# Is bad ear cartilage genetic?



## RogueRed26 (Jul 15, 2010)

A friend of mine lost his childhood companion, Cora, 16 year old Dalmatian, to old age about a month ago. It has been quite lonesome at his house, so he began the search for a new companion friend to add to the family. He is very interested in acquiring a German shepherd, since he fell in love with Texas. 

So, his first instinct was to head to a shelter. He tried adopting from two shelters, but their dogs were in poor conditions (severe dental decay, their gums were bleeding) and the others were cat aggressive (he owns an indoor cat). Also, he was denied the chance to adopt since his animals (a poodle, cat, and the dalmatian) were taken to a veterinarian in Mexico. We have had some issues where we live with veterinarians who are only money hungry and have put our pets in danger to just get an extra buck, so he stopped giving them service and found a straight forward and caring vet in Mexico, who has been treating his pets for 5 years (I still hop around from vet to vet for different things). No shelter will approve him; he even offered to bring all their files and paperwork in and they said no. He even wrote a three page essay explaining why he would be a good candidate for adopting a pet and that he would even resort to taking his pets back to the U.S. if given the opportunity, but they said No. 

My friend is VERY dedicated to his pets (everyone is up to date on shots, spayed, have teeth cleanings, on heartworm meds, frontline meds, vitamins, fed Bil Jac, and supplements for arthritis to aid with aging - those were for the Dalmatian). When he gets his puppy, he plans to spay her immediately, he does not intend to breed AT ALL. He just wants a companion and hiking and jogging buddy for the nature hikes near his house.

Now, he has been looking into breeders, but their prices are out of his range. He found a local breeder, not gonna lie a BYB. I went with him to see the puppy and it was GORGEOUS! *She was healthy, big, and bright sable female. Though, her ears were floppy. I mean completely down, like a Labrador. I asked to see the parents and the father's ears were bended at the tips. This screamed RED FLAG! *I told my friend to think about it. When we left, I told him that it looked like there is some bad cartilage in the family and there is a possibility the ears might not come up at all. 

He knows that I love to come to this forum. We even read a few threads about ears, but he really wanted to ask a question regarding the genetics of it all. I told him I could tell him what everyone is gonna say, but he wanted to see the responses.*The puppy is 3 1/2 months old and her ears felt extremely soft and loose. In the pictures, she is 3 months old (you can see one ear is up, but then when we saw her, they were ALL down). *

*WE decided NO on the puppy*, but he wants to know if this condition could be genetic? Is it natural / common to have a shepherd's ears never come up? Could two shepherds with good ears produce a puppy with bad ears?


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Yes, it's genetic. They're often referred to as 'soft ears.' A lot of times, the ears need to be taped, and sometimes, even after taping, the ears won't always stand fully erect. More often than not, you can tell when a dog's ears have been taped. (They usually have a certain shape to them). Chances are, the pup is going to have soft ears and she will either have soft ears or floppy ears.


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## RogueRed26 (Jul 15, 2010)

I don't understand why people would continue to breed a dog that had this condition. The selfishness and greediness of the BYB.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

RogueRed26 said:


> I don't understand why people would continue to breed a dog that had this condition. *The selfishness and greediness of the BYB.*


You just answered your own question. 

Unfortunately, it'll never stop.  

I'm glad that your friend said no, though. I know it's hard to turn down a cute face.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

I agree that soft ears are genetic. 

Has your friend looked into a rescue? If he did and the rescues and the shelters are both refusing to adopt to him, it makes me think there's more to the story than just the mexican vet.


