# Why do people care if.....



## Maik (Sep 24, 2012)

Either or both ears don't stand up? Unless you plan to show the dog, who cares?
I see the lengths some folks go through, and I can't help wonder why are they so concerned as to glue or ate them up?


----------



## mandiah89 (Jan 18, 2013)

Well I cant speak for everyone else but GSD's are supposed to have erect ears, and when they dont I personally dont like the look of it and would go to any length to make sure they went up, if they didnt doesnt mean I wouldnt love the dog less but I like the look, and then you always would get " oh he/she isn't pure because the ears are not standing"... So yea, I like the look makes them look even more regal


----------



## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

I'm going to be completely honest, I do care. For me it completes the look of a GSD. If my boys ears didn't go up I would have been disappointed but would love him all the same. He's a companion & I do not show him.

For those that can help the ears stand with product, more power to them. Some have soft ears & nothing can be done.


----------



## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I hope I don't have issues with my future GSD's ears going up, but I think they're prettier with erect ears. They're cuter with soft ears, but I'm not getting a GSD to be cute. That's why I have a Pom.


----------



## Maik (Sep 24, 2012)

I bring this up because one of my two pups has floppy ears. He is only 15 weeks, so there is plenty of time. His half sister has had her ears up since the day we brought her home....she is 8 months old. If my boys ears don't go up, I could not care less...I simply do not care what others think.


----------



## Zookeep (May 17, 2012)

Personally, I prefer the one ear up and one ear down look.


----------



## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

We have the half soft ear..sometime up all the way..sometimes halfway down..


----------



## CurvyOne (Dec 21, 2012)

I wouldnt do anything inhumane or anything that could possibly damage the ears. But I would try a few things to help them stand up if they were struggling. The look of the GSD is part of the reason I chose him. Of course temperament and personality are most important, but I love how regal GSDs look and the ears contribute to that. Personally I'm not that into the floppy eared look. I couldnt WAIT until Huter's ears stood, and I'm ecstatic now that they are up. 
I do not show him, and of course I would love him no less if he had floppy ears. But hoping for erect ears is absolutely no different then looking for a certain "type" of gsd or any other dog. Some people like long haired GSDs, some like short. Some people like black labs over yellow labs. Its just preference. We all love our dogs most for whats on the inside


----------



## DaniFani (Jan 24, 2013)

I used to not understand why people cared....then I got my gsd...and I LOVE his ears. I wouldn't love him any less with floppy ears, but those erect, at-attention-ears, are one of my favorite things about the GSD. I would have been sad if they didn't go up, and I would have gone to lengths to get them up.


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

The GSD is supposed to have erect ears. I like the look of the dog. They're serious dogs. Erect earred dogs arent generally deceptive to the public or other dogs. Look at the doberman for example. They're guard dog types. You see one with natural ears and likely think "oh how cute!". See one with cropped ears and the first thought that should run through your mind is something along the lines of "this dog means business". I wouldn't love my dog any less if her ears were soft but I'd be extremely disappointed because if I wanted a floppy earred dog, i'd have gotten a retriever or a hound. 

May sound mean but a soft earred GSD (like a dobie) gives the wrong impression. They're not meant to be cute and cuddley looking, especially not to the random stranger on the street. They mean business. I don't want people getting the impression my dog is there for their enjoyment and floppy earred dogs tend to give off that impression (this excludes the rottweiler). I LIKE the fact my erect earred dog tends to keep people at a distance since I don't have a fondness for people. I like my space and I like the fact that my dog LOOKS intimidating. Nobody needs to know she's really a total lush. Floppy earred dogs don't allow for that.


----------



## TAN+ZAK (Nov 22, 2012)

I was really disapointed at first when ZAKs ears didnt go up,they did all the usual puppy positions and then they just flopped, by then it was to late to help them.When you get used to soft ears they are realy cute ,and no ones ever afraid of him .Just get fed up with people asking what he is cross with(he has never been cross in his life.lol)


----------



## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Well, it's part of the package!

