# What could cause floppy ears?



## AceOfSpadez (Feb 25, 2021)

Ok, so my German shepherd is supposedly purebred, which most people I’ve asked think he is too, including vets. He also has a pedigree paper to back up his purebred blood line, and AKC registered. I have began questioning if he is based off of his ears. He was the biggest in the litter and has the biggest ears in the litter, so maybe that could be a cause for late bloomer in the ears. Or maybe he has cartilage damage? They haven’t popped up at all. Please let me know what y’all think.


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

He's a baby and a handsome one at that. Ears will stand when they are ready. Some stand at a young age, some take as long as a year. Even if they were up now it doesn't mean that they will stay that way. 

Puppy ears are all over the place for months. Be patient and give your pup lots of good and healthy things to chew on. And stop worrying about ears. Concentrate on house training and building a bond with him. Most of all, make his life with you fun and loving.


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## pfeller (Sep 10, 2019)

My baby moose is 100% GSD, backed up with DNA testing. He is now nearly 2.5 yrs old. His ears never quite made it up. They tried, did the usual weird puppy ears. And still occasionally one or the other may stand up for a minute. But mostly, he just has broke ears. 
He is still my heart. I still have to answer the common refrain of what's he mixed with. But he is the standard derpy GSD that love's me no end.


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## NadDog24 (May 14, 2020)

There's still plenty of time for those ears to go up just give him time.


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## Catrinka (Aug 6, 2020)

Who needs erect ears when you can sport a sparkly bow on top of your head! 😆 
He's a handsome boy.


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## AceOfSpadez (Feb 25, 2021)

Pawsed said:


> He's a baby and a handsome one at that. Ears will stand when they are ready. Some stand at a young age, some take as long as a year. Even if they were up now it doesn't mean that they will stay that way.
> 
> Puppy ears are all over the place for months. Be patient and give your pup lots of good and healthy things to chew on. And stop worrying about ears. Concentrate on house training and building a bond with him. Most of all, make his life with you fun and loving.


Yeah I’ve been training him, he learns really easily. He’s potty trained but has a weak bladder. He knows some tricks and has been off leash trained since 10 weeks


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

Come back in 6 months.
It can take a year and big ears take longer.
Ears up at that age is in the minority


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## AceOfSpadez (Feb 25, 2021)

WNGD said:


> Come back in 6 months.
> It can take a year and big ears take longer.
> Ears up at that age is in the minority


Do you think I should resort to taping ears at 6 months of age?


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

No. I'm not a fan of taping ears. There is no way to know if it actually helps, but there is evidence that it can damage the ears so they never stand. Just be patient and leave them alone. They will come up when they are ready.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

AceOfSpadez said:


> Do you think I should resort to taping ears at 6 months of age?


I wouldn't personally. At this age there's still a great chance they strand on their own
I had a female GSD with a floppy ear a few dogs ago. Didn't bother me (or her) she was fantastic.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

pfeller said:


> My baby moose is 100% GSD, backed up with DNA testing. He is now nearly 2.5 yrs old. His ears never quite made it up. They tried, did the usual weird puppy ears. And still occasionally one or the other may stand up for a minute. But mostly, he just has broke ears.
> He is still my heart. I still have to answer the common refrain of what's he mixed with. But he is the standard derpy GSD that love's me no end.
> 
> View attachment 569952


I absolutely adore Moose, and his derpy ears! You should post more often and add pics!

OP if your pups ears are meant to stand they will, either way he is a cutie.


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## AceOfSpadez (Feb 25, 2021)

WNGD said:


> I wouldn't personally. At this age there's still a great chance they strand on their own
> I had a female GSD with a floppy ear a few dogs ago. Didn't bother me (or her) she was fantastic.


I know, the vet said I should start worrying at 6 months if he shows 0 signs of popping up. Even temporarily. It says German shepherds are prone to ear infections more if they have floppy ears


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## pfeller (Sep 10, 2019)

Catrinka said:


> Who needs erect ears when you can sport a sparkly bow on top of your head! 😆
> He's a handsome boy.


That bow stayed up barely long enough to snap the pic.


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## pfeller (Sep 10, 2019)

Sabis mom said:


> I absolutely adore Moose, and his derpy ears! You should post more often and add pics!


Careful what you ask for...  I love my doggos, they are all some degree of GSDs. (maybe, still waiting on the youngest's results) 
I honestly don't know what this covid lock down would have been like without my pack keeping me distracted. 
I may just litter the forum with tons of pics with no particular topic involved.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

AceOfSpadez said:


> I know, the vet said I should start worrying at 6 months if he shows 0 signs of popping up. Even temporarily. It says German shepherds are prone to ear infections more if they have floppy ears


if they show 0 signs of popping up... taping will do absolutely nothing. no one can prove that taping does anything in the first place, but it’s thought to work for dogs ears that have been up and are just struggling a bit to stay there.

any dog with down ears are more prone to ear infections than those with erect ears... but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll have them. feed your dog a good diet, clean their ears with a dog appropriate solution and allow them to dry properly in between wet conditions and water activities.