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## RogueRed26 (Jul 15, 2010)

No, not really. We looked into the Texas law for any stipulations or regulations for adopting out pets and why that standard would deem him a responsible pet owner or not. Though, there are no stipulations that say his pets must be vaccinated and seen by a U.S. vet, though, any rescue or shelter has the right to create a list of set specifications. If the person does not meet them, then he cannot adopt. The main reason is that in Mexico, right now, everything is corrupt and there are people who can falsify paperwork, thus denying his vaccines as legit even though they were given. The shelter said they would allow him only if he re vaccinated all his pets with a U.S. vet and provided proof. But he is not about to re vaccinate everyone and possibly compromise their immune system. First priority is the pets he owns right now. If need be, he will have to wait another year to do so.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I think shelters need to cool it. If they want to adopt their animals out, then they need to find the legitimate people, like your friend seems to be. You don't need a yard to be a good dog owner. You don't have to go to a vet to have your dogs vaccinated to be a good dog owner. You don't even have to be over 18 to be a good dog owner. 

Just because someone has a big yard, lots of money, they're 35, own a big house, and has their dog vaccinated in the US, does that prove that they're a better dog owner than someone with lesser things? NO. 

I understand they want the best for their animals, but I think they need to have better evaluations and really examine things on a case-by-case basis. Some people are good liars, yes, but I've seen some people who met all of the criteria, and have returned dogs that were on death's doorstep!


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## RogueRed26 (Jul 15, 2010)

Thank you, Konotashi. I agree as well. I really think applications need to be more thought out as well. Simple yes and no questions do not tell you much about a person. I really think letters or essays would be much better or personal interviews, with of course an application sheet filled out as well. Interviews also should be conducted. We even saw some people who seemed unpersonable of being good dog owners. Their request was, "which dog is the meanest and biggest?" He filled out an application, said he had a big yard and vaccinates in U.S., and he walked out with a dog. That honestly infuriated my friend and I, hence the searching for Texas law stipulations for adoptions online.


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## LijhaPup (Jan 9, 2011)

I agree 100% with Konotashi. My wife and I tried to adopt a rescue that looked just like Noni a few months ago and we were denied because we don't have a fenced yard. Hello! We live in a fairly rural part of Alaska, we don't need a fenced yard... My wife was heartbroken because she really wanted that dog to add to our pack. A couple months ago Lijha came into our lives by chance. She was found stray as a four week old puppy and we took her in. She is an awesome puppy and in a way I am grateful we were denied the other dog because we never would have gotten the puppy we were meant to have, but it still hurt that we were thought unworthy to be dog owners. We love our dogs and they get the best vet care available and a lovig home. 

I do have a question, since joining this forum I have learned of the problems created by BYBs but if the OPs friend is just looking for a friend in a dog why turn down that cute puppy just because her ears are floppy? It doesn't make her any less of a dog. It just seems kinda petty to me if that is the only reason to pass. I could see if you wanted a show dog or something... Sorry if this sounds harsh or ignorant. I didn't mean it that way. I don't know if Lijha's ears will stand but I love her the same.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Its not about the dog, but the problem lies in supporting Backyard breeders. If you buy the dog from them, then you are supporting them and they will produce more dogs. Its supply and demand when it comes to pet stores and most irresponsible breeders. If you buy that adorable puppy, you increase the demand and the supply will follow. Then more dogs are brought into this world that shouldn't be, it feeds into the overpopulation problem, the health issues of the dogs because the parents weren't tested... etc.


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## LijhaPup (Jan 9, 2011)

I understand, it's a perfect Catch-22. I feel bad for the puppies caught in the middle.


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## Onyx Dragon (Jan 20, 2011)

RogueRed26 said:


> I don't understand why people would continue to breed a dog that had this condition. The selfishness and greediness of the BYB.


Not all BYBs are like this. Unfortunately it only takes one to ruin it for them all.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Onyx Dragon said:


> Not all BYBs are like this. Unfortunately it only takes one to ruin it for them all.


actually yes, they are by the colloquial definition of BYB.. I think you might be searching for the term Hobby Breeder.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Lin said:


> actually yes, they are by the colloquial definition of BYB.. I think you might be searching for the term Hobby Breeder.


Not all bybs are selfish and greedy. Some of them-- a lot of them actually-- are uneducated people who love their dogs and don't understand the harm they're doing.


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