# 16 weeks and only one ear up



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

We have a 16 week old registered WGSL that we purchased at 8 weeks old and only one ear is up. The one ear that's up has been up for 2-3 weeks but the only we have only seen the other one up a couple times and that was for a minute or less. We spoke to vet and she said it will likely be up as there is no damage seen but she will glue it at 20 weeks if it's still down. 

Both parents, grand parents, great grand parents, etc... have strong ears so I know it's not genetic. He has plenty to chew on and we are giving him cottage cheese and premium food. Any thoughts?


----------



## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

If he gets a good quality food he doesn't need cottage cheese. It will throw off the nutritional balance and it also contains a lot of salt. Maybe others can chime in with ideas. Until pups are done teething, the ears can take on many different identities. What does your breeder say?


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

wolfy dog said:


> If he gets a good quality food he doesn't need cottage cheese. It will throw off the nutritional balance and it also contains a lot of salt. Maybe others can chime in with ideas. Until pups are done teething, the ears can take on many different identities. What does your breeder say?


The breeder says wait until teething is done (5-6) months. What is concerning to me is that one ear has been up solid for weeks but the other has only been up 2-3 times for less than a couple of minutes. The vet wants to glue mole skin at 5 months.


----------



## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Chewing is the best thing for helping the ears stand.I laughed at wolfy's comment about identities They normally are up within a week or two after teething is done.If not, let the vet glue.All of my shepherds in the past ears have gone up between 20-24 weeks.


----------



## brookwoodgirl (May 5, 2016)

16 weeks is too early to worry. The bigger the dog, the longer it takes for ears to come up. I know it can be a bit worrisome if one is up and the other is not. I've been there too. But it really is normal, not a defect. Even taking weeks or months while one is up and the other down is really normal. Especially if the ear has come up even for a few moments now and then, that's a very good sign. Give a nice marrowbone for chewing if you want to give the jaw muscles more of a workout, but the best thing to do is take lots of pictures of the adorable one ear up one ear down stage of puppyhood. All too soon they grow up and between one day and the next up the ear will go and you'll wonder why you worried those weeks instead of enjoying the puppy look.


----------



## Casto (Jun 18, 2016)

i JUST went through this... No glue should be needed. I would think. Jupiters Left ear didn"t go up until after 19 weeks or so. NOW, he doesnt look like a puppy anymore. haha I think yall will be fine.


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

He is very big, the vet states that his head is huge and his ear leather is thick.


----------



## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

If he is 8 months old you will be worried about his gaits and clumsiness and possibly brattiness too. It comes with the package.


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

Casto said:


> i JUST went through this... No glue should be needed. I would think. Jupiters Left ear didn"t go up until after 19 weeks or so. NOW, he doesnt look like a puppy anymore. haha I think yall will be fine.


So up until then the other one laid flat the whole time like mine? If so maybe there is hope.


----------



## brookwoodgirl (May 5, 2016)

shep1978 said:


> So up until then the other one laid flat the whole time like mine? If so maybe there is hope.



lots of hope, especially if he is a big boned puppy.


----------



## brookwoodgirl (May 5, 2016)

wolfy dog said:


> If he is 8 months old you will be worried about his gaits and clumsiness and possibly brattiness too. It comes with the package.


heck,mine is 13 weeks and I'm worried about his gaits and clumsiness and even a bit about brattiness  Not *really* worried, but as you say, it's part of the package


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

brookwoodgirl said:


> lots of hope, especially if he is a big boned puppy.



Very big boned.


----------



## TiaMarie (Aug 7, 2016)

Oaks had both ears up for a good two weeks at 12 wks old, at 14 wks they started taking turns flopping again. One day the right, next the left, then both are up, then both are down. I am trying my best not to worry. Although the cat has a fondness of nipping him near and on the ears when they tumble around and people who pet him love the softness of his ears. I never remember an issue with the GSDs I had growing up with their ears and we never minded any special attention to not touching them or anything so I'm going to just wait this teething phase out before I start to worry.


----------



## dranseth (Dec 31, 2015)

With my puppy, it seems as though they want to come up, but then his ears annoy him and he vigorously shakes his head so they fall.


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

Well today they are both down and he is teething hard. The LH side still worries me since it has only been up for a few seconds unlike the RH which was up for weeks but I guess I will have to wait and see if they both end up coming up together now.

He will be 18 weeks old on Monday and the vet wants to post the ears with glue and moleskin at 20 weeks:surprise:


----------



## brookwoodgirl (May 5, 2016)

shep1978 said:


> Well today they are both down and he is teething hard. The LH side still worries me since it has only been up for a few seconds unlike the RH which was up for weeks but I guess I will have to wait and see if they both end up coming up together now.
> 
> He will be 18 weeks old on Monday and the vet wants to post the ears with glue and moleskin at 20 weeks:surprise:


again, if teething it's not uncommon and if they have gone up, it usually means they will.
pics??


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

brookwoodgirl said:


> again, if teething it's not uncommon and if they have gone up, it usually means they will.
> pics??


----------



## brookwoodgirl (May 5, 2016)

he's gorgeous and though I am no expert, I think that ear will go up. I knew a shepherd whose had a broken ear, but it was "broken" on the outside fold. Yours looks like there is lift on the inside, and not a break on the outside. When the inside stiffens, the ear looks like it will go up, no "break".

Have you looked into chews to strengthen the muscle? My teething pup is crazy right now for split elk antlers (split so the marrow is accessible) and I guess it is the esophagus of cows. He likes these better than marrow bones.


