German Shepherd Dog Forum:
8 Mo. old/ears won't stand up

My puppy will be 8 months old on the 5th of next month and her ears will not stay up all of the time. As a matter of fact they will only stay up when she is excited, investigating something or is playing. Some of you on this message board have replied to similar post about ears that if their puppies ears hadn't stayed up by 7 mo.'s to post. That there were things that could be tried. Well I'm past that point and would appreciate any help I can get. Thanks in advance for anyone trying to help!

At 8 months old it's past the point of hoping they will stand up on their own. I suggest you go to the breeder (or any breeder/groomer) who has experience taping a German Shepherds ears. (note I said a GSD's ears and not a Terrier or Great Dane, it's a very different look) Don't do this on your own, it may look easy, but it's not.

Also, make sure you're not petting the ears down. Always rub the ears up when petting your GSD puppy. My dog's ears where just beginning to stand up at 4 months. All of a sudden they flopped back down. That's when I read that you aren't supposed to pet them back (or down). We immediately stopped and the ears have been sticking straight up ever since. Good luck.

We have a male that had 1 ear down.we got sponge curlers(medium),cut them in half with the plastic out. Place the roller at the bottom of the ear so it holds the ear up. Leave it on for 2 weeks. When we did this with our pup, it braced the ear, and it stands up beautifully now. Our dog was 6 months old. When you put the roller in the ear, use the curved side against the ear. We got the toupee tape at a beauty supply shop. It was Topstick clear hairpiece tape and it worked beautifully. We also put a packet of gelatin in his food at each feeding. Hope this helps.