# should i give up on his ears? or try again



## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

here we go again..My Zeus will be 6 months old next week....his ears never went up on their own and looked as flat as lab ears...tried tape..he took it off..tried foam inserts,sponge rollers,moleskin,breathe right strips but he would scratch nonstop until he got it out.i went back to tear mender glue..it got one ear up..was very happy..i reglued after a few weeks and yay both ears were up..until today!!! now what?? should i just give up?? or should i reglue..please give me honest opinion..i wont be offend..oh and i give him bones to chew daily..and gelatin and cottage cheese too..vet said it looked like he was done teething

pics are pre glue.....after glue...and today


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

It is my completely unprofessional opinion that those ears aren't going to stand. 
They are way too large and floppy to actually be erect, and at 6mos., I think it's a waste of time and energy to keep trying (not to mention, getting his ears all irritated).

The good news is, he's adorable just like he is


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

thank you! i love him no matter what...but if theres a chance i can get them to stand i will..but if not..i will just let it be


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

They may, eventually...but I don't think glue/tape will help, I do think time may be what is needed. 
He'll eventually "grow into" them, whether or not they stand.


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## Jacobs-mommy (Jun 8, 2012)

If i were in your shoes i would just let them be. He obviously doesnt like the stuf u have used to try and get them to stand or he wouldnt scratch trying to get it off. Just my opinion.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

If you really want the ears to stand, I would glue them again. He has huge ears and they need help and more time than a dog with smaller ones. He's only 6 months, so it's not out of the question that you can get them up.


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

Elaine said:


> If you really want the ears to stand, I would glue them again. He has huge ears and they need help and more time than a dog with smaller ones. He's only 6 months, so it's not out of the question that you can get them up.


 thank you! the glue dosent bother him at all...and i was very happy that they did stand up all week. my vet seems to think they havent stood because he is so big and his ears are so large. when do you think it will be time to give up? around what age? i think i will glue again this weekend and see how it goes


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## bocron (Mar 15, 2009)

Based on the second pic, I wouldn't rule out getting those ears up. It all depends on your level of commitment. My males ears were pretty similar to that. I didn't even start taping them until after 6-7 months old, just kept putting it off. Anyway I ended up keeping them taped constantly for at least 3 months. At first I would leave the tape on for about 5-6 days, and when it got ratty I would re-tape. After about the 4-5th week I would leave the tape off for a few hours and then re-tape. For the last 3-4 weeks I only had to do the one ear, and I just did it with mole foam padding and tear mender. Finally I just quit and figured I'd made a good effort and let it be. For the first few weeks after the tape came off that one ear would go down whenever he was in a crate or really tired. Then finally around his first birthday I realized they'd both been up for a week or 2. They've been up ever since.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Did the Vet suggest anything else? It seems like when you regularly used the glue, they started to stand up. I would continue to try a bit longer especially if your dog is on the large side. It couldn't hurt to have him chew. 

Do you know if your dog's ears were overly handled? Our breeder said, "Don't touch those ears!". It will damage the cartilage. And of course for some reason every person who wanted to see our dog when she was a puppy wanted to grab those ears.


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

Gretchen said:


> Did the Vet suggest anything else? It seems like when you regularly used the glue, they started to stand up. I would continue to try a bit longer especially if your dog is on the large side. It couldn't hurt to have him chew.
> 
> Do you know if your dog's ears were overly handled? Our breeder said, "Don't touch those ears!". It will damage the cartilage. And of course for some reason every person who wanted to see our dog when she was a puppy wanted to grab those ears.


 vet said it was up to me to continue with the glue or tape or leave them be..she said shes seen it work and shes seen it not work....i got him at 10 weeks...his ears were never overly handled ..i had read somewhere that some people think that some GSD leave their ears down on purpose to shew they are submissive..at first we thought maybe this was the case as my 9 year old female was bossing him around quite a bit..but now hes bigger than her and things have changed  he gets bones to chew everyday..im starting to think its just because his ears are so big and hes growing so fast...i will keep up with the glue


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Ears down in submission look much different than this.


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

yes def can tell that now..but i meant when he was alot younger like 10-16 weeks...it was like he started to try to get ears up then stopped...the big stinker..we were just outside playing catch and he kept both ears up the whole time! and now that we are back in the house he has one up and one floppy again


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## Gsdxena (Jun 29, 2012)

Do you know if your dog's ears were overly handled? Our breeder said, "Don't touch those ears!". It will damage the cartilage. And of course for some reason every person who wanted to see our dog when she was a puppy wanted to grab those ears.[/QUOTE]

Really. I did not know that I loved stroking my dogs ears because they are so soft! But I will stop so I won't damage them


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## marbury (Apr 3, 2012)

I'd actually like to do an official poll about that exact topic; half the GSD breeders I talk to (and my vet) say "massage those ears!" to get them up, and this forum and the other half of breeders all say "don't touch them!"

Obviously they can't both be right... so which is it?


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

ive heard both too!!! i would love a poll!!!


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## marbury (Apr 3, 2012)

I'm on it! 

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/take-poll/185635-massaging-puppy-ears-yes-no.html


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

You can pet the ears so long as you don't crumple them. That's where the damage happens. So long as you stroke the ears in the normal direction, you are fine.


