Hello,

My husband and I adopted an 8-10 week old from a rescue in mid-May. He's a GSD/Lab/Husky mix and we're dealing with a number of health issues right now. They're extensive and many have been exacerbated by veterinary care. I'm certain I'll be seeking advice and input here on what's happened/happening with him right now. Through this great site, I've found a number of things I've already incorporated into his life and have stopped allowing the vet to completely dictate this pup's health. I've been here every day reading, searching the archives and going through the Leerburg videos and information.

I'm hoping for some advice and/or opinions today on Dante's ears.

His ears were large and floppy when we brought him home. When he began teething, and if he flipped his head a certain way, one or the other would lay over his head and remain there for a time. As his puppy teeth fell out, they would try to stand on their own or wing out to the side. Some of his adult teeth are coming in and we're getting the one up, one down, both down (mostly down), wing combination.

I've attached some photos of his various ear positions. In the final two, they were glued for a day or two but came apart after some vigorous water play. In the last photo, I've arrowed where he has a ridge of cartilage and I'm not certain how or if this thick ridge will determine the position of his ears later on.

I'm fine if they're both down but if there's a possibility to have them up, I prefer them up. He's going on 20 weeks old, 53.2 lbs ... how should we proceed?

Thanks,
Anna

Anna, can you please delete the pictures and link us to a Photobucket-type account instead?

Two pics are allowed in the Member Bio section and one in Tributes (to a dog who has died). Otherwise, sig pics and URLs to albums are all we use.

(Aside from that, a couple of these huge pics force scrolling for the whole thread.)

Now:

WELCOME.

I am not a puppy expert, but I have read and heard many times that owners don't begin to be concerned about them until 6 months.

But the puppy folks will reply.

Hi Connie and thanks for the welcome. Sorry about that...I can't seem to edit the post so I deleted the photos.

Welcome, Anna!

This is a great free eBook that Ed wrote on Taping a German Shepherd Puppies Ears. It helped me tremendously.

http://leerburg.com/pdf/tapingears.pdf

I actually ended up gluing (rather than taping) my pup's right ear at about 5-1/2 months, if I remember right. He wouldn't leave the tape alone, but the glue worked for us. I kept it glued for 4 months, and finally let well enough alone when he was about 8-1/2 mos. old. His right ear is still "soft", it flops when he trots, etc, but it is at least upright. I know for a fact that it would not have been up at all if I hadn't glued it. It was completely flopped 1/2 way over all the time. Not once did that ear go up before, during, or after teething.

The eBook will be a tremendous help to you, I'm sure. If you want specifics on how I glued Kodee's ear, let me know and I can PM you.

P.S. Actually, I don't know if you can see it in my Avatar, but Kodee's right ear is glued up in the picture with the black foam in it. Just FYI.

Hi Kori and thanks for your help. Your Kodee is stunning. I do see the foam helping his ear there. I've done rose ears in the past on my English Bulldogs without a problem but I've never dealt with erect ears before.

The link you provided is what originally lead me here to Leerburg. I've been overwhelmed with information since. That link will do me good to read again. It's just I've had so many health issues with Dante that when I start looking for ear information, I get sidetracked to the puppy area and then back to health and diet and next thing I know I'm all over the boards again and I have a dozen windows open.

I'm not certain the Lab mix in Dante will allow this. Aesthetically, he looks better with the ears up. It "fits" his head and size if that makes sense. We'll love him no matter what direction his ears go but if we can bring them up and keep them there, that would be ideal.

Here are the photos of him. The last picture shows the thick ridge of cartilage. It doesn't lay flat when his ears are glued up so I guess that is my biggest concern.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/amm94117/dante1a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/amm94117/dante2a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/amm94117/dante3a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/amm94117/dante4a.jpg

Thanks for the compliment on Kodee.

I don't know anything re: how the ridge of cartilege will affect whether the ears go up or down (someone else here might know), but I don't see how it can hurt to at least try the taping or gluing. He's adorable either way! (But I think I could swipe your bulldog, personally). I never was a big fan of bulldogs until I saw some pictures of them smiling.

Good luck with the ears! I know how stressful it can be, esp since I have a purebred GSD, rather than a mix (yours looks like a purebred too, with his ears up!). I felt like his ears just HAD to be up! Now my 6 yr old and I both think his soft ear is cute. You'll be happy with him either way, I know.

I saw the pictures and your dog's ears remind me of what my pup's ears looked like when he was that age. After my GSD pup stopped teething his ears were fully erect by age 7 months. My pup is very large and from what my breeder told me and from what I've read here and elsewhere that large pups tend to have ears that stand up later. I did use ear inserts from the time he was 5 months old that I simply glued in, although I think they would have gone up on their own without them. The inserts are easy to apply and don't cause the dog discomfort and they also don't cause infections since nothing is placed in the ear canal. You have a very handsome pup.