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## NadDog24 (May 14, 2020)

My dog’s ears didn’t reliably stand for good until nearly 5 months. Give your pup time


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## Asclepius_1999 (Feb 28, 2021)

Hey! I'm new to this forum, so sorry if I miss anything 😅

Here's my GSD (Bruce), at the age of 5 months
















The above two photos were spaced 2 days apart,

Now I'll share a recent one (at the age of 9 - 9 1/2 months)









So, his ears went up fully around the age of 8 months

Don't worry, GSD ears are notorious for their "dance" 😂
If you've seen them up, they'll likely stay up.

Anyway,
I would advice against any cosmetic surgery on a pup, as does my vet.

Now I've heard this rumor that cartilaginous food (not supplements) like beef trachea, chicken feet, pork tail might help if they're added to the food or given as treats, but there's no scientific evidence for that.

Personally, 2 boiled eggs a day worked for Bruce (or it was just a coincidence)
I saw the difference in a month, when his ears started going fully up when he was alerted by something.
My advice is to not tape or crop his ears, give them some time to go up.

Hope this helps 🙂


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## AceOfSpadez (Feb 25, 2021)

Ok well I got a DNA test and it turns out he is 100% GS, so that kinda rules out the breeder being dishonest. His ears have developed some cartilage, for example, it feels a little bit more stronger and ha s started to kinda flop over his head. They stood up for about 1.5 seconds yesterday. He will be 4months old on the 29th. Parents both had perked up ears. I assume taping or gluing will help since they’re giant
View attachment 570700
View attachment 570701

View attachment 570702


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

No need to tape or glue them. They are doing fine on their own. He has many more months to get them up. My current dog was over 9 months old before his ears stood reliably. He's not the only one here to take that long or longer.

Just let them be and be patient. There is no proof that taping or gluing makes them stand. There is evidence that it can hurt the ears and prevent them from ever coming up.

I say again that they will stand on their own. Work on your patience and leave his ears alone.


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## mnm (Jan 9, 2006)

At 4 months old, he is just strting to teeth and will be for the next 2 months. Ears will and can go up and down during that time. Once done teething, the ears should go up.


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## AceOfSpadez (Feb 25, 2021)

Hello, prior to this discussion... I have debated on why my German shepherds ears were floppy. First I thought maybe he wasn’t purebred, but I DNA tested and he is in fact purebred. Second, I assumed maybe he’s too young or a late bloomer. Well, he will be 6 months old on the 29th of May. I’m really confused on what could have caused this? Both parents had their ears standing up and so did the litter mates. Is this just an unfortunate thing that happened? I’m gonna try to tape his ears on the 20th to see if it helps, but I honestly don’t think it will. I love him either way, but I’d rather see if there’s any chance for his ears.


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## Rabidwolfie (Apr 9, 2021)

Those ears look like they're trying thier best to go up. Is he getting enough calcium?


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## Pawsed (May 24, 2014)

Don't give up. Many of us here have pups that didn't have erect ears until they were 9 months old or older. I've had 2 of those over the years.

I'm not a fan of taping. There is no proof that taping will help, but there is evidence that it can damage the ears and permanently prevent their standing.

Give your pup lots of things to chew on and be patient. There is plenty of time yet for them to stand.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Rabidwolfie said:


> Those ears look like they're trying thier best to go up. Is he getting enough calcium?


Calcium won’t help ears, as they are not bone, they are cartilage.
Give him chews and perhaps a good, strong bone broth, although soft ears are genetic and if they don’t want to stand, nothing will make them.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

parents ears may have been erect ears but very large or weak or they were late bloomers themselves. maybe their siblings or parents had ears that didn’t stand. sometimes these things just happen. since many ppl assume dogs with soft ears are gsd mixes, they don’t realize that there are a decent amount of purebreds whose ears simply don’t stand.


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## AceOfSpadez (Feb 25, 2021)

Fodder said:


> parents ears may have been erect ears but very large or weak or they were late bloomers themselves. maybe their siblings or parents had ears that didn’t stand. sometimes these things just happen. since many ppl assume dogs with soft ears are gsd mixes, they don’t realize that there are a decent amount of purebreds whose ears simply don’t stand.


Siblings all had erect ears. I’ll show you the parents


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

AceOfSpadez said:


> Siblings all had erect ears. I’ll show you the parents
> View attachment 573929


size looks normal. you can’t tell how weak a dogs ears are from a photo. in my original reply i meant the parents siblings and parents....not your pups littermates.


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

OP, your dog's ears look like they are trying to stand. Are you giving him ample bones and stuff to chew on? He needs good marrow bones that he can chew on for an extended period!

IMHO, you've been a bit obsessed with your puppy's ears since he was 3 months old. But give him at least enough time to finish teething before considering taping, please! That means at least another 3 weeks...


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

i merged your threads fyi.
3 separate threads asking the same questions is excessive.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

Weak ears are a genetic trait. I’m not a fan of taping ears for a few reasons. One is it hides the truth of the ears genetically and perpetuates the issue. I would make sure the dog has appropriate things to chew but I wouldn’t tape.


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