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Do German Shepherd Ears Stand Up Naturally

When Do German Shepherd Ears Stand Up

11 weeks old german shepherd dog (GSD) – ears starting to stand up

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German Shepherd puppies have flappy ears, and as they grow, their ears will eventually stand up. However, not all German Shepherd dogs ears stand up at the same time others would, and a delay can be caused by various reasons.

So, exactly when do german shepherd ears stand up?

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Tips For German Shepherds Ears To Stand Up:

Here are some good tips to help increase the chances of your German Shepherds ears standing.

  • Have your puppy checked at the veterinarian for any parasites that could infiltrate his ears.
  • Keep your puppy healthy and on a high quality diet of premium food.
  • Do not rub their ears backwards away from the nose or scrunch them up in your hands.
  • Avoid supplementing calcium in their diet as it can collect in their joints.
  • Add 1 tbsp of cottage cheese or unflavored yogurt to promote growth.
  • Supplement with Glucosamine and Chondroitin to help ears and joints.
  • Calcium injection by veterinarian only if recommended.
  • What Do German Shepherd Ear Positions Mean

    Ears up and down this is how your puppy offers their greetings to other pets and people. It may be accompanied by face-licking and tail-wagging.

    Floppy and relaxed ears this means that your dog is completely relaxed and not stressed.

    Forward-tilted ears your dog is trying to tell you that they are alert and confident, which is mostly associated with an attitude of being self-assured.

    Backward-tilted ears your dog might be feeling fear or anxiety, especially when training them to show submission.

    Constantly tilting ears in different directions your dog could be trying to figure out where the noise comes from.

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    Caring For Your Puppy’s Ears Before Taping

  • 1Do not tape up his ears too soon. It is recommended to wait until after your German shepherd puppy’s adult teeth have started to come in to tape up his ears. You may even want to wait until after he has finished teething before taping up his ears. Taping his ears too soon may end up damaging his ears to the point where they will not stand up on their own.
  • Because calcium is being diverted from your puppy’s ears to his teeth during teething, his ears will probably switch back and forth between standing up and flopping down.XResearch source
  • Talk with your veterinarian if you are unsure of when to start considering taping up his ears.
  • 2Provide your puppy with extra calcium. During the teething process, your puppy’s ears will probably lose calcium. Without enough calcium, your puppy’s ears may have a harder time standing upright. Giving him a little extra calcium in his diet will help to replace this calcium deficiency.
  • Even though it may tempting to do so, do not give your puppy calcium supplements. The extra calcium could deposit in his bones and lead to long-term orthopedic problems, such as bone spurs and arthritis, later in life.
  • Consult with your veterinarian on ways to provide your puppy with extra calcium.
  • Giving him chew toys and bones to chew on will also be helpful. The chewing motion strengthens the muscles at the base of the ear.
  • Do Some German Shepherds Have Floppy Ears

    When Do German Shepherds Ears Stand Up?

    If your German Shepherd puppy has been bred for breed preservation and not for looks, you can expect your puppy’s ears to stand up.

    It is considered a fault according to breed standards if a German Shepherd has floppy ears.

    In short, a GSD will only have floppy ears if something has gone wrong in terms of breeding, health, or trauma and I’ll get into each of these further down.

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    My German Shepherd Puppys Ears Were Already Up But One Or Both Went Down Again

    During the teething period , their ears can go up and down frequently. One day their ears can tilt sideways inwards leaning against each other, and the next day the ears can tilt outwards.

    This unpredictable behavior, quite often, confuses first-time German Shepherds owners. If this is happening to your puppy, you dont need to worry too much as it is completely normal.

    Taping A German Shepherd Ears

    The main method of how to make a German Shepherds ear stand up was by taping. Some breeders will do this if the ears are still floppy by 8 weeks of age. It sounds cruel, but from what Ive seen, it looks harmless.

    What they will do is:

    • Tear off a 1.5-inch piece of masking tape.
    • Pull one of the puppys ear upright so its flat.
    • Loosely wrap the masking tape around the base of the ear.
    • Repeat the process with the other ear.
    • Now use another strip of tape to connect both ears together in a bridge fashion across the top of the head.
    • Leave the taping in place for no more than 5 days then gently remove.

    Breeders who have taped their German Shepherds ears successfully say that the tape is only in place for 5 days, which is normally enough time for them to stand up by themselves.

    If the German Shepherd ears are still floppy, remove the tape and try the process again for a further 5 days.

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    Why Is Vitamin D Important For Dogs

    Vitamin D is vital for the regulation of the calcium and phosphorus balance in your pups body. The lack of vitamin D can make your pup get bone disorders rickets, heart disease when they grow up, which ultimately affects the development of their ears as well.

