puppies ears - Page 1

wanted to know whats the longest anyone has seen a puppies ears take to go up, i have a 6 month old  german shepherd and was  just wondering if they are going to go up, been giving her gelatin as one breeder friend  said they use it  .  i have had  one shep take 8 month  , but thats the longest i have seen, i know genetics will play a part in if they go up and stay up,  she has had them up but not all the time.
she does have very large ears for a female. Thanks

yes she is 6 1/2 months now and always have been soft ears, she has had  nylabones since young never done any raw bones ,on a good quality dry kibble, i will  get a pic of her at 6 months so you can see , i am just doing the gelatin right now for the last few weeks, she does have very large ears and i talked to the breeder and said all other litter mates have there ears up. i sure hope they come up and stay up. she weighs 62 pounds so will be a big girl very thick in bone. she is not fat either.  thanks

the ears have always gone up and down alot, never stay up for a real long time, more when  she was focus on something

ok here,  is a better pic other one  looked a bit stretch.

If it bothers you and if you're not planning to breed or show her in conformation, you could try taping them.  I don't believe in taping ears on dogs that will be bred or shown. She's really pretty, I think her ears make her look even prettier.

Trixx, I would also suggest you try with taping now before it's too late BUT if I had to tape ears then I would not use her for breeding. That's just me.

Good luck with her, she is pretty.



 

If they have both been up and down @ various times, they may still
both stand eventually.  But as they are quite large, they may also
always be a bit 'soft' ( and blow around a bit in the wind while she is
gaiting ).  In which circumstances, I still wouldn't use her for breeding
unless she turns out to be exceptional in every other way.

If at one time or another,  there were periods of  2 or more days  where at the same time both ears were completely up, then  they probably will end up up. 
 Also. 

Quality granulated food of any kind is total crap. That is regardless how shiny the bag is. For dogs up to 1 year I suggest cooked meat. ( Not raw) . That is since the nutrition is more bioavailable if the meat is cooked. Do not forget to skim the fat after the cooking is done, or the fat may cause diarrhea.  You can feed raw after 1 year of age.  
 Feed cooked ( 45 min)  chicken feet and also feed the gelatin produced by such cooking after you place pot in the refrigerator. You can also feed pigs ears which you must buy fresh and cook them. Do not use the rancid crap ( pig ears)  which they sell in pet stores.  Chicken feet are most bioavailabe source of nutrition for joint and cartilage builders. Pigs ears are also good for ears. Also boil marrow soup bones for prolonged periods of time ( 1-2 hours) and feed the soup, which has by cooking mineral leached into it, (by heat  from the bones). You should give her the soup bones as chew toys. That will exercise her muscles on her head and also supplement needed minerals. Bone marrow  from these bones is to the dogs  like manna.   
 You can purchase chicken feet , pig ears and soup bones  in oriental supermarket or Hispanic market. 
 You can also massage the ears with Tabasco or any hot sauce with hot peppers or
Habaneros. That will increase blood circulation in the ears. 
 You can also whistle or make any sounds which will make her ears perk up and thus exercise the head /ear muscles. 
 However all this ( chicken feet, soup and pigs ears) should have been done at 6 weeks  and up.I do feed pregnant mother with these.  There is an adage to tape the ears if they are not up at 6  mo. The reason is that if they will not get up by them selves then that is the highest time when you can still help the dog by taping it. In any case personally I would not breed such dog.