Cross Breeds

at what age to german shepherd puppies ears stick up?

At what age do german shepherds ears start to stick up?

Public Comments

1. it all depends, but by 6months the ears should be up. you can help the ears by using tape(use ouchless tape for wounds) if the ears are big,shave the hair on the inside and the tape will stick better. for smaller ears, people use cardboard applicators from Tampax(it goes on the inside of the ears) look up doberman websites:after cropping the ears, the doberman pups ears are taped up for months. for a big eared shepherd pup,try cardboard roll from toilet paper or paper towel polls.
2. They should start coming up at 6 mo's. a lot depends on the dog. If the dog is big it's ears are heavy and it could take up to a year before there erect. Some folks tape there dogs ears up to insure that they will come up but even then that sometimes doesn't work. If the dogs ears are not erect after a years time I'd say there not coming up. Give your puppy chew toys and bones, this will help build the muscles to help them stand up, Good nutrition- we give our dogs pet tabs every day.
3. Many pups will have ears up as early as 6 wks, and with the exception of a flop for a day or two, will be up for good. Other pups take longer, but ideally we'd like to see that both ears have been up on their own at some point by 3 months of age. They may play 'musical ears' for quite a while until finally staying up between 4-7 mos. Pups whose ears have never been up on their own at any time by 4 months are less likely to have a nice, firm earset as adults. Ears that haven't been up by 6 months have a slim-to-none chance of standing without human intervention.
4. it can start very young or a little later like 4-6 months. If they are not standing up "prick" by 8 months then you have what is called a "soft" ear and they won't ever stand correctly. Don't ever tape a GSD's ears....no no no I will not work and will only bother the dog. No where to go but down with that method.
5. Any time from 4 weeks to never. If you are worried about ears you should have chosen your pup's breeder & parents more carefully. Litters whose erect-eared parents never had anything done to their ears, and nor did the siblings & parents of those 2 parents, don't have soft-eared progeny. It is pooches whose own ears have been mucked around with that produce soft-eared offspring. It is common for ears to flop around during teething, sometimes going bat-ears, sometimes folding forwards, sometimes leaning against each other as though clothes-pegged together. But if an ear has ever been erect under its own power (not gravity- or wind-assisted) it will eventually become firm. Most pups finish teething while 6 months old, so have erect ears when 7 months. The longest I've had to wait for both ears to be up at the same time was 9 months. One of her pet pups is on the Home page of the next link. GSD pups should have a gnaw-bone (eg, an oxtail or part of a sheep-spine) last thing every night. Not only does it give the pup something to do while you are boringly asleep, but the gnawing exercises the facial muscles that control the ears, keep the teeth clean, dislodge deciduous teeth, and help permanent teeth break through the gum. And any bits digested have the perfect calcium : phosphorous balance. • Add http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_GSD_Source to your browser's Bookmarks or Favorites so that you can easily look up such as feeding, vaccinations, clubs, weights, teething, neutering, disorders. Join it (acceptance is instant) if you want to download from its Files section the "Choosing a GSD.doc". And learn that the breed's real name (Deutsche Schäferhund) translates as German Shepherd Dog - 3 words in the breed-name, so 3 capital letters needed. A shepherd is a person. To ask your GSD questions, join some of the 400+ YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with GSDs. Each group's Home page tells you which aspects they like to discuss, and how active they are. Unlike YA, they are set up so that you can have an ongoing discussion with follow-up questions for clarification. Most allow you to include photos. Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly "In GSDs" as of 1967