    On the other side of the coin too much vitamin D can cause toxicity. So make sure you strike the right balance between too much and too little when giving vitamin D supplements to your puppy.

    If youre hesitant in giving your pup commercially available vitamin supplements, you can alternatively substitute the commercial supplements with natural yogurt or cottage cheese.

    Both cottage cheese and yogurt offer the same benefits they are a natural source of calcium, protein, vitamins, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium.

    Tough yogurt may be a better choice among the two since yogurt contains probiotics that help the pups digestive system stay healthy.

    If you pick yogurt to give to your pup, you should only give small amounts of plain yogurt at first, preferably one teaspoon, to avoid upsetting your pups stomach.

    Encourage Exercising Of The Ear Muscles

    How to Stand ear of german shepherd

    Since muscle tone is one of the reasons why your German Shepherds ears may not stand up, encouraging your dog to exercise his ear muscles can help. You may not know this but dogs have more than a dozen ear muscles that they use for turning, perking, raising, and lowering the ears.

    You can invite your dog to use their ear muscles through a couple of techniques:

    • Chew Toys: Chewing toys can exercise a dogs jaw muscles. These muscles are attached to your dogs ear muscles, so encouraging your dog to chew good dog toys can also strengthen your dogs ear muscles and increase the likelihood that their ears will stand up. I love KONG chew toys as they are great for German Shepherds, and you can get a varied and interesting selection. You cant go wrong with the KONG Classic from Amazon as its great for chew, chase, and fetch, and you can even stuff it with treats!
    • Making interesting little noises around your dog can encourage him to perk up his ears and move them around. You can even buy a clicker for dog training to make some of these noises. This type of training is a great way to train your German Shepherd.

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    German Shepherd Ear Stages

    As a new owner of a German Shepherd dog, you may wonder if your puppy is developing typically. If you read books or manuals and your puppy doesnt quite fit the descriptions, dont panic. If you also see that your dogs ears remain wobbly after some stage, be patient. You should let the ears develop on their own and after some time, if you dont see any difference, know that you can help in the process.

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    When Do A German Shepherds Ears Stand Up

    Normally a german shepherds ears should stand up at the 5 months . It normally coincides with when they stop or shortly after they stop teething.

    Can This Process Take Longer?

    However, remember all german shepherds are different. Sometimes it can be up to 8 months before your german shepherds ears stand up.

    Also, dont worry if their litters ears are standing up before your own pups! Every pup in the litter is going to be different and theyre also developing at different rates. So just because your german shepherd doesnt have straight ears at 5 months, doesnt mean they never will!

    Baring that in mind, it is important to know that sometimes a german shepherds ears will never stand up naturally on their own.

    A poll on Pet Helpful showed that 1 in 5 german shepherds always had floppy ears

    Does It Matter If Your German Shepherds Ears Never Stand Up?

    It absolutely does not matter whether your german shepherds ears stand up or not. While there are times when floppy ears indicate small issues with your german shepherd, in 99% of cases theyre nothing to worry about.

    However, if you do notice that your german shepherds ears arent standing up, its always best to take them to the vets.

    Why Does It Take So Long For Your German Shepherds Ears To Stand Up?

    If you see their ears doing this during the first five months, then its normally a good sign that theyll stick up throughout adulthood.

    Is There Any Way To Know For Sure If Your German Shepherds Ears Will Stick Up?

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    When Do German Shepherd Ears Stand Up Heres What You Should Know

    The large erect ears make every German Shepherd remarkably unique. It is a physical trademark that makes them quite noticeable among all the other large breeds. Whether you own a German Shepherd or not, those ears could be one of the distinct traits youll first see.

    But if you are reading this article right at this very moment, you probably have got a German Shepherd of your own and youre wondering when those ears really stand up.

    How long should you wait before their ears stand up? Should you worry too soon or should you do something about right away? Dont worry. Weve got you covered.

  • 4 Conclusion
  • Be Careful With Glucosamine

    When Will My German Shepherd

    Glucosamine is an over-the-counter supplement made for humans that maintains healthy cartilage and keeps joints lubricated, but its also commonly given to dogs too.Im not saying Glucosamine is necessarily bad for dogs, but its something you will need to talk to your veterinarian about first. Dont automatically assume your puppy needs Glucosamine because his ears are staying floppy for a little longer than usual. One thing about Glucosamine is that we rarely give it to young children, so this leads me to believe that puppies should stay away from it too. But as I said, speak to your veterinarian if youre considering Glucosamine.

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    German Shepherd Puppy Ear Gluing

    Another option you can try is puppy ear gluing. This is actually not nearly as awful as it sounds and is far easier to do than the ear taping method.