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## koda00 (Apr 27, 2009)

rooandtree said:


> here we go again..My Zeus will be 6 months old next week....his ears never went up on their own and looked as flat as lab ears...tried tape..he took it off..tried foam inserts,sponge rollers,moleskin,breathe right strips but he would scratch nonstop until he got it out.i went back to tear mender glue..it got one ear up..was very happy..i reglued after a few weeks and yay both ears were up..until today!!! now what?? should i just give up?? or should i reglue..please give me honest opinion..i wont be offend..oh and i give him bones to chew daily..and gelatin and cottage cheese too..vet said it looked like he was done teething
> 
> pics are pre glue.....after glue...and today


If they stayed up, even for a short time, do it again! and again!. it took me quite a few times to get Zorro's ear to stand. When the glue,moleskin,br strips come unglued, redo them right away dont wait.


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## koda00 (Apr 27, 2009)

:thumbup:


Elaine said:


> If you really want the ears to stand, I would glue them again. He has huge ears and they need help and more time than a dog with smaller ones. He's only 6 months, so it's not out of the question that you can get them up.


:thumbup:


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

thank you all!!! i will glue again!! i just want to be able to say i did all i could if that ear dosent stand


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

I'm no expert but I was told by an expert to expect Jas' ears to flop when she started to get her adult teeth. He said the calcium that is holding her ears up would be going to her teeth and once her adult teeth are in ( between 4-8 months ) they would go back up and that's exactly what happened. ( She's a year old now.)


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

Nikitta said:


> I'm no expert but I was told by an expert to expect Jas' ears to flop when she started to get her adult teeth. He said the calcium that is holding her ears up would be going to her teeth and once her adult teeth are in ( between 4-8 months ) they would go back up and that's exactly what happened. ( She's a year old now.)


 you are right..but with Zeus his ears never ever stood on their own..he does have all his adult teeth now the vet checked.After gluing the first time..one ear stayed up....glued the second time and both ears stayed up for about a week...now one is up and one is floopy...ive been told that the general rule is...if they stood up on their own and then flopped they would come back up..but if they had NOT stood on their own they needed help


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

as of today the gule wore off and both ears are up!!!! heres to hoping they stay up!:wub:


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

I would keep gluing just in case.
Mine were on for a few weeks


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

marshies said:


> I would keep gluing just in case.
> Mine were on for a few weeks


 they were glued for 2 weeks...should i reglue right now or wait to see if they flop?


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

rooandtree said:


> they were glued for 2 weeks...should i reglue right now or wait to see if they flop?


I would keep gluing for a bit longer...but I've only done my dog's ears so I'm not sure.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Crossing my fingers for you!


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## RubyTuesday (Jan 20, 2008)

I agree with continuing to glue since it dosn't bother him.

One more suggestion...Another member noticed her pup's ears naturally went up when they played fetch so she played a ton of fetch to further encourage her pup to keep her ears erect. Is that what did it? Perhaps it was, or maybe not, but regardless it's benign & it's a terrific opportunity for bonding & exercising. I absolutely recommend giving it a try.


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## Paips (Jul 21, 2012)

Looks almost the same prob i had. My dogs were perfectly erect from 3 - 7 mos, then started flopping . Her ears are large ,i did the taping with help of breeder but she would find a way to get it off eventually, then the TM glue this was ok for awhile but when she ran the ear movement would shake them loose so now im doing the breathe right strips and no prob. My breeder tells me that keeping them up for 3 mo with any method at my dogs age is essential as even over a yr this prob can be fixed. When her ears were free they would be erect sometimes for days even a wk or so then flop a bit.So im into the three month stage now and we will see.


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## Dakotasmom23 (Jan 11, 2012)

I just wanted to say that your dog's ears at 6 months looked just like my dog's ears did. I started using the breath right strips, then the tear mender glue at 5 months. I'd keep them glued for 2 weeks, and then let them go. Once I noticed they were flopping again, I glued them up again right away. I kept it up until about 8 months. Then we went on vacation and took Dakota with us (and I forgot to bring her ear stuff) and I don't know if she was extra alert in a new environment or it was just time, but her ears were up every since! She's 9 months now and her ears are still soft, but they are up. She's also a pretty large female (78lbs and thick bones) so I'm betting that has something to do with this.


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

we are glueing again...i tried breathe right strips and i also bought the ear forms but neither of those would keep his ear up...so we went back to glue..they are def better than they were and i really think they will end up staying up if i keep with it...he is so big as his ears are too. ANd it seems like he hasnt grown into his skin yet too...im sure this has alot to do with it. But i am determined to do all i can


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## m1953 (May 7, 2012)

Nala is 4 months old and her ears are all over the place. Right ear is up a lot, left only on brief occasions. But like someone above mentioned, whenever we are playing ball they both seem to be up all though the left still flops to the middle of her head. According to my breeder he says not to worry, as Nala will be a large female between 75 and 80 lbs and will take a little longer. Says never had a pup whose ears never stood. I may consider glue around six months if they still look like they aren't getting close.


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## rooandtree (May 13, 2012)

we are getting better and better!! im going to keep up with the glue and i think for sure his ears WILL stand


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## cowgirlteach (Mar 17, 2012)

Yay!!! Glad to hear it...you have worked hard to make them stand.


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