A dog & canine forum. DogBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » DogBanter forum » Dog forums » Dog breeds
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

German Shepherd Ears..



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old October 18th 03, 08:11 PM
CaptRon
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default German Shepherd Ears..

We brought home the new puppy on Monday and have a question about ears. His
breeder explained it to us and has since discussed it more over the
phone/email, but I still dont get it. He is 9 weeks old (born Aug 4). The
breeder told us that his ears should be up by 3 months, but would probably
fall again (and just be all together weird) when he started teething.

When we brought him home the left ear was up, right was down. Over the
next day, we noticed that his ear was mostly up, but sometimes down. Then,
it was down more than up and the right ear was about 3/4 of the way up.
Now (Saturday) both ears are down. If we get his attention, he perks them
up but they only stand halfway - divided straight in the middle. I know
that its not even a week, but they are just all over the place and now they
dont even prick up when he is excited.

The breeder warned us of the dogs playing too rough (also have a 10 month
old Lab mix) and watching that the kids didnt handle his ears roughly or it
could damage the cartilage. But, how rough is too rough? The kids are
easy, dont mess with his ears - pet his body. We never leave the dogs
unattended, but Rayden (the GSD) is always ready to fly across the room and
jump on Cypher's head. Which of course ends with the two of them wanting to
wrestle. We've never observed anything like smashing of the ears or biting
of the head (sometimes they will grip each others muzzle), other than Rayden
occassionally rolling around on the floor. But the whole litter was doing
that when we saw them.. So my question is: how rough is too rough?
have we already lost any chance of him having erect ears? or should we
just seperate them completely? Most of their play consits of "I can fetch
the toy before you can" and tug-of-war with the rope as well as just racing
around the yard like wild fools with the kids. Occassionally, Cypher will
jump over him or crash into him and both will end up rolling end over end.

Guess Im just paranoid, but the idea just isnt clicking in my head. Esp now
that his ears arent up at all. From the breeder and the vet, it seems that
*POOF* they will just stand up like magic. A lot of websites cover how to
tape up ears, but no real information on what is normal as far as how they
actully work.


ack.. please just tell me Im being paranoid. I dont want to call and ask
his breeder to explain it to me again (lest she think Im mentally
deficiant).

Ill post pictures when I get a chance. These guys are keeping me too busy!

dainerra


  #2  
Old October 18th 03, 08:36 PM
Christy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"CaptRon" wrote in message
nk.net...


ack.. please just tell me Im being paranoid. I dont want to call and ask
his breeder to explain it to me again (lest she think Im mentally
deficiant).


You're just being paranoid.
Google on "german shepherd puppy" in the images section. You'll see picture
after picture of floppy eared GSD babies. GSD have the wierdest ear
transformations imaginable - they go up, down, towards each other, flying
nun - all over the place. If they don't go up by about 4 months, you may
have to think about taping them, but chances are they will be fine.

Christy


  #3  
Old October 18th 03, 08:38 PM
Matt Hogg
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


9 wks old they wont be totally up on their own yet anyway, to be on the safe
side you could try taping them up, this will ensure they stay that way.
Too rough generally means pulling the dog about rather like children would a
toy, pulling ears, tail, etc - this is generally not a good thing to allow
children to do to dogs regardless of age of pup anyway, even the most even
tempered dog when riled is unpredictable on this one.

Laurie

http://212.67.197.157/~admin8/forum/index.php?act=idx




"CaptRon" wrote in message
nk.net...
We brought home the new puppy on Monday and have a question about ears.

His
breeder explained it to us and has since discussed it more over the
phone/email, but I still dont get it. He is 9 weeks old (born Aug 4).

The
breeder told us that his ears should be up by 3 months, but would probably
fall again (and just be all together weird) when he started teething.

When we brought him home the left ear was up, right was down. Over the
next day, we noticed that his ear was mostly up, but sometimes down.

Then,
it was down more than up and the right ear was about 3/4 of the way up.
Now (Saturday) both ears are down. If we get his attention, he perks

them
up but they only stand halfway - divided straight in the middle. I know
that its not even a week, but they are just all over the place and now

they
dont even prick up when he is excited.

The breeder warned us of the dogs playing too rough (also have a 10 month
old Lab mix) and watching that the kids didnt handle his ears roughly or

it
could damage the cartilage. But, how rough is too rough? The kids are
easy, dont mess with his ears - pet his body. We never leave the dogs
unattended, but Rayden (the GSD) is always ready to fly across the room

and
jump on Cypher's head. Which of course ends with the two of them wanting

to
wrestle. We've never observed anything like smashing of the ears or

biting
of the head (sometimes they will grip each others muzzle), other than

Rayden
occassionally rolling around on the floor. But the whole litter was

doing
that when we saw them.. So my question is: how rough is too rough?
have we already lost any chance of him having erect ears? or should we
just seperate them completely? Most of their play consits of "I can fetch
the toy before you can" and tug-of-war with the rope as well as just

racing
around the yard like wild fools with the kids. Occassionally, Cypher will
jump over him or crash into him and both will end up rolling end over end.

