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?
When Will My Pup’s Ears Perk Up And Stay Up
After your puppy has finished teething their ears will perk up and stay up for good.
But as I mentioned, using teething as a yardstick is not ideal because puppy development does vary slightly.
So by all means, keep your puppy’s teething in mind, but don’t start panicking too soon.
Speaking of panicking
Instructional Video On How To Apply Moleskin Padding To A German Shepherds Ear
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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Placing The Form Roller Inside The Ear
Remove the plastic clip in the foam roller and place it gently against the inside skin of your puppys ears.
Do not push the roller inside the ear, it only needs to be placed inside the ear enough to support the growth of the cartilage. Ensure that there are no folds or creases in the ears before doing the next step.
How To Deal With Your German Shepherds Floppy Ears
Whats the bottom line?
If its been over eight months and your German shepherds ears still arent standing upright at all, then this is an indication that there might be some kind of problem.
At this point, you can start taking steps to fix their ears if you want.
However, unless your German shepherds floppy ears are being caused by some sort of serious medical issue, you dont have an obligation to try and fix them.
Floppy ears on their own dont cause your German shepherd to suffer at all, nor do they cause any sort of hearing issues.
If you just want your German shepherds ears to stand up for aesthetic reasons, there are a few things you can do to help this happen.
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Caring For Your Puppys Ears Before Taping
Vitamin D For German Shepherd Ears
Unlike vitamin C, vitamin D is a different story. Your pup can produce some of their own vitamin D by basking in the sun, but thats not enough to meet their nutritional requirements.
To help meet their vitamin D requirements, you need to add vitamin D to their foods. Most commercial dog foods nowadays add vitamin D to their formula to ensure that dogs get the required amount of vitamin D that they need.
If you resort to feeding your pup with 100% natural diet foods, you need to add vitamin D to your pups diet since vitamin D deficiency is quite common in German Shepherds that eat home-prepared foods.
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Why Does My German Shepherd Have One Ear Up And One Down
If you notice one of your puppy`s ears being floppy, then this might mean their ears are developing differently.
This isn`t uncommon, on the contrary, and at times one of the ears can stand up repeatedly while the other one might turn floppy.
Still, if after 8 months this still goes on, most likely this will become permanent.
Deciding To Tape Your Puppy’s Ears
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German Shepherd Puppy Ear Stages
I haven’t found a formal breakdown of German Shepherd Puppy Ear Stages, and I believe this is because the development of muscles and cartilage varies between puppies.
But since this is such an important topic, here’s the breakdown of common ear stages and position
Please keep in mind that these stages are highly variable from puppy to puppy. Use this only as a rough guide and never as anything set in stone.
Taping Your Puppys Ears
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When To Stop Taping
When your German Shepherd reaches the age of 9 months, their ears should stand on their own without the need to be taped. If your puppy is 9 months and their ears are still floppy, visit the vet for help.
This could mean that your German Shepherds ears might stay floppy permanently and there is no need to worry.
Are There Foods Or Supplements That Will Help My German Shepherd Puppy
Its a well-known fact that calcium helps contribute to healthy cartilage growth. However, supplements intended for human usage arent practical for dogs and might even cause health difficulties.
Even supplemental calcium formulated for dogs might not be suitable for your puppy if unnecessary. In addition, excess calcium tends to settle in a dogs joints, which can cause further problems.
Some supplements and foods can help strengthen and rebuild cartilage. Glucosamine and chondroitin have this effect.
These supplements will also not harm your puppys future health.
Should you choose to give your dog these nutrients as a part of their food instead of a supplement, chicken feet can easily fit the bill.
Dogs produce Vitamin C naturally, making supplementing optional. However, there are some benefits to extra Vitamin C worth considering:
- A natural type of histamine that protects your dog against allergies
- An immune system booster providing antibodies, increased anti-viral and anti-cancer protection, and increased white blood cells
- Contributes to healthy joint development
Before you supplement Vitamin C, its a good idea to make sure your dog requires extra to avoid overdosing them. Signs of a Vitamin C overdose can include either constipation or diarrhea.
Vitamin D is a nutrient where additional supplementing is beneficial because dogs bodies do not create it naturally.
Even if your dog spends a lot of time outside, they might not necessarily get the extra amount they need.
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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.
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
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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.
Using Calcium To Make The Ears Stand Up
Ive already touched on the next method which all relates to getting higher levels of calcium unto your German Shepherds diet. This can include additional foods such as:
- Cottage cheese
- Milk
- Yoghurt
The high calcium content in these foods is said to help a German Shepherds ears to stand up given that their natural calcium is being used in the development of their teeth.
But does it work?
I cannot find any research to suggest that calcium helps to fix floppy ears, and it appears to be more of an anecdotal solution used by owners.
I would certainly exercise a degree of caution, as milky foods can be too rich for young puppies leading to upset stomachs. Bottom line is I would not give my puppy lots of cheese and milk they may be lactose intolerant.
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At What Age Do German Shepherd Ears Stand Up Straight
When your puppy is finished teething , his ears should start to stick up or should be all the way up. Why does it take five months for this to occur?
As a puppy, the German Shepherd’s cartilage is not strong enough and cannot hold up the weight of their big ears. But as they grow and get the right nutrition, they will develop stronger cartilage. This process usually takes about 20 weeks.
When they start to wean themselves out of the teething phase, you will likely begin to notice their ears fluctuating between floppy and pointy. You might see them rise when they perk up in response to noise but see them flop down quickly afterward.
If their ears can stick up straight during the first five months , then its likely that they will be straight and pointy for the rest of their life.
When Do German Shepherds Ears Stand Up
When do a German Shepherd`s ears stand up? Is it bad if a German Shepherd`s ears don`t stand up? These questions and a few other similar ones will get an answer today.
When you brought your German Shepherd for the first time into your home, they were only a puppy. Their ears were probably floppy sometimes. Even if at times they were probably trying to make a stand, they would fall back down, right?
Your canine`s ears consist of cartilage, which has to develop strong enough to be able to hold the entire weight of the ears.
As your little friend gets bigger and received the right kind of food , that particular cartilage will get stronger!
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