My German Shepherd pup just turned 6 months old. His ears look rather crooked, especially the?

Hi, I have a 2.5 year old GSD decended from Norbo Ben-Ju (his grandson) with no health problems and almost fully grown. His ears gradually changed from floppy to upright as he got older, one was quicker than the other though. Think it was around 6 - 8 months. Whilst growing, at one point they overlapped each other and pointed inwards when they were up, or would almost turn inside out, but as their head size grows eventually they strengthen and balance out in most cases. I gave my dog glucosamine tablets until he was 18 months old, now I just use a food that contains it, but it helps build cartilidge and he's a perfect physical specimen.

I have read about owners using tape and/or splints to straighten ears, if you search GSD or Great Dane forums you can find out more. You have to use the correct type of tape and/or glue though or it will badly harm your dog's ears. Your vet or the breeder is a good starting point for advice, as they will alleviate your fears especially the breeder as they will have years of experience in this.

GSDs can and do bend their ears in different directions to show emotion/expression/dominance/submission though so don't be too alarmed. And try to ensure people don't rub his/her ears when petting the dog as that won't help when the ears are still forming.

DOn't give him any more of any supplement, until you discuss this with his vet.

While you are buy messing with his ears, you could be giving him kidney stones or upsetting the calcium balance in his system causing things like overgrowth of the growth plates at the ends of his bone structure - and that will cripple him.

Taping the ears loosely usually works, if it's going to go well at all. Using surgical cement is common, but is also dangerous and can cause open sores and ear infections if not done carefully and by someone with experience. You can also end up with wonky ears.

You should be asking for help from hims breeder, or someone in the GSD club - but stop feeding him things you read about on the internet, and don't ever mess with the diet of a growing dog with such a large frame - GSD's are known for having terrible orthopedic problems, and you may have just bought him that by feeding him extra stuff he didn't need.

I have seen more people preoccupied with ears wreck the rest of their dog - there are plenty of more important things. Please consult a vet or a GSD experienced breed person, and stop striving for the perfect headpiece - this is a performance dog, and he will perform much better if he does not have bone growth problems. It's time to grow a healthy dog.

He is still a baby, consequently his ears will flop all over the place until he is older.

GSD's look adorable when their ears cross over and meet at the top of their head.

I think that you should get him RAW meaty bones from the butcher and give him whole raw carrots to chew. Please don't leave him with a bone when you leave him, Beware if he chews a bone for a long time, he could become constipated. Just allow him to chew his bone for about an hour each day.

After you read this, exercise your own mouth with a chewing action, You will then realize that this exercises the muscles under your ears.

Please don't give him rawhide bones, they can choke a dog and cause a blockage.

I bet he looks really cute!! It could be as simple as he's coming up to, if not started, teething. Hopefully once all that's over, he'll go back to looking fine. Personally I'd not bother with doing anything with their ears - if his parents/grandparents had strong ears, then he should. But there's no accounting for genetics. GSD ears can be a breeder's nightmare.

Some GSD's ears never stand up completely straight. We have some pedigreed GSD's at our Shutzhund club with this problem. How old is he now? Sometimes it can take up to 6 months to straighten out. Give him lots of bully sticks or chew toys for him to chew on. The chewing will help straighten the cartilege in his ears.

My girls ear were like bunny rabbit ears until her head grew larger. They were up straight by 12 weeks though.

From what I hear, GSD pups' ears can go wonky at different stages of development and typically right themselves over time.

What did your vet say when you discussed this with them? Did you contact another GSD breeder about it too, to get a second breeder's opinion?

I think it is better to work according to your vet. Have you seen your pup's parents? Sometime it comes with genes

I'd give it more time.