When Do German Shepherds Ears Stand And Stay Up
The answer to this question may vary. But if were going to generalize, the time it takes for a German shepherd to finish teething is 20 weeks or 5 months.
In addition to this gradual change, you may also notice a difference in their behavior right after the teething stage. For example, their floppy ears may suddenly stand up when hearing a book fall into the floor.
Why Is Vitamin C Important For Dogs
There are a number of benefits that your GSD puppy can get from vitamin C:
- Vitamin C is an immune booster. It improves white blood cell function and activity, increases the blood levels of interferon , and antibodies.
- Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine that helps your pup becomes more resilient against allergies.
- Lastly, vitamin C promotes the development of a healthy joint. It reduces the likelihood of your dog developing joint problems like arthritis, hip dysplasia, and spinal disorders.
It may seem that there is no direct correlation between vitamin C and the development of your German Shepherd puppys ears, but it is essential to keep them in good health.
And if you recall from our previous discussion above, one of the most common reasons as to why your German Shepherd pups ears do not stand up is that they are getting sick.
Vitamin C is water-soluble; this means it is hard to overdose on. Any excessive amount of vitamin C is flushed through urine.
However, if you add an extra vitamin C supplement to your GSD pups diet while they are able to produce enough amount of vitamin C on their own to meet their nutritional requirements, you can overdose your pup.
The easiest sign to watch if they are getting too much vitamin C is if they get constant diarrhea or constipation.
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.
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Why Does It Take Five To Eight Months For Your Gsds Ears To Stand Up Naturally
German Shepherd puppies need time to develop healthy cartilage that can hold up the weight of their ears. When they are finished teething, usually, youll start to see their ears beginning to perk up and flop down back and forth.
If their ears can permanently become straight just before the end of the five months , then their ears will be straight and pointy otherwise they might get floppy ears for the rest of their life.
Does Taping German Shepherd Ears Work
When ears are taped at 7 and 8 months there is very little chance of it working. This is an unfortunate fact of life. German Shepherd puppy ears can come up between 8 weeks and 6 months. In fact a lot of times a pup will have both ears up and all of a sudden they will come back down when the pup starts to teeth.
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Are Surgical Ear Implants Safe For A German Shepherds Ears
Ear implants to get your German Shepherds ears to stand up are a last resort that you should avoid.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a German Shepherd that has floppy ears and putting them at risk to have any unnecessary surgery to get their ears to stand up can cause them pain.
Speak to your vet about the side effects and pain associated with ear implants.
Physical Damage Or Accidents
Puppies are active and mischievous and can get into plenty of trouble. This includes physical damage or accidents that have the cartilage or muscles in their ears.
If this happens their ears may suffer long-term damage and not stand up naturally on their own.
How to Keep Their Ears Safe
You should only touch their ears in soft pets to protect their growing bodies from damage or harm.
In order to keep their ears safe dont:
- tug
- or twist their ears
Even if youre only playing!
Its possible that rough play between littermates or other dog friends could cause damage or tear the ears. So watch out for a rough play that might lead to ear damage.
And, if your pup has been in an accident that hurt their ears, take them immediately to the vets.
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How Long Does It Take For A German Shepherds Ears To Stand Up
With my own experience after breeding multiple German Shepherd litters. The bloodlines have a great part and playing with their ears standing up. In my last litter, all 8 of our puppies ears were standing up at 12 weeks old.
I have seen German Shepherds with floppy ears, known form as a lazy ear, which terms English grammar terms that you probably heard people saying. But most of the time their ears should be standing up at between 10 to 12 weeks and sometimes up to six months, youll see this happen through the teething stage. This can varies from dog to dog) but generally between 16 weeks and 20 weeks of age.
I tell my customers. Take a look at the pictures above these puppies are 5 weeks old. I like you to remember this too. German Shepherd puppies are born with floppy ears.; Anywhere from 10 weeks to 14 weeks of age, the ears start to stand on their own. But sometimes things can happen like-Occasionally, pets are born with deformed ears that normally should stand erect but do not.
Proper Diet And Nutrition
If your German Shepherd puppys ears are not standing upright, then the main culprit for this could be cheap, commercial food. Always feed your dog, high-quality food. Often, dog owners recommend giving puppy supplements like calcium to help their ears grow upright and perky. However, this may not be a great idea because too much calcium can affect your puppys bones and joints resulting in permanent skeletal issues.
So, the best thing to do is follow a natural diet consisting of high-quality foods such as chicken feet, yogurt and cottage cheese. All these foods can help to make your German Shepherd puppys ears pointy and perky. Both yogurt and cottage cheese are rich in calcium and chicken feet are rich in glucosamine. These help to strengthen the cartilage.
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German Shepherd Puppy Ear Taping And Gluing
German Shepherd puppy ear taping and gluing are both methods that many breeders and German Shepherd dog owners use to help guide their GSDs ears into the adult upright position.
Yet it would be understandable if you are reading the title to this section and feel dismay or even horror. Tape or glue a puppys ears? How can that possibly be a good thing?
But understand we are not talking about doing anything harmful or invasive.
The techniques you are about to read about will not harm or hurt your German Shepherd puppy at all. They will simply support the ears to grow into the upright position without having to work so hard to get there or stay there.
West Highland White Terrier
These charming white pups have velvety soft ears and happy personalities. Initially bred in the hills of Scotland, the Westies primary job was to find and scatter rats away from farmland. Today, these dogs will chase anything that moves, which means youll want to provide them with a fenced-in yard and lots of toys to play with.
