# Will soft ear be passed on to the puppies?



## laddreyn1266 (Jul 26, 2011)

We have a pure white GSD female and a black and tan GSD male. They just had their first litter july first. Our female has soft ear, more like lazy ear. Her ears stand when she is alert or often at random times throughout the day. The males are perfect pointy ears and are always up. I have heard 50-50 that the ears are genetic and that its just a common blunder. but if it were genetic, wouldnt all ears be down on dogs? And if ears are cured by taping, gluing or surgery, would their pups still have soft ears too? just a bit confused on what to expect from our pups. Please, any info or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

They could all have soft ears or some or none. It is genetic

If you plan on breeding again please stick around and learn more.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

soft ears are very genetic.....I doubt that you will get strong ears on all the pups.

Lee


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

laddreyn1266 said:


> Please, any info or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks


Get your dogs spayed and neutered and you'll never have to worry about their puppies having soft ears.

If you really want to breed dogs, you'll need to learn how to go about it the right way, with the right dogs, for the right reasons.


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## laddreyn1266 (Jul 26, 2011)

I know i am new to this but what do you mean by the "right reasons"?


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

Someone breeding should do so because they love the breed. They want to produce quality dogs that maintain the breed.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Soft ears are genetic.

For being a working dog, a companion/pet, or a performance (dog sport), it should not matter that the ears flop down. However, people really, REALLY care about the ears going up. I think that you should learn how to properly help ears stand (for the pup owners you will find), and not breed her again. 

Stick around and learn what goes into breeding GSDs there is a lot to it, really, if you want to do it right. 

Welcome to the board.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

laddreyn1266 said:


> I know i am new to this but what do you mean by the "right reasons"?


Well, what was the reason you bred your dogs?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Freestep said:


> Well, what was the reason you bred your dogs?


Does it really matter what her reason is? IF she sticks around until next year, maybe she will learn and work toward what she wants to do. But the pups are here, it is a little late to ask why and what all qualifications the dog has. It will just start another huge hen party.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

selzer said:


> Does it really matter what her reason is? IF she sticks around until next year, maybe she will learn and work toward what she wants to do. But the pups are here, it is a little late to ask why and what all qualifications the dog has. It will just start another huge hen party.


She asked.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Yes, there is a strong genetic component to soft ears, so there is a good chance that at least some of her puppies will have them. The fact that it is genetic does not mean that 100% of them will have soft ears, just like eye color is genetic but not all siblings have the same eye color. The standard specifically calls for erect ears, so dogs with soft ears should not be bred. You may be able to tape a dog's ears to make them stand, but if their ears are genetically soft this will still be passed on to their puppies. Acquired traits are not passed down. It's like if you dyed your hair green and then had a baby. Your baby would not have green hair. If you lost your hand in an accident, your children would still be born with both hands. In the same way, a soft-eared dogs will likely have soft-eared puppies, even if the ears are fixed with tape.


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