As soon as a German Shepherd stops teething and becomes 5 months old, it’s the natural time for the ears to stand up.

German Shepherd of a high-quality breed has many distinctive traits. One of these traits is to have ears standing perfectly. It is the concern of most of the dog lovers, especially the fans of a German Shepherd that the ears must be standing up perfectly. The standing ears are considered as a beauty-symbol of a German Shepherd.

They start thinking of solving this issue as soon as possible which in reality is not an issue. It’s natural.

Age of GSD Ears Standing Up

The owners of German Shepherd know that the ears of a German Shepherd are floppy when it is young. People buying a young German Shepherd often get worried about the ears being floppy and not standing straight.

It takes a German Shepherd’s ears to stand up after 20 weeks. It is because that a German Shepherd being a puppy is very weak and their cartilage is not strong enough to take the burden of their big ears. At the age of 5 months, the cartilage starts getting stronger after a proper diet.

This is the time when the ears of a German Shepherd puppy start turning into pointy from floppy. Whenever they respond to a noise or a stranger’s voice, their ears rise but quickly fall back to floppy. If the ears of a German Shepherd start standing up during the first five months, then they will be perfectly standing for the rest of their life.

Why does this process delay?

In many cases, the process of ears standing up straight delays for a while. The process is different for different dogs. Even the puppies of the same litter can have different times for the ears to stand up.

Some puppies take seven months to stand up their ears straight. The ears of a German Shepherd take a permanent shape till the 8^th and 9^th months. If the ears of a puppy do not stand up till the 9^th month, then they won’t stand up ever.

75% of the German Shepherds make their ears stand up during the first 3 to 10 months. Out of every 5 German Shepherds, one dog never gets its ears to stand up which makes it almost 18% of the total German Shepherds. This percentage is quite high and shocking.

Is there something wrong with the Puppy?

If the ears do not stand up after 5 months, there might be a flaw in the proper growth of the puppy due to insufficient nutrition. A dog needs a proper food diet consisting of nutrients rich with calcium, proteins, and vitamins A, C, and D.

If you are not providing quality food to your dog, then you need to shift to high-quality food with all the required nutrients. You can also take the help of a vet to know about the proper diet of your puppy according to its age.

Apart from the proper nutrition, the floppy ears after 8 months is also an indication of low-standard genetics. People try to solve this issue by tapping but tapping doesn’t work if there is an error in the biological makeup of a breed.

Tapping German Shepherd Dogs

Tapping is a common practice to make the ears of a German Shepherd. This method is mostly used for the dogs used for shows and competitions.

The German Shepherd kept as a pet at home is not experimented with by this method. People just love to have a dog like German Shepherd. Floppy ears don’t make any difference for them.

So there is no reason for using the taping method for your dog’s ears if you have no concern about how the ears of your dog look like.

Is Taping safe?

Taping is a method used to raise the ears of a German Shepherd up. Taping can be a safe method unless it doesn’t hurt the dog’s ears or cause irritation or itching.

Taping is not a very successful method. It often fails as the genetics of a dog cannot be changed by taping. This method of taping has the same effects on the shape and formation of cartilage as the weightlifting has on the growth of muscles.

If you still insist to try taping on your dog, just make sure to follow the steps below.

• Do not try taping before 5 months. Let nature do its work properly.
• Before taping, discuss it with a vet and find out if it is fine to do taping with your dog or not.
• Make your that the health of your dog is good. It takes proper nutritional food and doesn’t carry parasites.
• For taping, use a surgical, thin, and white tape.
• Try wrapping the ears around a foam and tape the ears vertically in the form of a tight roll.
• Use a popping stick to attach the ears from their top.
• Change the tape and keep checking the ears after a while. If the ears do not stand within a few months, they won’t stand up ever.

To be honest, taping is never liked by a German Shepherd. It makes it uneasy and uncomfortable. So, you should avoid taping and irritating your dog.

What can be done for the natural growth of ears?

If the ears of a dog do not stand up, there is nothing that can be done in this case. It might be a genetic problem. If you saw your dog showing signs of making the ears stand up, you can work on the following few suggestions. They might work for a specific case.

• If you let your puppy play with other puppies, keep your puppy away from the ones who have a habit to tug or bite on ears. Visually it looks cute but in the long run, it can damage the ear of your puppy and will not let the ears stand up.
• Check the ears of your puppies regularly. Clean the dirt and wax with a wet cotton bud. If you find it difficult, consult the vet to do it for you professionally.
• You can use flea medicine if you find parasites in the ears or body of your puppy. They can damage the ears.
• Encourage everyone at home to handle the puppy with care and do not play with its ears.
• Take out the proper time for your puppy. Your attention, love, and care will keep your puppy happy and healthy and the ears will stand up naturally on time.

If you are the real dog lover, it won’t even matter for you if the ears pop up or not.

Stages of German Shepherd Puppy Ears

The stages of German Shepherd puppy ears can be unpredictable. You never know at what stage the ears of your puppy will pop up straight. Depending upon the normal cases, here are the stages of German Shepherd puppy ears standing up.

Newborn to 5 months

The milk teething of a German Shepherd starts at 3 months. It is commonly found that some of the puppy’s ears rise and then pop back to floppy.

5 to 6 months

It is the stage where the teething ends. It is the right time when the ears of the German Shepherd puppies start popping up straight.

6 to 8 months

If your puppy’s ears have yet not stood up, it’s the time to be a little bit worried and concerned. Before doing anything on your own, you should consult a doctor and ask what to do.

Reasons for delay in Ears standing up

There are several reasons due to which a delay in the popping up of ears can be observed.

Teething

The most common reason due to which the ears refuse to stand up is teething. It might be because the mind is engaged in the process of teething and cannot concentrate on the ears to stand up. Till the end of 5 months, it is quite normal if the ears remain floppy and do not rise.

Genetic issue

If the ears don’t stand up even after the 6 to 8 months stage, then it can be due to some genetic issue. Nothing can be done if the floppy ears have passed through the genes.

Defective Ears

The ears are a sensitive part of a dog’s body. If the ears do not stand up after the 8 months, then there might be something that happened to the dog accidentally that caused a defect in its ear. Some other puppies might have bitten or pulled the ears hardly or kid might have hurt the puppy’s ears while playing with it.