How To Tape A Floppy
Taping your German Shepherds floppy ears is easy to try and only take a few items.
- Foam rollers
- Self-adhering waterproof dog wrap
- Clean popsicle sticks
Dont use regular tapes that you have around your house or they will tear and rip your dogs tender skin. Its best to use self-adhering dog wrap thats waterproof so you wont injure your puppy.
Next, follow these steps to prop your puppys floppy ears upright.
Ways To Fix Floppy German Shepherd Puppies Ears
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get compensated if you buy through these links this is at no extra cost to you. You can read my full disclosure here.
I receive a lot of questions from worried GSC readers and from the clients I work with about floppy German Shepherd puppies ears.
Since it’s such an important topic, I decided to address this issue in a post to answer all the questions. And give tips on how to solve this problem all in one place.
One of the most distinctive features of the German Shepherd Dog is their signature pointy ears. It’s part of what gives them their regal looks and is a symbol of the alertness they are famous for.
Of course, the German Shepherd isn’t born with upright ears. When they’re born, their ears are floppy and over time, as they grow, their ears develop.
And eventually, the cartilage perks up giving them their signature pointy structure.
So it’s only natural for German Shepherd owners like you to want the best for your German Shepherd’s ears.
What To Do If Your Gsds Ears Are Still Floppy
If you are concerned that your puppys ears are not standing up or showing signs of erecting, you can always visit your veterinarian for a check-up.If you visit a veterinarian too early on, theres a very strong chance they are going to tell you that you need to wait.If you wait until around 5 months old, your veterinarian should no longer dismiss your puppys floppy ears and will provide further help. Having said that, if you suspect there is something wrong with your puppys ears, its always up to you to bring them to a veterinarian, regardless of their age.
Articles you may also like:
Recommended Reading: Average Weight Of A German Shepherd
Brief History Of German Shepherd
The German Shepherd is a medium to large-sized dog breed that originated in Germany in 1899. While originally developed to work as herding dogs, German Shepherds have evolved and become all-purpose working dogs.
Thanks to their intelligence, agility, strength, and loyalty, this breed is preferred by police and military and also used for all types of work including search-and-rescue and as service dogs.
While original German Shepherds were primarily bred as working dogs, the modern German Shepherds are subjected by scrutiny. In the U.S breeders put an accent on looks and started breeding German Shepherds with an extremely sloping back that resulted in poor gait in back legs.
Luckily, some U.S breeders have begun to value the breeds working abilities and traditional appearance and started to breed German Shepherds with a straight back.
When To Stop Taping Their Ears
At 9 months old your German Shepherds ear should stand on their own, without the ear taping or other measures.
If your German Shepherd puppy is 9 months old and their ears still flop over, please see your vet for further assistance.
This could mean your dogs ear might permanently stay flopping and fold over and isnt anything to worry about.
Don’t Miss: Rottweiler Vs Pitbull Fight
Give Those Ears A Trim
We dont usually think of hair as being heavy, but when there is a lot of thick fur in and around your pups ears it can actually make them droop.
Extra hair makes it harder for the ear cartilage to do its work, so any extra help you can give will have a positive effect.
Extra ear hair and fur can be trimmed with scissors or a battery-operated dog hair trimmer.
The process is quick and easy and should be repeated at regular intervals for best results.
If you do not feel comfortable doing it yourself, mention your goals to your dogs groomerpeople who specialize in this kind of trimming.
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.
Recommended Reading: Collar For German Shepherd Puppy
Does Ear Shape Affect A Dogs Hearing
The type of ears that a dog has can affect their hearing. More specifically, heavy, flopped ears that cover the canal can slightly muffle sound and lessen a dogs hearing distance, but only marginally.
Whether a dog has pricked ears or floppy ears, they have 18 different muscles that control them to funnel sounds from all different directions. A healthy-hearing dog of any kind can still hear from 40 to 60,000 hertz, which is more than double what human ears can hear!
