# Think Lena's ears are done :(



## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

Pretty sure Lena's ears are done now, and they are not a hard set. I kinda anticipated on this happening due to the well documented info about some of the SL ears (I know it's a generalization only though). I feel like I should have done more to help them go up. We are going to give a go on a recommendation I saw on here for these soft ear form supports. I think part of the problem is that she is a bit submissive still just around my husband. So she tends to keep her ears pinned back even though he is incredibly sweet to her (he has been making sure to not encourage the behavior, but then again, I am not always there to make sure of this). What's funny is when she is playing, they are 95% of the time standing up at attention. They are just so huge compared to Della who had much smaller ears then Lena. Oh well, giving it a go and seeing where this leads. I am more concerned on having the ear be up not for looks, but because of cleanliness. I noticed the droopier ear tends to get dirty while the other does not. Hoping that this will at least give her enough set so that the ear can properly ventilate...


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

How old is she?

Have you started to glue the inserts in already?

My male's ears never stood until he was around 8 months - he was not necessarily submissive, but quite a few puppies in the litter carried them that way, so they took longer to stand. All did stand tho. He does not have overly large ears either.

I didn't glue them, but just could tell from how all over the place they were that they would stand.

My current male (son to my male) has crazy big ears that have not stayed in one formation for more than a day at a time - they are all over the place. However, they have stood before, so once he is done teething, I am sure they will stand again.

Sounds like your girls ears stand every now and then, just not for a long period. Taping them would definitely help, but I wouldn't go there unless she is done teething - there is just no point before then.


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## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

N Smith said:


> How old is she?
> 
> Have you started to glue the inserts in already?
> 
> ...


Lena is just a week over 7 months...I know some have said that it can take up to 9. I believe she is done teething she is definitely a lot less mouthy now and it appears all her adult teeth are in. I haven't done the inserts yet, going to give it a go over the weekend to see how it goes.


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## Pretzels (Aug 11, 2014)

I would they ear the ear forms from Redline K9. I tried so many things with my pup and those have been by far the easiest, best looking, and most effective of anything I tried.

There is still hope! With the help of these forms, one of my pup's ears went up for good at about 8.5 months (he's 11 months now).

The other is still up and down, when we have days that we are indoors more, it starts to flop. He is over 70 lbs and is still growing noticeably, especially this last month. I honestly think there is still hope even for the floppier one ( its up when he is outside and alert, down when he is indoors and lazy), I've been lazy about gluing it lately (for the last month) and i think I will glue it back up today for another 2-3 weeks to give it one more chance.  

I say don't give up yet!  I noticed a big change in the one ear that went up from 7-8 months.


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

Girl_Loves_Hydraulics said:


> Lena is just a week over 7 months...I know some have said that it can take up to 9. I believe she is done teething she is definitely a lot less mouthy now and it appears all her adult teeth are in. I haven't done the inserts yet, going to give it a go over the weekend to see how it goes.


It definitely wouldn't hurt to start taping them now, I would do one week of taping, changing the fixture every 3 days. 1 day of rest between each week (so nothing on the ears).

Do that for a minimum of 4 weeks, then re-evaluate.

Good luck


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## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

I think that sounds reasonable N Smith...I figured I'd give it a go and see how it all goes...My vet told me not to even bother since she said the cartilage is probably damaged or something and it's of no use. I am inclined to give it a try anyway, as a few people shared stories of their GSD's ears going up around 9 or 10 months. Worse case scenario, I waste my money on the $28.00 I'm going to pay for the supports and the glue right? LOL


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

Girl_Loves_Hydraulics said:


> I think that sounds reasonable N Smith...I figured I'd give it a go and see how it all goes...My vet told me not to even bother since she said the cartilage is probably damaged or something and it's of no use. I am inclined to give it a try anyway, as a few people shared stories of their GSD's ears going up around 9 or 10 months. Worse case scenario, I waste my money on the $28.00 I'm going to pay for the supports and the glue right? LOL


There never a reason not to at least try - like you said, if it doesn't work, not like you went bankrupt trying to get them to stand.

I have a friend who got a bullmastiff back at 18 months from her litter, pet home never taped the bitches ears (most don't). She wanted to show her, so she thought, whatever, worth a shot. Taped for 8 weeks (1 day of rest between each week). Never guess, at 18 months, the dogs ears retrained themselves, so there is ALWAYS a reason to try!


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## Debanneball (Aug 28, 2014)

Girl_Loves_Hydraulics said:


> I think that sounds reasonable N Smith...I figured I'd give it a go and see how it all goes...My vet told me not to even bother since she said the cartilage is probably damaged or something and it's of no use. I am inclined to give it a try anyway, as a few people shared stories of their GSD's ears going up around 9 or 10 months. Worse case scenario, I waste my money on the $28.00 I'm going to pay for the supports and the glue right? LOL


Who knows, Lena may surprise you, her ears may stand by themselves, after all, she is one smart cookie! My first post was one about ears, and someone told me to use glue..I honestly thought they were kidding me...


