# Advice please, I am really worried about my 7 month GSD's ears.



## BobbyP (Jan 29, 2015)

A month and a half ago his ears stood up. Now they're down again and they look like Yoda ears. I clean his ears at least once a week, but it seems like he itches a lot these past few weeks. I am going to try and get him in the vet, but I feel like I am dragging him into the vet all the time for every little thing. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. This one with his ears down was taken this morning, the other one was taken a month and a half ago. I believe he just finished teething a few weeks ago. I give him plenty of things to chew on and I feed him Fromm Large Breed Puppy.


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## Ace GSD (May 30, 2014)

if it went up once it will go back up no worries. i have a softie ear too


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## SkoobyDoo (Oct 7, 2014)

Does he have them always like that or only when you take his pic? My dogs don't like their pics taken so I often get them with their ears back or down!
If they are always like that you may have an ear infection going on!
Do they smell odd to you? Are they really dirty and that's why you clean them? Some of my dogs never have had their ears cleaned, there is no need of it, unless there is dirt or a lot of wax in them!
An overabundance of wax means something's going on, too, hope that helps!


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## BobbyP (Jan 29, 2015)

SkoobyDoo said:


> Does he have them always like that or only when you take his pic? My dogs don't like their pics taken so I often get them with their ears back or down!
> If they are always like that you may have an ear infection going on!
> Do they smell odd to you? Are they really dirty and that's why you clean them? Some of my dogs never have had their ears cleaned, there is no need of it, unless there is dirt or a lot of wax in them!
> An overabundance of wax means something's going on, too, hope that helps!


His ears seem like they stand up sometimes, like last night I took him for a walk and they stood up when he heard something, but not as good as they did a month ago. I smelled them and they don't smell that bad. I cleaned them because my vet recommended that I do. He told me that shepherds should have their ears cleaned once a week.


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## amburger16 (May 22, 2015)

I don't think they need to have their ears cleaned once a week.. Never heard that before.. Should only be cleaned if they are excessively dirty. Have the vet take a sample for culture and see if there is an infection. Other then that, if they stood up before they will go back up.


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## BobbyP (Jan 29, 2015)

amburger16 said:


> I don't think they need to have their ears cleaned once a week.. Never heard that before.. Should only be cleaned if they are excessively dirty. Have the vet take a sample for culture and see if there is an infection. Other then that, if they stood up before they will go back up.


I hope so, because I am reading on some sites(which I know the internet is not always right) that if they are not sticking up by 7 months, I should consider taping them.


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## SkoobyDoo (Oct 7, 2014)

No, cleaning them once a week isn't needed, and can throw the balance of the skin inside off, and make them more prone to infection!


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## BobbyP (Jan 29, 2015)

SkoobyDoo said:


> No, cleaning them once a week isn't needed, and can throw the balance of the skin inside off, and make them more prone to infection!


My vet told me I need to clean them once a week. So I was going by what he said.


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## BobbyP (Jan 29, 2015)

So, I took Diesel to the vet last night and he has an ear infection. I wonder if this is why his ears look floppy. I brought him to work and people are noticing his ears look different from last week. Can an ear infection cause his ears to temporarily flop? I am hoping his ears are sticking out maybe because they are sore. When he is alert they will stick up, so maybe it's not permanent. Has anyone had their dog get temporary Yoda ears with an ear infection?


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## J-Boo (Mar 5, 2015)

The books on GSDs I have read, like general info on the breed, all say to clean the ears once a week.

That being said...I don't, lol. She's been to the groomer a few times for puppy baths and they clean them there. Otherwise, I just periodically peek in there to make sure I don't see any obvious problems.

As far as an ear infection causing them to flop again, I'm really not sure, sorry!


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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

In the picture where the ears are down, they don't looked like they've "flopped" to me. They look like the dog is holding them down and if there is an infection, they probably hurt and he is holding them down as a result. 
Stop worrying and let the infection clear up. If they were up once, I think they will go up again. They aren't creased and flopping. 
I also would stop cleaning the ears. My dog is 3 yrs old and I've cleaned them once when I thought they were abit dirty.


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## SkoobyDoo (Oct 7, 2014)

What are you using to clean them?
You have simply got to stop cleaning them so much. You're stripping away the natural protective oils and waxes of the ear and making them prone to infection.


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