    Another perk of puppy ear gluing over taping is that you are not going to cut off any air circulation to the inner ear canal when you use the glue method instead.

    To glue your puppys ears in the upright position, all you need is some type of skin bond or tear mending glue the key is to pick some kind of fabric glue .

    What you need to do for this method is to add a dab of glue to the outside of the inner ear flap about two-thirds of the way down from the ear tip . Then press the two ear flaps together for 30 seconds to allow the glue to set.

    You definitely dont need to use much glue!

    Wherever possible, if you have multiple dogs in your household, try to keep your German Shepherd puppy from playing rough games with the other dogs as this will cause the ears to separate.

    The glue will wear off on its own after a while and you can observe if the ears are able to remain upright and erect when this occurs. If you need to, keep reapplying the glue until the ears are strong and stable to remain in the correct position without glue.

    It may take a few weeks or longer for this to occur. Do not worry if the ears are not in a perfect position. As long as they stay upright, the inner muscles and tissues will naturally self-correct over time.

    Should You Tape Up Your German Shepherds Ears Good Or Bad

    Time to address the elephant in the room. A big topic for discussion for all breeds that have pointy, erect ears, is whether or not we should tape them in an upright position, to help them stand up. As people have had success with this in the past, its caught onbut there is room for concern here. And thats because we dont really know if we are taping their ears up in the correct position. The bones and cartilages are so small and weak throughout their puppy months that its entirely possible we tape them out of proper alignment. This would then cause the ears to grow incorrectly which may lead to permanent cartilage or bone damage.To stay on the safe side, taping ears is not recommended as a solution to fix floppy puppy ears. Its important to remember that in some cases, it can be up to 6 months before the ears stand up.

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    The German Shepherd Ear Standard

    The first impression you should receive from a German Shepherd is agile, strong, muscular, full of life, and alert.This is according to the American Kennel Club.

    The ears play an important role in giving this breed their state of vivid alertnessas they are ready to rotate in any direction and have a touch of nobility.

    The ears of German Shepherds should be moderately pointed and erect when attentive. When viewed from the front, the ears center lines should appear perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other.

    You may be concerned if the ears of your German Shepherd are floppy and have no sign of standing up anytime soon, especially if you know that they will be disqualified from the show ring.

    However, if you do not intend to show your puppy in conformation rings but want them to just be companions, there is no need to be concerned. Most puppies will outgrow their floppy stage and their ears will eventually stand up.

    Instructional Video On How To Apply Moleskin Padding To A German Shepherds Ear

    How to make German Shepherd ears Stand Up?

    Applying Glue Tee-Pee Style

    This works by applying Tear Mender glue to the outer edge of both ears and pressing them together. Here is a video showing how to do this properly.

    Soft ears are a bad genetic trait in German shepherds. If the ears dont correct themselves and taping or gluing is required it would be best for that dog not to be bred. It should be our goal to produce the most healthiest and intelligent German Shepherds we can. Although soft ears do not take away from how intelligent the breed is, nor does it take away our love we may have for our K-9 companion. It is not according to the breed standards. And no matter what anyone else tells you it can create some health risk for the German shepherd dog. For example: if your German shepherd has one ear that stands and one ear that doesnt. Try cleaning the inside of both ears with ear cleaning solution and a cotton ball. You will quickly notice that the ear that is erect is much cleaner than the one that is soft. This can cause ear infections, hearing loss, and much worse if the German shepherd ears are not frequently cleaned.

    All of these steps can aid the German shepherd Puppy in helping its ears stand erect but should only be done under the advice of a trained professional.

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    What Causes German Shepherds To Have Floppy Ears

    When German Shepherds are puppies, their ears are floppy and small and fold over to the front side.This can be a concern especially if you are a new puppy owner expecting your German Shepherds ears to be upright when they are floppy.

    The following are the reasons why your German Shepherds puppy ears are floppy:

    Gently Place The Foam Roller Inside Your Dogs Ear

    Take out the plastic clip on the foam roller and gently place the foam roller against the inside skin of your dogs ear.

    Dont shove the roller in! They only need to sit inside the ear enough to support cartilage growth.

    Make sure you check for any creases or folds in their ears before moving on to the next step.

    Repeat in the other ear.

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    How To Tape German Shepherd Dog Ears Up

    Some people recommend taping your German Shepherds ears if their ears are not still up at five months old. In some cases, tapping may work for show line German Shepherds. But it rarely works for working line German Shepherds.

    If you want to tape your German Shepherds ears, you must consult with your vet first, and only do the following steps under your vets supervision.

    There are several methods to tape your GSD puppys ears.

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