How To Make Your Dogs Ears Stand Up
For the purpose of this section, lets assume you have a 10-month old German Shepherd whose ears have yet to stand up.
What should you do? First, do not panic.
This is not the end of the world, and there are several tips you can employ to help this process along.
One technique you may have heard abouta technique we do NOT recommend unless done by your vet for medical reasonsis cropping.
Cropping is a process in which the skin and cartilage of a dogs ears are surgically manipulated to make those ears pointy and erect.
Some vets will recommend cropping only when it is medically necessarynecessary to treat a skin condition or ear disease that is better served by it.
It should not be done for aesthetic or vanity reasons, mostly because it causes a lot of pain in dogs, and because when done by those owners who are not trained in canine surgery, it could result in infection that threatens the overall health of your pet.
The good news is that, outside of cropping, there are still several things you can do to painlessly create pointy and upright ears in your dog.
Some of these methods include:
Recommended Reading: Training A German Shepherd Puppy Tips
Does It Matter If Your German Shepherds Ears Never Stand Up Naturally
Not at all!
Its not unhealthy for them to have one ear flopped over and even adds to their fun personality.
And, most of the time, this isnt a problem. You should take your dog to the vet to have them complete a thorough vet exam if youre worried. This gives you some reassurance there arent any underlying issues.
Generally, there is no need for concern and your GSD is still totally healthy.
Do Some German Shepherds Have Floppy Ears
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.
You May Like: My German Shepherd Is Skinny
German Shepherd Puppy Ears Timeline
As we mentioned in the introduction here, when your German Shepherd puppy was a newborn, your dogs ears were floppy. All dogs are born with floppy ears, so this is totally normal.
Bt as Sequoyah German Shepherds breeder explains a German Shepherd puppys ears should start to perk up soon after.
In some cases, your puppys ears might start the process of standing up as early as four weeks old! In other cases, it may take as long as four months before you see signs of the alert ears the GSD breed is known for.
Leerburg Dog Training explains that sometimes it can take until after a German Shepherd puppy has finished the teething process for the ears to begin to stand up on their own.
The American Kennel Club expanse that teething can take as long as six months to conclude and requires a lot of your puppys resources to complete.
The critical period to watch and wait for is the period between five months and seven months.
If your GSD puppys ears are still flopping over by the age of eight months, it may be too late to assist the ears to stand up straight.
Read on to learn exactly what to do to help your puppys ears grow and stabilize in the upright position.
Why Some German Shepherds Have Floppy Ears
The number one reason is genetic. Some puppies have floppy ears due to their genes. In this case, theres not much you can do about it.
The second reason is breeding fallacy. Many people adopting German Shepherds expect their dogs to have large ears. Because of this, a lot of breeders, especially breeders of the American Showline type, try to breed German Shepherds with larger ears.
The result of this attempt is enhanced German Shepherds with ears that are too heavy and too big to hold the cartilage up, which makes their ears flop.
Those two points above show us the importance of getting our puppies from good reputable breeders. Ask a lot of questions to the breeder and meet the puppys parents before adopting them.
Also Check: Is A German Shepherd Considered An Aggressive Breed
Will My German Shepherds Ears Stand Straight Up
YOU DO NOT TRIM GERMAN SHEPHERD EARS TO MAKE THEM STAND! They should have their ears up before they each 4-5 months of age. If their ears are not up by 4-5 months of age, they need to be posted. If their ears are up before 4 months of age, they often will come back down, temporarily, starting at 4 months.
When Do German Shepherd Puppies Ears Stand Up
For most German Shepherds, their ears will stand up between the ages of 4 and 5 months.
However, it is possible for the ears to stand up later or earlier than this age.This is the standard advice and rough timeline that breeders give out.
In the early stages, it is common to see ears dancing around and you will likely see one ear standing up first and then flops back again.
When you notice that the right and left ears alternate between flopping down and standing up, there is no need to worry as this is normal.