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

brookwoodgirl said:


> he's gorgeous and though I am no expert, I think that ear will go up. I knew a shepherd whose had a broken ear, but it was "broken" on the outside fold. Yours looks like there is lift on the inside, and not a break on the outside. When the inside stiffens, the ear looks like it will go up, no "break".
> 
> Have you looked into chews to strengthen the muscle? My teething pup is crazy right now for split elk antlers (split so the marrow is accessible) and I guess it is the esophagus of cows. He likes these better than marrow bones.


We buy him a new knuckle bone weekly and he gets pigskin rolls nightly. He chews so much he has dulled his puppy k9's :grin2:


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

20 weeks is coming up in a few days and the one is back up for the most part but the flat ear is still flat even though there does appears to be some slight raise in the back. He is still teething hard also. 

Think I should still wait it out a few more weeks before taping or gluing?


----------



## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Here are a couple of things you can do to strengthen puppy’s ears.
1. Ear Exercise: Whistle or make a sound that will “perk up” the dogs’ ears. Do this about 30 times per day.
2. Give them large raw (not cooked) real bones: There are 150 muscles in the jaw that when exercised strengthen the ears due to the gnawing, tugging and chewing the bone. Introduce at short intervals as the rich marrow material or bone fragments could cause diarrhea. 
3. Feed one or two skinless chicken necks daily. It has naturally occurring calcium. *DO NOT* use a “Calcium” supplement. 
4. Gently pinch the base of the ears together and massage the base without bending the upper ear.
5. *Unflavored *Gelatin powder: Moisten the kibble with water and sprinkle 1 to 1 ½ Tablespoons on his/her food per feeding. A one ounce box contains 4 envelopes of Gelatin (each packet contains about 2 ½ tsp.). This is found by the “Jello” in the grocery store. It is made from animal collagen. The brand name is Knox Unflavored Gelatin or Great Lakes Unflavored Gelatin. Feed this every day for at least 4-6 weeks. Great Lakes can be bought in larger, cost efficient packages here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005KG7EDU/?tag=viglink20790-20 
6. Make sure that his/her ears are not touching the top of the crate (crate pushes ears down) when sitting or standing.

Moms


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

Momto2GSDs said:


> Here are a couple of things you can do to strengthen puppy’s ears.
> 1. Ear Exercise: Whistle or make a sound that will “perk up” the dogs’ ears. Do this about 30 times per day.
> 2. Give them large raw (not cooked) real bones: There are 150 muscles in the jaw that when exercised strengthen the ears due to the gnawing, tugging and chewing the bone. Introduce at short intervals as the rich marrow material or bone fragments could cause diarrhea.
> 3. Feed one or two skinless chicken necks daily. It has naturally occurring calcium. *DO NOT* use a “Calcium” supplement.
> ...


Seen all of that copied and pasted many times and doing most of it already. It's helpful but I'm curious if I should wait 2-3 more weeks before taping or gluing or do it next week when he turns 20 weeks old. Thanks.


----------



## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

shep1978 said:


> Seen all of that copied and pasted many times and doing most of it already. It's helpful but I'm curious if I should wait 2-3 more weeks before taping or gluing or do it next week when he turns 20 weeks old. Thanks.


I think I taped at about the 18/19 week mark (mine had thin ear leather), but everyone has different views on this subject.


Moms


----------



## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

I don't even think about taping until the 24 week mark.


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> I don't even think about taping until the 24 week mark.


That's not to late?


----------



## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

shep1978 said:


> That's not to late?


IME, that is about the time teething is nearly complete and if the ears aren't up, they should be up real soon. I have had too many dogs have their ears come up after six months without taping.

I have also seen where people have taped prematurely and then they wound up with crooked ears.


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> IME, that is about the time teething is nearly complete and if the ears aren't up, they should be up real soon. I have had too many dogs have their ears come up after six months without taping.
> 
> I have also seen where people have taped prematurely and then they wound up with crooked ears.


Thanks!!


----------



## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

I don't think there's any harm in glueing or taping them now, IMHO.


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

Is it possible that a ear can be to heavy to come up or will it come up regardless as long as genetics aren't an issue?


----------



## Agaribay805 (Jan 7, 2016)

I was worried about my pup's ears when she was 4 months old and they didn't look like they were getting any closer.

~At that point, we started giving her gelatin in her wet food I think 3-4X/week (I forget exactly). 

~She was basically getting a new bully stick every other day for a month. 

~She would get a huge raw bone about 4 times a week. The package said not to give them more than 2 per week but she was a HORRIBLE nipper/chewer and I needed relief.

~We also gave her freeze dried chicken necks. (I've read you are suppose to give it to them raw). 

I think all those things together helped but I believe the chewing helped the most. She felt like chewing more than usual around that time frame, lost and grew in all her incisors, and one ear went up 2 weeks later and by 5 months both were up. Its probably too soon to tape. My friends pup is 8 months old now and they just started taping one ear and it looks like its going to stay up. Give it at least another month or two.


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

I started taping 2 weeks ago at 22 weeks vial the pink foam roller and a light tape. So far it's not helped and the ear only stays up a few hours after the tape is taken off. He has lost most of his baby teeth and the adult K9's have started coming in. He did lose another lower side tooth this morning so maybe there is still hope. 

His other ear is still up and even though it's soft it doesn't go down.


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

Also for those that have taped before how many weeks did it take?


----------



## shep1978 (Aug 22, 2016)

Well he lost another tooth today. Am I jumping the gun on taping?

He was 24 weeks yesterday.


----------