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German Shepherd Growth Stages
True is, all puppies go through growth stages. Most of the time youll see that it will take up full maturity before your dog will start to calm down, which is 36 months. But if your GSD dog is super high-energy dont be surprised if you only see her/ him calm down just a little because they have that high energy in their bloodline, which is strong prey drive in them. My German shepherd princess is and she is still a super high-level energy dog.; That comes from her breeding and blood-lines. This what working dogs do, is work.; You may have heard some say, your dog needs a job.
Now remember every German Shepherd has a different temperament, and temperament in dogs is energy level. Thats why its best to have the breeder pick the puppy or older GSD dog for you, to match the right dog for your lifestyle. I was out training my German Shepherd princess last week, and this man was watching me why I was working with her, and stop to talk with me and said he had a dog just like mine and it was a good thing that he owned 15 teen acres land at the time because he could not imagine living the city with a high-energy dog.
Anyway, short post today but I just wanted to put the information out there. Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks, Dennis.
What Can You Do To Make Your Pooch`s Ears Stand Up
If your canine companion doesn`t have the right kind of genetic material to have pointy ears, then there isn`t much you can do.
Still, if you notice some signs that your dog`s ears will go up, then there`re several things that can be done to protect your canine`s ears from future damage.
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German Shepherd Ears Ultimate Guide And Information
German Shepherds are well known for many different characteristics, one of them being their big ears. Whether you are new to owning a German Shepherd or just curious about them, this article is for you. Below we will be going over the most common questions people ask about German Shepherd Ears.
Proper Diet & Nutrition:
Cheap, commercial food could be the culprit if your puppys ears refuse to stand.; Make sure youre feeding high-quality dog food.
Its worth noting that some people recommend using supplements for your puppies to help with their ears. However, this isnt necessarily a good idea.
For example, many people think calcium will boost those ears but it can also have a negative effect on your pups joints and bones, causing permanent skeletal problems. Its just not worth the risk!
Stick to a high-quality, natural diet instead. Some ideas for foods that may help boost your pups ears include cottage cheese, yogurt, and chicken feet.; Cottage cheese and yogurt both have plenty of calcium , and chicken feet are a natural source of glucosamine, which helps strengthen cartilage.
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To Tape Or Not To Tape
It is important to understand that you should never tape your GSD puppys ears too soon in an effort to make them stand up. Should you decide that you want to give this a try, you should wait until your puppys adult teeth have started to come in.
This is generally within a time frame of 3-5 months. However, we recommend waiting until your puppy has finished teething. This usually occurs at around the age of 6 months. This is not set in stone, so it is important to consult with your veterinarian to confirm that your GSD puppys teething stage has been completed.
Taping a German Shepherd puppys ears up too soon may actually damage them to the point that they will never stand up on their own.
As a puppy, your GSDs ears may seem to a mind of their own sometimes they will be standing straight up, while other times they remain flopped over. This is because, during the teething phase, calcium cycles back and forth between a GSD puppys ears to his teeth which causes this oscillation.
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.
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Helping A German Shepherd’s Ears Stand Up
That flop can give your dog much character.
If your are wishing that your German shepherd puppy ears stand up soon, consult with;your vet about getting the ears taped. Generally, the earlier the better. Usually though, if those ears;aren’t standing by 7 months, they aren’t likely going to ever stand.
However, it may still be worth it trying taping them up for up to the age of a year, as there are a few puppies that took that long, explains veterinarian Dr. Ralston.
In the most extreme cases, some owners may elect to have their German shepherd’s ears cropped, which means having them surgically corrected. This latter procedure though requires shortening the;muscle;that connects to the ear and the recovery time may be painful. Also, as with taping, there may not be guarantees.;If the ears are going to flop, there isn’t a lot one can do about it really, other than try.
And what about calcium supplements? One word of caution is needed when it comes to considering calcium supplementation in growing puppies. This practice can lead to cause significant joint and;bone;issues, warns veterinarian Dr. Rachel. Best to stick instead to a high quality balanced puppy food.
And handling those ears wrong can also have a negative impact. Avoid;squashing those ears, folding them back against the head, or flattening them. These seemingly innocent actions can potentially weaken the cartilage and those delicate developing muscles.
At What Age Do German Shepherds Ears Start To Stand Up
Q: At what age do german shepherds ears usually start to stand up?I have a german shepherd puppy. She is 8 wks old now and I was wondering at what age do german shepherds ears usually start to stand up?? Hers are starting to stand up a little! I think!
depends some will stand up and go back down before standing upask your breeder when his line does.
Answer by King Les The LoftyThere is no “usually” about it.The ears first erect at any time from 4 weeks old to never, depending on the pup’s genetics and health.Almost all ears will soften while the permanent teeth are breaking through, and for a while afterward.
Photo Credit: localpups
The rule-of-thumb is that if an ear has EVER been erect under its own power it will eventually become permanently erect.Most GSDs complete ear-erection by or while 7 months old. The longest I’ve had to wait was 9 months. People have said that their pet’s ears came up at a year old I suspect that their pet’s parents should NOT have been bred from!
Don’t let anyone talk you into taping or gluing your pup’s ears to “assist” them up. A pup irritated by its ears being taped or glued will spend the night trying to kick the irritation off, and by morning will have kicked hematomas into its ear or ears, making it/them too heavy to ever become erect.
Please learn that the breed is the German Shepherd Dog 3 words, so 3 capital letters, and GSD for short.
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