Don’t Miss: German Shepherd Sitting Drawing
Taping Your Puppy’s Ears
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.
Also Check: Furminator For German Shepherd
Glucosamine And Chondroitin Also Helps With The Ears
How to get a german shepherd s ears up. Wait to see if puppy s ears stand up naturally. Of cottage cheese or unflavored yogurt to each meal. Before you try anything else this should be your first step in naturally supporting your puppy s ears.
You cannot wait indefinitely for your puppy s ears to stand up though if they have not stood completely up by the time he is 7 to 8 months old they are unlikely to stand up at all. After 1 2 months puppies ears should be up but we have heard of one person that had to glue for 3 1 2 months to get a tip up. To wrap up if your german shepherd puppy is still sporting droopy ears and is under the age of 6 months don t panic.
If your gsd s ears don t stand up by 6 months then is the time to look into alternatives to help those ears along. Many people including myself supplement their puppies during their development stages. Other methods in making your dog s ear stand up chew toys.
Even with the option of taping it is preferable for german shepherd puppy ears to stand up without assistance. Prepare to replace this the dog s going to rip it off a few times. Wrap the ear around a foam insert and tape them into a tight roll vertically.
Now your german shepherd is going to. Spend some time with your puppy and look for any triggers that make. How to make my german shepherd s ears stand up.
Wrap each ear around foam or something.
German Shepherd Ear Taping German Shepherd Ears German Shepherd Puppies German Shepherd
How Do I Know If My Puppys Ears Will Stand Up
There are a couple of ways you can do this test. The first thing you wanna do is hold a treat or a small toy at the level of your dogs head. Make sure he is focused on the toy and then gently take a hold of his front leg and bring it up a few inches towards his ears. If he focuses on the treat he will tip his head up and you should notice his ears go up as well. If the ears stay upright after a few seconds you will have a success. It may take a few tries but this is a good way to test if your dogs ears will stay up as well as if he likes the position he is in..
Read Also: What Size Crate For A German Shepherd
Do German Shepherd Ears Stand Up Naturally
Of course, the German Shepherd isnt born with upright ears. When theyre born, their ears are floppy and over time, as they grow, their ears develop. And eventually, the cartilage perks up giving them their signature pointy structure.
Are German Shepherds born with floppy ears? All German Shepherds are born with floppy ears. Their ears can stand up anywhere from eight weeks to eight months of age. Most German Shepherd get pointy ears when they finish teething. However, if a dogs ears dont stand up by nine months, they most likely never will.
When do German Shepherd puppys ears stand up? It is common for a German Shepherd puppys ears to remain floppy during the teething phase, as some of the calcium that aids in ear development is being diverted to tooth development. A GSD puppys ears will stand up on their own after the teething phase is completed, usually at around 16-24 weeks of age. Click Here to Jump to a Section
How old are German Shepherd puppies? A German Shepherd puppys ears usually go up between 4 to 7 months of age. Though there are puppies whose ears stand up at a very young age. Though there are puppies whose ears stand up at a very young age. Some German Shepherd ears also up they were about 8 months-old.
German Shepherd Ears Meaning
While they are puppies, German Shepherds always have their ears down, which symbolizes cuteness and a sign that they are helpless. Although it is difficult to believe, this is one of their most effective security measures against threats. In this way, they feel that they can remain safe. Despite this, their ears are also muscle, so they can raise or lower them as they wish.
On the other hand, when they lift their ears, it means that they are paying attention, that they think there is some danger nearby, that they are happy, or that they think something serious is happening. After this, when you drop them, it means that you are relaxed.
German Shepherds are extremely serious dogs but also extremely expressive. You can easily tell what they are feeling or perceiving simply by looking at their ears. For this reason, they are extremely popular dogs among the military and police forces of the world.
Related: German Shepherd Floppy Ears
Don’t Miss: 6 Month Old German Shepherd Weight