Get the dogs ears cropped? That's interesting. Anyone have a link to a photo of a GSD with cropped ears? I've never seen one. Very creative solution.

Jenn,

Sorry. I'm just upset that my breeder is crappy, because I have no one to look at the dog and help me overcome whatever problems he has. I'm kind of in the dark here, about whether these issues are big or not.
My previous GSD was great, I never knew floppy ears could happen. I've never had one so aggressive either. I was concerned that he could turn into a psycho later on.

He's 26" and 70lb at 8 mos. I want to be careful, even if it's over cautious.

I also feel like he's my baby. If I had a child with a correctable defect, and I knew I could use braces, stints or surgery to fix it, then I would try. If I can fix these ears, I will try. If not, well, I will be disappointed, but he is mine. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

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Please be brutally honest. If you saw this puppy on the streets, would you say he was a pure, quality GSD.

Hi Denise,

I'm new to GSD (only owned one for 2 years) and just recently bought our second pup 3 months ago but I have owned and bred AKC Siberian Huskies and AKC English Mastiffs for quite a few years and I've seen in the 5 litters we produced with both breeds a definite consistancy when it came to quality. What I mean is head, body, coat, temperment, ect. The only exception to this is off and on we had one just a little smaller with the larger litters (10 on our Mastiff Sheba).

It looks to me you do not have a purebred dog and I venture to say his temperment also tells you this, let alone the way he looks.

But having said that, he came into your life so I would do the best you can to train him and love him. Next time, be sure to seek a reputable breeder.

Good luck to you.

Spyros

I never said anything about protection training in any of my posts. I don't really care for protection training. He's not my guard dog, he's my pet and obedience dog. He's a little rough for a pet, and I believe he is still workable from what everyone is saying. At eight mos, I don't know if I should deal with him as a dominant dog, despite our history.

I would like to know more about getting his ears cropped. He's got big dumbo ears, too big for his head, unless it's going to get bigger. I'm sure my vet won't do it. I'll call around.

thanks Robert

Why bother to subject him to the surgery?

His ears still won't LOOK like a GSD ears, but he will look *meaner* if that is what you are after.

I have one that is not a bicolor but is pretty darned close (very extended saddle and faded tarheels) and people tell me she MUST have Ddoberman in her because of her physique and coloration (she is definitely purebred and *in spec* ) but I don't really care what they think........what does it matter?

Denise, PLEASE be happy with the way your dog looks. Cropping his ears at this age is a big deal, look at the size of them. They lay them down, take scissors, and just cut along them like fabric. Many vets wouldn't do it because it's purely for cosmetic reasons, no medical or practical AND he's older than they recommend for the dogs who do get cropped ears.

Additionally, were you just going to cut the entire ear off? or try to have them look like a doberman's/Great Danes? Because they STILL have to put their ears in a form after surgery so they stand, and even then sometimes they don't! So you may spend alot of time, money, pain for the dog, and still have floppy ears.

You probably mentioned this in another post, but where do you live that there are not trainers available to help within an hour or so travel? Maybe someone on this site knows someone close? I know I travel over an hour to where I train, but it's worth it.

Denise, I agree with Jenn in that having those ears cropped at this age is a big deal....even if you can find a vet to do it.

It's not just a matter of cutting off excess skin. ie, Doberman pups have their ears cropped at a very early age, and then have to go through several "stages" of supports before the ears will stand.
Look at this LINK with photos of what the dog has to go through ...and these are very young pups who still have fairly small flaps of skin to cut; also, notice the length of time involved. (click on the various albums, "floppy", "conehead", "reindeer")

If the ears are a issue with you (and like David, I would be MUCH more worried about the inappropriate aggression!), you may consider talking to a vet about ear implants. But be ready to shell out some $$$

Hmmm, depending on which venue you plan to show in obedience, cropping a GSDs ears may make them ineligble for competition.
Anna

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At eight mos, I don't know if I should deal with him as a dominant dog, despite our history.

There are lots of little things you can do to work with a dominant dog that don't involve any "harsh" training methods. If your dog is biting you, this is a problem that will only get worse with age. However, there is nipping, and there is biting. I was trying to train my dog to put his front paws on my arm, so I hold my arm out and say "jump", he didnt quite get the concept so he bit my arm - he never bit down on it, it never even left a mark, he put his teeth on me then let go, and thought he did what I told him to. I can give you 50 examples of times my dogs teeth have been on me, but he has let go before even making a scratch because he wouldn't dare bite his handler and has no aggression towards me.

Now, if your dog will seriously try to bite you hard and cause pain/draw blood if given the opportunity, you need to deal with this behavior immediately. You don't need to jump straight to the harshest correction of choking him with all 4 feet off the ground, that's for the hardest most dominant of dogs, but there are alot of things you can do to get rid of this behavior, correct training and consistency are the key. Don't let him get away with not listening to you, ever. If you tell him "down", he MUST down for you. I know alot of dogs that are reluctant to down short of pulling their legs out in front of them.

Good luck with your dog <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />