# Playing with ears make them soft?



## gsdnewbee (Feb 1, 2015)

I'm a sucker for playing with, rubbing, petting, cuddling puppy ears. if you play with ears too much will it prevent them from standing? How sensitive is it? Should it be hands off if you want a gsd with good ears or is genetics too strong and doesn't matter if you pet the ears?


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Nope.

It's genetic. They either go up or not.

THOUGH some American breeders are breeding for such huge ears that the weight/size makes it hard for them to stay up. So forms and wrapping may be necessary to help with that just to help keep all that huge flap used to being upright.

Heck some litters have the ears up at 5/6 weeks!


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## Zeusthegsd143 (Nov 24, 2014)

gsdnewbee said:


> I'm a sucker for playing with, rubbing, petting, cuddling puppy ears. if you play with ears too much will it prevent them from standing? How sensitive is it? Should it be hands off if you want a gsd with good ears or is genetics too strong and doesn't matter if you pet the ears?


It's genetic but you can damage a puppies ears while playing with them. I'd say don't touch them just to be sure. ?


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Zeusthegsd143 said:


> It's genetic but you can damage a puppies ears while playing with them. I'd say don't touch them just to be sure. ?


That is just not true 

Normal play and petting isn't anywhere NEAR as rough as a litter full of puppies playing/roughhouseing/and tumbling around on each other. And as the puppy I posted above shows, the ears WILL go up if they are meant to.

In my experience, it's poor breeders who say 'don't touch the ears' because then they can blame YOU if the ears don't come up, not their breeding program. Same with the breeders saying 'carry your dog up and down ALL stairs until they are over a year old  ' or you will cause hip dysplasia. Again, normal stairs can be taken by puppies and they will be fine.


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## Ellimaybel (Mar 16, 2014)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> That is just not true
> 
> Normal play and petting isn't anywhere NEAR as rough as a litter full of puppies playing/roughhouseing/and tumbling around on each other. And as the puppy I posted above shows, the ears WILL go up if they are meant to.
> 
> In my experience, it's poor breeders who say 'don't touch the ears' because then they can blame YOU if the ears don't come up, not their breeding program. Same with the breeders saying 'carry your dog up and down ALL stairs until they are over a year old  ' or you will cause hip dysplasia. Again, normal stairs can be taken by puppies and they will be fine.


OMG people say that???????? I can't begin to imagine carrying Gunther up and down stairs at 12 months old. I'd have hip dysplasia myself if I were to have tried that!


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Delgado's ears were up when I brought him home at 9 weeks and never went down, and yes I played gently with those soft fuzzy ears and he was around other dogs that played with him as well


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## Zeusthegsd143 (Nov 24, 2014)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> That is just not true
> 
> Normal play and petting isn't anywhere NEAR as rough as a litter full of puppies playing/roughhouseing/and tumbling around on each other. And as the puppy I posted above shows, the ears WILL go up if they are meant to.
> 
> In my experience, it's poor breeders who say 'don't touch the ears' because then they can blame YOU if the ears don't come up, not their breeding program. Same with the breeders saying 'carry your dog up and down ALL stairs until they are over a year old  ' or you will cause hip dysplasia. Again, normal stairs can be taken by puppies and they will be fine.


I said can. Not always. And yes it's possible to damage a dog's ear if you play with them too rough. If you are petting the ears it's okay. But if you are roughly squeezing and crumbling the ears while playing with the puppy you can.


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## dhaney81 (Nov 5, 2014)

Playing with them to rough may damage them, but massaging them actually forces blood to the area and could help them stand. Just massage them up to the standing position, don't curl and bend them into unnatural positions.


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## Zeusthegsd143 (Nov 24, 2014)

dhaney81 said:


> Playing with them to rough may damage them, but massaging them actually forces blood to the area and could help them stand. Just massage them up to the standing position, don't curl and bend them into unnatural positions.


That's what I meant. I was saying it's possible. Not always possible though. It just depends on how you mess with the ears. I would play with my boys ears and they went up. But I have known people in my family who have damaged their dogs ears by playing too rough with them. ?


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## 💋KryptiqKitty💋 (5 mo ago)

Zeusthegsd143 said:


> It's genetic but you can damage a puppies ears while playing with them. I'd say don't touch them just to be sure. ?


 If u play woth them roughly then yes it could damage the ears but not if u rub them gently then its fine 🙂


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## 💋KryptiqKitty💋 (5 mo ago)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> That is just not true
> 
> Normal play and petting isn't anywhere NEAR as rough as a litter full of puppies playing/roughhouseing/and tumbling around on each other. And as the puppy I posted above shows, the ears WILL go up if they are meant to.
> 
> In my experience, it's poor breeders who say 'don't touch the ears' because then they can blame YOU if the ears don't come up, not their breeding program. Same with the breeders saying 'carry your dog up and down ALL stairs until they are over a year old  ' or you will cause hip dysplasia. Again, normal stairs can be taken by puppies and they will be fine.


Lol right my 7 week old puppy goes up and down the stairs better then my 3 month old puppy who is still afraid of tumbling down them lol its cute and definitely agree with the ears thing if u tug and pull and bend and harm there ears and be rough woth them then yah u can possibly damage the ears but not if you treat them woth care they will be just fine. Its Doberman pinschers who have the issues with keeping the ears right after they get cut up just to look pointy and there tails get chopped off ugh


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