Helping puppies soft ears stand
This is what we do to ensure our GSD puppy`s ears go up. It is simple ,easy , and does not bother or irritate the puppy to dig at his ears. We do not put tape on the ears, this can cause their ears to get sore and only make the ears more soft.
First I would wait until at least 4mths of age, if puppies ears are still down like a lab or pointing out to the sides like wings I would glue them at this point. If ears are at least half ways up, leaning towards each other, or have been up and down, then I would give them another month to make it on their own. Puppies ears can go up on their own as late as age of 5-6mths. But we dont wait that long.
I generally like to just go ahead and glue at 4mths if they are not up yet. At 4mths of age the puppy is teething and the calcuim is going to his teeth, this can be a challenging time for the ears if they are in the middle of going up. Help them out and there will be no worries about them not going up.
German Shepherd puppies ears naturally lean in towards each other or even lay clean over on top of their head towards the other ear in the process of going up on their own. This is what we like to mimic.
We buy "Tear Mender" glue from Farm and Tractor Suply or you can order it off the enternet. There is also a glue remover for Tear Mender if you feel you will need it. You can also order it from the catalogue "Care-a-Lot" . Phone # 800-343-7680 product #1768 2oz. $3.99.
I take one ear and run a pencil line of glue on the EDGE of the ear from the base all the way to the tippy top of the ear. Take hold of the other ear and with both hands press the edges together as far down close to the head as you can and move up pressing until you reach the tips together. This will give them a tea pee appearance.
Only use a small amount of glue, it doesnt take much. In a few seconds it is dry and holds well.
Your puppy should not be irritated by it at all. The ears still get air unlike taping . As hard as it may be it is important that other dogs are not rough housing with him. Dogs and puppies bite at and pull on each others ears. This can keep the ears from going up on their own and can pull glued ears apart.
Have someone help hold the dog from moving while you are glueing the ears.
It is our experience with glueing ears, that you can get ears up as late as 12mths of age.
So if your German Shepherd is 7mths and has a floppy ear, Glue them and get those ears up!
Boss here at 4mths was glad to be an example of what glued ears should look like.
Once you have the ears glued correctly do not take them apart, they will come undone on their own with time. The longer they stay glued the better. If they come undone on their own and are still floppy, glue them again. We have had ears that stayed glued for 4wks at times. Once the ears come undone they will not look perfect, but as long as they are "up" then leave them alone, they will straighten out on their own in the months to come.
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Boss`s ears finally stood on their own around 7mths, this is him at almost 11mths!
another website for ear advice