Kind of like, if you really want a banana split, it wouldn't be that without the banana 

Seriously, though, to me, it's part of the expressiveness of the dog. The ears convey a lot about what the dog is feeling, and floppy ones, well, just flop. 
I love the way he turns them toward sounds, pins them back to be petted, pitches them forward when alert.


----------



## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I have never had one with a problem but I think I would be taping them if I did. I think it is part of what makes a GSD look like a GSD.


----------



## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

A GSD is supposed to have erect ears. Some breeds do, some don't. I had an Aussie female once with 'prick' ears. It was a disappointment, but she was what she was. 

My boy has 'soft' ears. They didn't stand until he was nine months old. I tried glueing them, but it didn't work. Then one morning they stood. 

Anytime he isn't feeling good, they'll droop. When he's tired, they'll droop. When he runs, they flop. When the wind blows hard, they blow with the wind. He also has long hair. He also has a faded saddle. He also has a semi gay tail. 

He isn't standard. He is the only pup out of the few litters the bitch had that wasn't standard. The only pup that had long hair. It was just the luck of the draw. 

But, he has the heart of a GSD. He has the loyalty of a GSD. I am his total world. His eyes say "I am a GSD. This is my family. I will die for them." Because of this I say, "He is my GSD. He is my family. I will die for him."


----------



## Rangers-mom (Jan 28, 2013)

Well, we are a little different because we just kind of ended up with a purebred 7 week old GSD without knowing much about how the breed was supposed to look. We thought the floppy ears were adorable and we were hoping that they would not stand up. Besides thinking it was cute we figured less people would be afraid of Ranger. Much to our chagrin those ears were up within about a month. 

I also have an Aussie and I absolutely hate that his tail was docked. (We got him at 5 yo so we didn't have any say in the matter). I would love him to have a tail. Once again it is partly because without a tail wagging he sometimes scares people. I must admit that I prefer Aussies and BC's with floppy ears, but I can't imagine that I wouldn't grow to like the prick ears just like I have grown to like Ranger's prick ears.

I can completely understand where the op is coming from as I was really surprised to see how many people on this board were really stressing over ears. Still, as long as they are not hurting the dog by taping the ears I really don't have a problem with it. Now tail docking, that is another story, totally barbaric. I wish aussie breeders would stop docking tails.


----------



## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

It's a disqualifying fault in a German Shepherd and not what I would want. I would love my dog regardless, but I would be disappointed.


----------



## Rangers-mom (Jan 28, 2013)

Sort of a side question - how common is it for GSD's to have floppy ears? I ask because I have seen a lot of GSD's that were born into the Seeing Eye breeding program and I have never seen one with floppy ears. And I am sure that none of the Seeing Eye puppy raising families are taping or glueing the dogs' ears. That is part of why I was so surprised to see so many people on this board with floppy eared GSD's.


----------



## RiverDan (Mar 22, 2013)

Just my experience.
Baron is just over three months now. His ears have been all over the place since we got him. Left, right, half..etc. Then his right went up about a week ago, and we said we'd be ok with one up. His left went up three days ago. We are so happy they are both up.


----------



## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

Dunno if anyone suggested this but I've read that GSDs with floppy ears are more prone to ear infections and other ear problems...


----------



## sparra (Jun 27, 2011)

KZoppa said:


> Look at the doberman for example. They're guard dog types. You see one with natural ears and likely think "oh how cute!". See one with cropped ears and the first thought that should run through your mind is something along the lines of "this dog means business".


Only because we have been conditioned to view them that way......long ago someone decided that they looked "meaner" with their ears cropped so now it is viewed as "cute" in their "natural" state......don't see Rotts with their ears cropped and taped to stand yet somehow they are still viewed as a dog that means business. 
We are a fickle lot us humans.....in one case we do all we can to have the ears stand as they are *supposed* to do (in the GSD case) yet in another we do all we can to prevent them doing what they are *supposed* to do.....


----------



## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

Same kind of thing how docking is not legal here Sparra 

I will admit I was so upset when Molly's ears did not stand. Now I think her soft ears suit her but I was also so relieved that Coopers ears are perfectly normal!


----------