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## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

Debanneball said:


> Who knows, Lena may surprise you, her ears may stand by themselves, after all, she is one smart cookie! My first post was one about ears, and someone told me to use glue..I honestly thought they were kidding me...


LOL she is a smart cookie...I've definitely under estimated her that's for sure. But I've raised my standards now, I am just waiting for her to start picking up her own poop now that would be amazing!


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## Debanneball (Aug 28, 2014)

Girl_Loves_Hydraulics said:


> LOL she is a smart cookie...I've definitely under estimated her that's for sure. But I've raised my standards now, I am just waiting for her to start picking up her own poop now that would be amazing!


 Once you figure out how to teach her that, send me the instructions. At 4-1/2 months, Fritz has cow dumps!


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## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

Well, I guess Lena is a late bloomer because just within this last week (I never did tape her ears, figured it is what it is), and now we have upright ears. I have elevated her playtime some more because it seems that the more play/work I do with her, the more her ears are held upright. Will post pics once I can get her still long enough, but I think we possibly have lift off! Maybe someone can correct me on this, but it seems to me her ears being upright are being compromised by her carriage more than the ears themselves. I don't know if she's just lazy, or she just prefers to carry her ears in that position. I'm happy though, her ears have noticeably started being more clean now that they are staying up more often.


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## MiaMoo (Apr 6, 2013)

Mia's ears didn't come completely up until around 11 months old, so it's not always a done deal when they get a bit older!


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## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

MiaMoo said:


> Mia's ears didn't come completely up until around 11 months old, so it's not always a done deal when they get a bit older!


Yep Lena is going to be 8 months I believe at the end of this month (she was whelped in April). Thank goodness they are coming up because one of her ears gets super dirty for some reason lol...


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## Thewretched (Jan 1, 2014)

I've seen ears come up at 1.5 years, especially bigger black and tans


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## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

Thewretched said:


> I've seen ears come up at 1.5 years, especially bigger black and tans


Funny you mentioned that, because for whatever reason, I was thinking out of my 2 girls, Lena is on a slower growth scale overall. She is the larger out of the 2, and was wondering if this was a factor due to her lines or her size. Della's ears were very small and already erect. Lena definitely has larger ears and they are incredibly soft. Lena's sire was showlines black/red at 115 lbs. Her mother was WL and was about 75 lbs. Lena as of 1 week ago was 71.2


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## Thewretched (Jan 1, 2014)

I really just suggest putting forms in and leaving them in long as possible, just to give them some help, and give an antler to chew on


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## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

Going to give it a try...Last time I tried to tape her ears, she was having none of it even with a high reward treat! Hopefully all goes well...BTW TheWretched, this is going to determine how our friendship goes. Are you Bama or Auburn? 
ROLLL TIDEEEEE


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## Thewretched (Jan 1, 2014)

The ear forms seem to work the best, with tear mender as the holder, under 30 bucks on Amazon.

And honestly not a big sports fan at all. 

My parents were from Germany, so I didn't grow up with it. Being in Birmingham, I'm sort of an hour away from both auburn and Alabama.. But to give you an answer. Roll tide I guess? Auburn sucks besides their veterinary section. Which is amazing


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## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

Thewretched said:


> The ear forms seem to work the best, with tear mender as the holder, under 30 bucks on Amazon.
> 
> And honestly not a big sports fan at all.
> 
> My parents were from Germany, so I didn't grow up with it. Being in Birmingham, I'm sort of an hour away from both auburn and Alabama.. But to give you an answer. Roll tide I guess? Auburn sucks besides their veterinary section. Which is amazing


Well hey I know who I'm asking when I go to Germany to talk to Audi, VW, and BMW where all the good food is lol!

It's ok, you don't have to pick a side. I'm not a sports "fan" either, but I do like Bama


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## Thewretched (Jan 1, 2014)

Trying to sell something when you go over there? 

There is no bad food in Germany! As long as you like meat and sweets. And allspice


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## Girl_Loves_Hydraulics (Apr 13, 2014)

Thewretched said:


> Trying to sell something when you go over there?
> 
> There is no bad food in Germany! As long as you like meat and sweets. And allspice


Of course I am! Those car companies need my systems to dispense gasoline or D.E.F. in (I think they call it AdBlue in Europe?). But we are working on establishing someone in Germany that can be on call for service. So it's in the process. And great because I like my meats and sweets!


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## Thewretched (Jan 1, 2014)

That sounds like a great deal of fun


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