Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hihi:)
does anyone know when dutchie ears should stand up by; or risk never being erect?
and if there is a timing issue; how does one attempt to help the ears stand? without harming the pup:)

thanks:)

C Hearst

ragab1993 wrote:Hihi:)
does anyone know when dutchie ears should stand up by; or risk never being erect?
and if there is a timing issue; how does one attempt to help the ears stand? without harming the pup:)

thanks:)

C Hearst

Hello CHearst. Welcome. If you feel adventurous, we would enjoy a little intro in the appropriate section. Nothing dramatic needed, just a quick reference for future use, if you will.

Your question above cannot really be answered without us knowing the pups age. To make ears stand, I recommend staples. NO... Just kidding, really! There are things you could try, but it all depends on how bad the ears flop, if they ever stood before, how old your pup is and how big.

Age is critical, yes, and i really don't know with Dutch Shepherds. I do know Ed Frawley used to have some *very* entertaining articles on supporting ears in GSD pups on his Leerburg website--but then, everything Ed says is sorta entertaining. And GSD's have big soft ears. The show folks I know who are past the teething up-down-up-sideways-what's that? chaos with the ears and need something to stand *now* often take moleskin in the foot care section of the pharmacy and glue it inside the ears with something like "Tear Mender," a latex-based adhesive you can get at places like Tractor Supply, often used to mend canvas tarps and such. There are medical adhesives folks use, too, but it has been a while and I can't come up with the name--your vet would know, though. I think my big girls' ears were up by 4 months and her ears are rather large. My younger one's ears--even bigger--were up early, too. Small, neat ears like the standard calls for I think should be up by the time they teeth--then all chaos breaks loose, Flops do happen, though, so don't wait to talk to your vet if it looks like the ears need help. You can easily wait until the cartilage is broken--then it's too late.

Ellisa

I've never known about trick for floppy ears For as far as I know, DS always have ears standing up by teh age of 5 months, with an occasional floppy one during teething But I know mostly FCI bred dogs, allthough the KNPV-mix ones I know also have standing ears pretty young

Marjolein wrote: I've never known about trick for floppy ears For as far as I know, DS always have ears standing up by teh age of 5 months, with an occasional floppy one during teething But I know mostly FCI bred dogs, allthough the KNPV-mix ones I know also have standing ears pretty young

Oh come on. There are DS's with floppy ears, just like it happens in ANY breed with a naturally standing ear! I have had (FCI) malinois that I renamed floppy, after his ears remained south. Sure, by far the largest percentage will have a standing ear, but flop happens. (Though usually in a large heavy boned dog and that would exclude the lighter FCI versions and make the KNPV DS's indeed more prone to an occasional floppy ear, though still, it remains a low percentage)

hehehehe;
when we're walking, her tongue flops more than her ears:P lol but, for that ear thing, we're trying calcium suppliments. i'll let you all know how it works:) and thanks for the insight:) i'll head over to the newbie member thread in a sec. thank you again!

Colleen

vneerland,

"Your question above cannot really be answered without us knowing the pups age. To make ears stand, I recommend staples. NO... Just kidding, really!" lol

she's 5 months, and her ears have stood up periodically; but, not consistantly. she seems to pull them down often; on her own. she's on her second bout with teething atm.

ok - going over to the newbie section.

Colleen

Don't panic if she is still in the process of teething. If they have been up before but kept flopping on down, I suspect that they will come and stay up after she has finished getting all those pretty new teeth. If they don't make any moves after her nice new dentures arrived, then it is still time to worry.

I sympathize with the floppy ear thing, I've had a Belgian Malinios and a German Shepherd with floppy ears. But one thing I would NOT recommend is adding calcium to their diet, especially if you are feeding a quality dog food. There is a calcium/phosphorus ratio that needs to stay in balance...PLEASE check with your vet!!! There are a lot worse things then floppy ears, altho I do think my Zori has a very nice "rack"!

Deanna and Zori

Hi Colleen,

I second the concern about adding calcium to the diet. If you want to add something that may help, my GSD breeder recommended gelatin. It won't mess up the mineral balance and shouldn't do any other harm.

Welcome to the forum! (Pictures of your puppy are also required . )

muttnutty wrote:I sympathize with the floppy ear thing, I've had a Belgian Malinios and a German Shepherd with floppy ears. But one thing I would NOT recommend is adding calcium to their diet, especially if you are feeding a quality dog food. There is a calcium/phosphorus ratio that needs to stay in balance...PLEASE check with your vet!!! There are a lot worse things then floppy ears, altho I do think my Zori has a very nice "rack"!

Agreed, the calcium is more likely to do harm than good. Joint supplements are the only thing we ever recc. aside from posting and taping the ears up at the appropriate time. And we do a heck of a lot of ears (averaging 5 ear crops per week) as well as a huge proportion of show dogs of all different breeds and ear types. PS I don't do ear crops and I love my dogs all-naturale