Matthew Criner wrote 04/24/2006 12:17 AM What age do ears go up? #104819 - 04/24/2006 12:17 AM
Matthew Criner Webboard User Reg: 01-22-2006 Posts: 169 Loc: Offline	At what age are ears supposed to go up on a GSD? Mine is almost 13 weeks old and his ears are still not up. He is guaranteed to not have soft or lazy ears though, so I am assuming they will go up eventually? Is there anything I need to do to ensure this? Thanks.
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John Aiton wrote 04/24/2006 03:03 AM Re: What age do ears go up? [Re: Matthew Criner ] #104820 - 04/24/2006 03:03 AM
John Aiton Webboard User Reg: 09-23-2005 Posts: 331 Loc: Glasgow, Scotland Offline	Hi Matt, I believe that ears will go up and down between teething. My GSD's ears were up and down until he was about 5 months or so then stayed up after his baby teeth were all out. I don't think that anyone can guarantee ears to be up, it's both an individual and environmental thing. HTH John
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James Edward Bliss, Jr. wrote 04/24/2006 12:13 PM Re: What age do ears go up? [Re: John Aiton ] #104821 - 04/24/2006 12:13 PM
James Edward Bliss, Jr. Webboard User Reg: 08-16-2005 Posts: 88 Loc: DeWitt, Michigan Offline	I agree with John. Some German Shepherds will have ears that go up, come down, and back-up. My GSD pup had floopy ears until about at three months he had one ear up, but the other still down. Between three and five months his other ear started to take firmer shape. At about 5 or 5 1/2 months both ears were standing tall and have remained that way since. Even in the worse case scenario where your dog isn't having the ears go up you could always have a vet brace the ears. "Utility and intelligence." Rittmeister Max Emil Friedrich von Stephanitz.
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Mel Woolley wrote 04/24/2006 12:22 PM Re: What age do ears go up? [Re: Matthew Criner ] #104822 - 04/24/2006 12:22 PM
Mel Woolley Webboard User Reg: 07-21-2005 Posts: 120 Loc: Canada Offline	Matthew, I have seen some pups with ears up (that stay up) by 10 weeks of age, but I have also seen it take a solid 6 months to stay up. I would not be to concerned at this stage... 13 weeks is still pretty young. If need be you can speak with your vet about bracing the ears to help them along, however I would not breed a dog who has soft or floppy ears as it can be a genetic trait. M.Woolley http://www.stalworthkennels.com Working German Shepherd Dogs Pro Patria ~ Canis Advance!
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Mike J Schoonbrood wrote 04/24/2006 12:25 PM Re: What age do ears go up? [Re: Mel Woolley ] #104823 - 04/24/2006 12:25 PM
Mike J Schoonbrood Webboard User Reg: 04-30-2005 Posts: 2784 Loc: Toronto, ON Offline	My pups ears were up before 4 months, cuz I got him at 4 months old n they never went down... some of his littermates had half-erect ears though, every dog is different. However, genetics can play a role in it, if your dog comes from a line of dogs who all had their ears erect, the odds are better than coming from a line with several dogs who had floppy ears.
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Matthew Fleury wrote 04/24/2006 10:26 PM Re: What age do ears go up? [Re: Mike J Schoonbrood ] #104824 - 04/24/2006 10:26 PM
Matthew Fleury Webboard User Reg: 04-25-2003 Posts: 107 Loc: Offline	I don't know if it's true or not, but I always heard that you should not play with a pups ears. You should not rub them, or flop them around or allow other people to. It may be an old wives tale, but both of my dogs ears were never touched and they both have nice, firm erect ears.
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Matthew Criner wrote 04/24/2006 11:56 PM Re: What age do ears go up? [Re: Matthew Fleury ] #104825 - 04/24/2006 11:56 PM
Matthew Criner Webboard User Reg: 01-22-2006 Posts: 169 Loc: Offline	Quote: I don't know if it's true or not, but I always heard that you should not play with a pups ears. You should not rub them, or flop them around or allow other people to. It may be an old wives tale, but both of my dogs ears were never touched and they both have nice, firm erect ears. Hmm, can anyone else confirm this? I heard that massaging them can help strengthen the cartilage.
