German Shephard owners...random question

[lilpritch04]

This is a silly question about your dog's ears

We have an 11WO German Shephard/Golden Retriever pup and we are wondering what his ears will do. Right now they are higher up on his head, but tipped (almost horizontally) to the sides. I know you can't answer if they will stand or not, but we are having fun trying to predict!

So, at what age (weeks/months) did you pup's ears start to fully perk??

Thanks!

 

[Felicia]

If he was a pure bread shephard, they will eventually stand straight up, and if he was a pure golden retriever they would flop down.... since you have a mix, I don't know what they will do!

We have a pure shepard and his ears were both down, then they were half up, then one would flop and one would be up, then they finally went up and looked too big for his head!!! It is fun watching what happens. I think they stood upright around 4 months or so.

Does your puppy look more like a shepard or a retriever? Maybe that will give you a clue. You could post a picture... there are many dog lovers who would like to see. Me included!!!

 

[Dodie]

My experience has been with pure breed German Shepherds only, but I want to tell you that one warning we have always been given by breeders is that, if you want the ears to stand up, do not MESS WITH THEM AT ALL. This means that you need to not "scruff" them around/behind their ears or flop them around at all. The muscles are very delicate and, if they are developing into standing upright, little things can mess with that.

Aside from that, I agree totally with Felicia's comments, since that's what has always happened with our dogs...

We have a pure shepard and his ears were both down, then they were half up, then one would flop and one would be up, then they finally went up and looked too big for his head!!! It is fun watching what happens. I think they stood upright around 4 months or so.

 

[dlbwright]

Does this mean you got a new puppy??? I had read your posts recently about the dog you got for Q but he did not work out (which was so sad). I hope everything is going good with the puppy so far.

 

[NMAmy]

Originally posted by Felicia
We have a pure shepard and his ears were both down, then they were half up, then one would flop and one would be up, then they finally went up and looked too big for his head!!! It is fun watching what happens. I think they stood upright around 4 months or so.
QUOTE]

We had a german shepherd/malanois mix and her ears did this very thing. I loved it when one would be up and the other would be down--looked like she couldn't make up her mind!

Jeez, I miss that dog. Enjoy your puppy--they're so much fun.

 

[battricia]

Our shepherd pup (pure bred)started out with really floppy ears, we would always say 'maggie stand those ears up!' but we didn't mess with them at all, we just let her take shape. She was the tiniest little pup at first, when her ears flopped around, then she would start controlling them only when she heard something, like a whistle or a noise outside or something. At this point her ears seemed WAY too big for her head. Then when she got a bit older (probably 5 months or so), and quite a bit bigger, she would stand them up most of the time, then at about a year they would stand up all the time. She's about 4 years now, and since she's been fully grown, she can now control them turning like little satellite dishes, which way she wants to hear. I love shepherds!! If you can get a picture I'm sure we'd all love to see!

tricia.

 

[dcg0317]

Here's a couple pics of my sheperd, at 3 months old then at 1 year old, he's gone now, had him 12 good years and I sure do miss him. His ears would flop for some time before standing up, just don't play with them (ears) we where told. Not sure on you dog being a mix though.

 

[wdwmom2]

dcg0317

OMG, your puppy looks like he could have come out of one of my litters. Where did you get him and what bloodlines does he have? I am dying to know!!!!!!!!

 

[lilpritch04]

<IMG src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4cf25b3127cce9aa5b57d5f6c00000026108Aat2LVw1ato"><BR>
Q (11mo) and Carter (9wo). Carter's ears are even more horizontal now at 11 weeks.<BR> <BR>

Carter is 9 weeks old in this picture. He is now 11 weeks old and his ears almost stand straight out to the side. I know no one can predict what they will do, but I'm just curious as to the progression of pure bred shephards. While he looks much more like a yellow lab (he's actually golden retriever mix) his coat is much more like a shephard puppy and his ears really don't fit with either breed.

I know it's a silly question that can't be answered, I'm just wondering

DH actually has a *fun* poll going at work to see if and when his ears will perk up. He did this with Q as well, but we were almost certain from the beginning that her ears would be HUGE! I think she was 4 months old by the time they both decided to stand.

Oh, the fun of mixed breeds!!!

 

[lilpritch04]

I don't know why the pic isn't showing up. Is something wrong with Shutterfly???

 

[dcg0317]

Originally posted by wdwmom2
dcg0317

OMG, your puppy looks like he could have come out of one of my litters. Where did you get him and what bloodlines does he have? I am dying to know!!!!!!!!

wdwmom2 we bought him from a breader here in NH, from Weare NH, it was so long ago I can't remember the name of the breader, he's also been gone about 3 years now and I don't know what i did with his papers and I can't remember his blood line, sorry.

 

[wdwmom2]

dcg0317

My lines started from Breauhausen, a kennel in Woodbine, MD. The mask is very distinctive. What a beautiful dog you had. It is so hard to lose a great dog.

 

[Princess Hoozerdoo]

My Lucy was a beautiful lab/shepard...she had BIG floppy lab ears- you couldn't resist petting them. She's been gone almost a month-I miss her. thanks everyone for showing your pictures!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My Shepherd pup is 7 months now but her ears were up at 12 weeks (she is purebred). When I got her at 10 weeks just one tip was flopped over but it came right up. She is definitely at the stage right now where she is "all ears"! Your's may or may not come up but I'm sure he'll be beautiful in his own way. Two great breeds together, he must be awesome!

 

[Lizzydoll73]

Our dog is a German Shephard and some kind of hound mix. She is 3 and her ears don't stand up or lay down.
Here's a picture.

 

[huckster]

we have the same mix they are down now that she is grown

 

[DISNEYFANRI]

We have a shepard/mix - Casey have 1 ear up and one down - it's her "signature look" - lol. Just recently she has started with allergies - like an ear infection - worse in the floppy ear because no air circulates.

Paula

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

We have a pure-bred German Shepherd and his ears were huge and straight up when we got him at 11 weeks.

 

[QuiltTeddy]

Our dog is a Shepard mix. Her ears stayed at "half-mast" as one little kid once said.