# The ears does matter



## Ken (Mar 30, 2010)

At four months GS ears not standing, does that mean they are not going to stand. What to do?


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## chicagojosh (Jun 22, 2010)

don't worry yet. do you know if he/she is done teething? they wont stay up until after the teething process


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## ba1614 (Feb 17, 2010)

My girls didn't stand for good until 6 1/2 months. From about 4months until then they alternated up and down.

I was a wreck worrying about it too, but in the end it was all for nothing.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Hondo's didn't stand till he was nine months.


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## mazza (Jun 11, 2010)

My Vinnie is 100% German Shepherd and an ex police dog he is now 11 years old and his ears have never stood up that's just the way he is and I wouldn't have even contemplated "messing" with them i.e. cropping which is illegal in England anyway I am happy to say


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

mazza said:


> My Vinnie is 100% German Shepherd and an ex police dog he is now 11 years old and his ears have never stood up that's just the way he is and I wouldn't have even contemplated "messing" with them i.e. cropping which is illegal in England anyway I am happy to say


GSD ears don't get cropped to make them stand. Just taped up for a few weeks.


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## crisp (Jun 23, 2010)

I've had three GSDs in my life and all their ears stood up by 2 months old. chicagojosh mentioned that the ears won't stand up until after the teething process, which is true if all the calcium is being used by the dogs teeth. To offset this give cheese/milk/eggs to your puppy and their ears will stand in no time. I always give little bits of cheese to my pups as treats and their ears have stood up prior to the teething process


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

It depends, have they ever been up?? At 4 months your puppy is most likely to be teething, so it is normal for ears to be down or very soft during that time.
If they have at some point been up, they should go back up. Now if on the other hand they have NEVER been up, then I would worry a little.


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## Whitedog404 (Mar 25, 2010)

I'll add my two cents since my dog's ears never stood up for more than a few minutes at a time, and seldom both at once. I got a bit worried at around 5 months because his teething was nearing the end. So, as I mentioned in an other thread, the woman I got him from said that she would put in forms because it was better to be safe than sorry, and the longer the ears are down, the riskier it could be. Dexter was to keep the forms in for three weeks, then they're out for one week, then back in for three more. Well, this weekend would have been the third week before removing them for one. This morning, one of them pretty much fell out and I didn't want to glue it back since I was to remove them this weekend anyway. Happily, that ear is standing straight up, just like the one with the form -- even when he's sleeping or relaxing. It hasn't drooped once. He has huge ears, so I know they're pretty heavy, but so far, so good. We'll see if it lasts. In about a week, I'll put the forms back in just to make sure I do everything possible. So, this is to say, I'd consider doing something, because it absolutely cannot hurt. And if posting photos didn't seem so convoluted, I'd post some before/after shots.


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## mazza (Jun 11, 2010)

Emoore said:


> GSD ears don't get cropped to make them stand. Just taped up for a few weeks.


 But why would people even do that? its purely cosmetic just like the Dobermans in your country more cosmetics


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

Teething absoutley affects them. My policy is if they are not up by 5 months I tape/put forms in. It is possible they could still go up on their own but it's also possible they might not and if they aren't going to go up on their own, 5 months is about the latest you can wait to help them along and be successful.


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## Mike K (Jul 18, 2010)

My Hunter had ears up in the end of his 13th week or the start of the 14th week.


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## kaiservbismarck (Aug 24, 2009)

Kaiser's ears have never gone up!! he's a year and 5 months...we have taped and glued a few different times starting at 4 months to no avail. it used to be a big deal to me but now...meh, it doesn't matter.


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## frillint1 (Sep 2, 2010)

I hope my pups ears stand! Hopefull the parents have a perfect ear set to.


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## Rosa (Sep 18, 2010)

My white puppies were down when i first got him a 6 weeks at about 8 one ear was up and the other was down, finally the two went up together at 10 weeks but they were angled that the tops were touching each other, it's only in the last week at 15 weeks that they are standing properly.

My black german shepherd was 8 weeks when i got him and the ears were standing up i've noticed this week they have started to go back down...From what i'm reading online it isn't much to worry about at this stage.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Uschi's went up and down, one went sideways and for a week she looked like she was signaling a left turn! Part of the fun of owning a gsd


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

Zoe's were always up from a very young age, but her brother's flipped and flopped around until he was 7 months old....it was cute.

It is definitely cosmetic, but taping is not painful for the dog if it comes down to that


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

mazza said:


> But why would people even do that? its purely cosmetic just like the Dobermans in your country more cosmetics



The same reason women wear makeup, men shave their faces, and people buy BMW's when a Honda would work just as well? 

Cropping a doberman's ears is surgery and not something I would do for cosmetics, but taping a GSD's ears isn't painful at all. My Cashdog had floppy ears and I wouldn't have changed them for anything, but I can see why people do.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Frodo had one ear up for a little while and then both down. They never stood again. It was hard because he was a dark bi-color. People always asked if he was a lab mix, or what he was mixed with. I had fallen in love with the picture in my mind of a black and tan saddle back dog with pointy ears. It was not what I got. 

Arwen was. And not only was she the beautiful representative of the breed my mind conceived of, she was sweet and compliant, easy to train, knew what I wanted before I asked, and would do anything. Frodo on the other hand was the most stubborn, dominant, aggressive, hard dog I ever laid eyes on. That was not influenced by his ear carriage, but I do not think it helped me to be completely unbiased in my dealings with the two.

Rush was a blanket black and tan, his father being all black. At four months old, he had one ear up and one ear down and looked JUST LIKE FRODO! I took matters into my own hands and taped the ears up with molefoam inserts inside. It worked just that one try at it, and his ears were solid up from then on. He turned out to be good with people and dogs, easy to train, easy to take places, etc. Not that the ears made the difference. 

Bear is six months old. sometimes that ear is down, sometimes it is up. I have seriously considered helping it, but I have confidence that that ear will make it without help. Ears that are large, heavy set, set low, look like hound dog ears, may need the extra help.


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## Uniballer (Mar 12, 2002)

mazza said:


> But why would people even do that?


It started with the breeders (probably in Germany). The standard says the ears must be erect, so you can't get a passing conformation rating with ears that aren't up. I think this is also why, in my experience, the show lines often have larger ears and more trouble having them stand on their own (i.e. they routinely tape/glue/form the ears so the breeding program no longer selects for ears that stand on their own).


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

I have had to help many ears stand. Some from working lines also. 

We got a year old dog left by his owners and they didn't work on getting his ears to stand. Genetically strong ear leather that stands is important. It is important that breeders breed for this, but we all end up dealing with our individual love object dog and usually want erect ears!

Now this boy needs to find another home and he just does not have the regal look he does when his ears are up. I have no problem taping ears and keeping after them until a good stand is established. I've seen enough down ears to not let that happen to someone's dog that they want to look like a German Shepherd. 

My question is not why someone would assist the ears, but why would they not if some help is needed?


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## Baersmama (Jun 15, 2010)

We had a shepherd, Kelsey, whose ears never stood. We tried taping. Someone told us more calcium may help - so we fed her cottage cheese. They always stayed down. We just accepted it. She had floppy ears, but the heart of a shepherd. She was beautiful.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Samba said:


> My question is not why someone would assist the ears, but why would they not if some help is needed?



<-------------------Because it's so darn cute!


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

My girl's ears didn't come up until after she turned 4 months and even then they took turns. By 5 months she looked like a rabbit.


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