 
what???? Who??? How??? Why????

that’s a crime!!!


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## JulBoh

Bingo said:


> Cut his ears?????
> what???? Who??? How??? Why????
> 
> that’s a crime!!!


9.5 year-old post! And OP said she wan't considering it.


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