# Ears at 11 weeks!? (No "dancing")



## lokimonster (Mar 8, 2014)

Hi! Ive been lurking around the forums and learning a ton over the last month since I brought my puppy home. And now my ear concerns have finally motivated me to post! lol 

My little guy is 11 weeks old on monday and his ears have been floppy since I got him! I've tried to be patient and look at all the other posts about ears... but most ears seem to have been doing some kind of flopping around or standing up by this age it seems! 
For the last week and a half he has started to lift his ears half way up for a few seconds whenever he stretches of wakes up from a nap, and they get a little lift at the base when he's outside playing... but other than that they are totally flopped. 

I saw a picture of his parents and one of his parents has huge ears that stood a little more than halfway up, but with floppy tips (kinda like a collie). The other parent had huge erect ears. So I know he could have inherited weak ears.

Ive been giving him bully sticks and toys to chew on as well as adding unflavored gelatin and plain yogurt to his food just in case it makes a difference. 

So anyways, just wondering what you all think about his ears, if they will stand with or without help and if anyone else has gone through the same thing! I dont' know why some pics are sideways... Sorry


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Great looking pup...

At 11 weeks I would not be concerned...I am certain most of my shep's ears at that age were not standing but I have seen some that have been and even earlier but never mine. A passage from a previous post in the ears section...many many posts in there if you should choose to look...."Between the 5th and 7th month the ear cartilage is still soft enough to encourage the ear into an upright position...."

If it gets to a certain point where you decide to be proactive i.e. taping etc. I had great success with ear forms which are made explicitly for GSDs. Here's a link to the product...if you hunt around you can probably find them cheaper. Ear Supports - $21.99 : Dog Equipment, Police Dog, Schutzhund, Service Dog, Dog Agility I believe I just used Tear Mender glue to keep them in place.

As far as supplementing a young pup with higher amounts of calcium for promoting the cartilage in the ears, you might read up on it as too much calcium can be somewhat problematic in the young pup's development..i.e. bone spurs etc. I believe I have read the addition of small amounts of vitamin C with the additional calcium keeps the calcium "moving" along in order to prevent problems from an excess of calcium. I have only read this, regarding too much calcium and do not know if it is factual...I assume your vet would be able to guide you on this topic.

I have also read and witnessed this myself with my 3 GSds over the years...IF at any time the pup's ears do come up for short bits the likelihood of the pup's ears standing properly is quite certain. So, since you have seen them up for a short bit at times, that is a good sign for the future.

Enjoy the pup and take plenty more pictures of those floppy ears because it will be a thing of the past before much longer.

SuperG


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

Kaleb's ears were up and stayed up when I got him. He was three months old. 

Riley had really thick, sturdy ears. They took a while to come up. They started coming up when he was around 4 months. I know they were all they way up when he was 6 months.


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## mydogs (May 4, 2012)

Over 5 months my pups stood up. You have a ways to go. I add Knox gelatin in the orange white box to each meal about a tablespoon. And plain Greek yogurt. Helped for me 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## A girl and her dog (Jan 25, 2014)

Nonny is about 3 months old and his aren't up yet. They're sort of half way up and have been like that for the last few weeks. He's a mix, and I have no idea with what, so I don't know if they're going to come up or not. My other dog is a Chi/Pomeranian and his weren't fully up until he was close to six months. I mention him b/c he's an erect-ear breed as well. Your pup is beautiful though.


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