Guess Im just paranoid, but the idea just isnt clicking in my head. Esp

now
that his ears arent up at all. From the breeder and the vet, it seems

that
*POOF* they will just stand up like magic. A lot of websites cover how

to
tape up ears, but no real information on what is normal as far as how they
actully work.


ack.. please just tell me Im being paranoid. I dont want to call and ask
his breeder to explain it to me again (lest she think Im mentally
deficiant).

Ill post pictures when I get a chance. These guys are keeping me too

busy!

dainerra




  #4  
Old October 18th 03, 08:52 PM
CaptRon
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Matt Hogg" wrote in message
...

9 wks old they wont be totally up on their own yet anyway, to be on the

safe
side you could try taping them up, this will ensure they stay that way.
Too rough generally means pulling the dog about rather like children would

a
toy, pulling ears, tail, etc - this is generally not a good thing to allow
children to do to dogs regardless of age of pup anyway, even the most even
tempered dog when riled is unpredictable on this one.

Laurie

http://212.67.197.157/~admin8/forum/index.php?act=idx



thanks for the info. Im not worried about the kids as they are never alone
with him. Plus, even at 3 the youngest knows "what not to do" when petting
the dog. Mostly, I was worried about the 2 dogs playing too rough. And I
know that the puppies played rough amongest themselves. Margaret said that
she only had one pup whose ears NEVER came up (even after taping). She said
not to worry about it until after 3 months.

dainerra


  #5  
Old October 18th 03, 09:03 PM
CaptRon
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Christy" wrote in message
...

"CaptRon" wrote in message
nk.net...


ack.. please just tell me Im being paranoid. I dont want to call and

ask
his breeder to explain it to me again (lest she think Im mentally
deficiant).


You're just being paranoid.
Google on "german shepherd puppy" in the images section. You'll see

picture
after picture of floppy eared GSD babies. GSD have the wierdest ear
transformations imaginable - they go up, down, towards each other, flying
nun - all over the place. If they don't go up by about 4 months, you may
have to think about taping them, but chances are they will be fine.

Christy



Thats what his breeder told me.. And if he DID have floppy ears, we'd love
him just the same. I just dont want it to be something that we have done
wrong. hehe We've been waiting for 8 years to have a place where we could
get our dream dog.

I am posting a picture to www.geocities.com/kepytan/My_Photos.html

dainerra


  #6  
Old October 21st 03, 12:56 AM
Richard Hooker
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Rayden's ears are fine, he's a very good looking puppy I am sure he (and his
ears) will live up to your expectations as a perfect family pet. There is
something I would share to with you concerning his ears. They are very
susceptible to infection. This is do to the way the ear canal is shaped. If
you hold your hand in front of you palm down, then lower your thumb as far
as possible, that is the angle of the ear canal and hence they become
infected very easily. If this is not properly ands regularly attended to you
could have very serious complications including surgical removal of the ear
flap or with infection that close to the animals brain death is possible.
Contrary to what you've been told I have never met a GSD that doesn't
appreciate having his ears rubbed. And that lends itself to easily caring
for the protection from ear infections. By all means ask your Vet to
instruct you to proper cleaning techniques of the ear canal. The medicine is
not expensive and the dog doesn't mind it at all. A properly cared for ear
will make a unique kind of sucking or popping sound when the ear canal is
clear. Good luck with Rayden, I am sure he will make a very good addition to
the family.
Rick

--
"Always do Right - This will Gratify Some and Astonish the Rest"
Mark Twain
"CaptRon" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Matt Hogg" wrote in message
...

9 wks old they wont be totally up on their own yet anyway, to be on the

safe
side you could try taping them up, this will ensure they stay that way.
Too rough generally means pulling the dog about rather like children

would
a
toy, pulling ears, tail, etc - this is generally not a good thing to

allow
children to do to dogs regardless of age of pup anyway, even the most

even
tempered dog when riled is unpredictable on this one.

Laurie

http://212.67.197.157/~admin8/forum/index.php?act=idx



thanks for the info. Im not worried about the kids as they are never

alone
with him. Plus, even at 3 the youngest knows "what not to do" when

petting
the dog. Mostly, I was worried about the 2 dogs playing too rough. And I
know that the puppies played rough amongest themselves. Margaret said

that
she only had one pup whose ears NEVER came up (even after taping). She

said
not to worry about it until after 3 months.

dainerra




 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
New pics of Chad German Shepherd Brian Dog activities 2 November 7th 03 11:21 AM
Going stud fee's for German Shepherd me Dog activities 1 August 4th 03 12:41 PM
German Shepherd, or Not? what sort of dog is it? Sasha Dog breeds 3 July 11th 03 06:29 PM
German Shepherd, or Not? what sort of dog is it? Sasha Dog breeds 3 July 7th 03 06:26 AM
German Shepherd, or Not? what sort of dog is it? Sasha Dog breeds 3 July 6th 03 06:12 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:30 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.2.0 (Unauthorized Upgrade)
Copyright ©2004-2024 DogBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.