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Mike Uslan wrote 04/25/2006 04:14 AM Re: What age do ears go up? [Re: Matthew Criner ] #104826 - 04/25/2006 04:14 AM
Mike Uslan Webboard User Reg: 04-14-2006 Posts: 27 Loc: Offline	Quote:  Quote: I don't know if it's true or not, but I always heard that you should not play with a pups ears. You should not rub them, or flop them around or allow other people to. It may be an old wives tale, but both of my dogs ears were never touched and they both have nice, firm erect ears. Hmm, can anyone else confirm this? I heard that massaging them can help strengthen the cartilage. My pups (4+ months old) ears were both erect and a-framed for the past two or three weeks and last night I cleaned out some built up dirt from the ears with a alcohol/vinegar solution and now his right ear is flopping again. It comes back up if he goes into "prey" but I am worried that I might have screwed up his ears cartilage because he was struggling with me when I was wiping out his ears. Can somebody be 100% straight with me and let me know if I screwed the pooch? I have seen the ear back erect today but now only while he is in prey. It rests in a floppy position now. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
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Kyle Brearley wrote 04/25/2006 10:25 AM Re: What age do ears go up? [Re: Mike Uslan ] #104827 - 04/25/2006 10:25 AM
Kyle Brearley Webboard User Reg: 02-23-2006 Posts: 21 Loc: Vermont, USA, Earth Offline	Quote: My pups (4+ months old) ears were both erect and a-framed for the past two or three weeks and last night I cleaned out some built up dirt from the ears with a alcohol/vinegar solution and now his right ear is flopping again. It comes back up if he goes into "prey" but I am worried that I might have screwed up his ears cartilage because he was struggling with me when I was wiping out his ears. Can somebody be 100% straight with me and let me know if I screwed the pooch? I have seen the ear back erect today but now only while he is in prey. It rests in a floppy position now. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I wouldn't think you could have physically damaged his ears just by wiping them with alcohol/vinegar unless there was a lot of physicality involved. Like yanking and bending and pulling the ears, even then I'd have to think it would need to be real rough. My pup's ears have been standing straight up since around 8 weeks of age. Sometimes though, if he gets sick feeling (used to be during car trips) his ears will either flop over a little or slide down the side of his head kind of so they're not directly on top of his head but more on the side. Perhaps the vinegar and alcohol smells or possible indigestion have made him a little woozy?
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Martin Espericueta wrote 04/25/2006 10:32 AM Re: What age do ears go up? [Re: Mike Uslan ] #104828 - 04/25/2006 10:32 AM
Martin Espericueta Webboard User Reg: 02-07-2006 Posts: 109 Loc: Central Valley, CA, USA Offline	Speaking from personal experience with my 5 month old GSD I've had since she was 12 weeks...  Quote: I don't know if it's true or not, but I always heard that you should not play with a pups ears. You should not rub them, or flop them around or allow other people to. I heard that too (read it on training sites) - and that's just what I did with my GSD, Sable. I told my wife and kids that they could not touch her ears at all. She came to me with floppy ears, and have just gone up - and stayed up - within the past 2 weeks - right at the 5 month mark!  Quote: Hmm, can anyone else confirm this? I heard that massaging them can help strengthen the cartilage. From the ONE time I really felt her ears (at 4.25 months), they felt very, for the lack of a better term, fragile. So, going with my experience (And it could just be coincidence <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> ) and how fragile they felt, I'd say to leave them alone.  Quote: My pups (4+ months old) ears were both erect and a-framed for the past two or three weeks and last night I cleaned out some built up dirt from the ears with a alcohol/vinegar solution and now his right ear is flopping again. It comes back up if he goes into "prey" but I am worried that I might have screwed up his ears cartilage because he was struggling with me when I was wiping out his ears. Can somebody be 100% straight with me and let me know if I screwed the pooch? I have seen the ear back erect today but now only while he is in prey. It rests in a floppy position now. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I've not cleaned my pups ears (not too dirty anyway...) yet, call me paraniod, for JUST THIS REASON - but from when I felt the soft cartilidge on my pup, I'd say that the softness of the ear stopped me from doing anything with them. IMHO... God Bless, Martin Schatzie!
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