Dutch Shepherd Forum

My DS mix puppy, Cody, has one ear standing and one bent over at 6 months of age. The ear that stand has been up for two months, and I figured Im coming up on the point of no return for his other ear. I had my vet tape it last week. From the moment the tape was on Cody was scratching it, and the tape ended up coming off today, two days early (5 days of tape). It looks exactly the same as when the tape went on. Theres still a crease where it folds toward the base, and it flops a bit at the top. I know it could take a few days to stand after the tape comes off, but i thought the crease would at least look less defined and it would look a little more sturdy. Im going to try a different taping method tomorrow, but I would like to hear some opinions. I wish i could post a picture, but I have tried quite a few times following all the instructions, and I still cant get my pics up on here . Do you think its too late for his other ear? I've read they can be taped up to eight months and stand. I realize heredity could be a factor, but the ear clearly has the potential, since the other has been perfectly erect for two months now. So I'll try one more time and hope for the best. If it doesn't work, thats alright. Iv'e still got the best pup I could ask for

I am going to tape Sadies ears. She is 5.5 months now and her left ear is giving a great effor to standing, the tip falls backwards when she looks up so im afraid it wont crease properly. Its the right ear that isnt even giving much thought to standing. Thats the ear im worried about. I didnt worry this much when my daughter wasnt crawling at 6 months yet LOL. Ive done some reading with some help from other DS pals. I like Leerbur's idea of gluing pipe insulation in the ears. It looks like a nice fit. He uses skin glue. He dosnt wrap them but i think i will for extra protection. Now for the stupid question. How do I get the glue off her ears, nail polish remover? If any one has any other advice, I love to hear it. Compared to most of the other pups, her ears are on the small side.

Here is a picture from the other night, she is looking up, see how her ears tip back. And yes.... thats batter on her face

No it is not too late!! Gwen's ears were floppy when I got her at six months. I changed her food to a high quality premium food and those ears eventually stood up. The vet said it was a matter of nutrition. Asheley said they tried taping them but Gwen wouldn't leave the tape on anyway.

Try breathe right strips possibly with some skin glue if needed. They work well for dobe people and can be more comfortable for the dog so they won't fuss over them.

Choochi wrote:Try breathe right strips possibly with some skin glue if needed. They work well for dobe people and can be more comfortable for the dog so they won't fuss over them.

wow, didnt think of that! Ill try that first. Thanks :dswink"

a mix DS breeder in Holland has this in almost all pups, has something to do with muscle tention pulling them backwards according to her. I think she mentioned massaging the ears helps too, to stretch the muscles a bit?

I doubt it has anything to do with tendon. It should then apply to (most) all dogs with standing ears, and while I have had a pup with very unwilling ears, I have not had backward flops just yet. With that being said, yes, massaging/rubbing the ears certainly does not hurt. Try it and see an immediate improvement about 15 minutes afterwards. Keep it up (pun intended) if it works. Otherwise, taping would be an option and 5 or 6 months is not too late. Using lighter material (like mole foam from your local drugstore) is better than heavy feeling tape. The trick is to have the dog to leave it alone. The ears should stand for a least an hour post removal of the material. If they flop down after that, retape. At least you know you are making progress. I had ony one pup with very unwilling ears, but I must have retaped for 6 weeks if not more, figuring I had nothing to lose. I was right. The ears stood perfectly at the end of all the taping and I am just glad I did not throw in the towel.
My rule of thumb is that if the ears have once stood or tried to stand prior to teething, they will in all likelyhood come back up again. Big ears have more trouble than little ones though. Bigger (boned) dogs will have more issues than mid size models.

My puppy ears dont stand yet too. she is 3 1/2 month right now. my vet told me not to tape her ears because it can make series problems to them. what yes he advise me to get her a big bone to chew that it can strengthen the muscle and feed her in high quailty food.

both of them love their ears rubbed, (releases endorphins) so they get that anyway, I bought the nose strips, im going to try that, her left ear is starting to really work on standing, the right one is not doing a very good job but i am really seeing daily improvements by her ears.

turgi11 wrote:My puppy ears dont stand yet too. she is 3 1/2 month right now. my vet told me not to tape her ears because it can make series problems to them. what yes he advise me to get her a big bone to chew that it can strengthen the muscle and feed her in high quailty food.

At Mia's age, I would not worry yet Gal. She has yet to start teething, and most pups ears will flop down again when they do, even if they have tried to stand before. But when Mia is almost 6 months and the ears are still not up, you would have reason to worry. For right now, though, your vet is right.

yes that what he said too. i can start see improvement, she start to move them a lot so i am less worry now.

turgi11 wrote:yes that what he said too. i can start see improvement, she start to move them a lot so i am less worry now.

I wouldnt worry either, she is young yet, in all of the articles, they said once teething is done, and around 4-6 months. Around 4.5 months, Sadie lost alot of teeth, she is still mouthy but all of the teeth are in. Her left ear is doing a great job standing now.

Sadies ears are progressing,



They are trying to stand, then the tips flop backwards. She will be 6 months on the 27th. Should I leave them and let them stand on their own? I tried the breath right strips but they kept coming off, I didnt use any glue though, I keep forgetting to buy some.

I just got an email from Gwen's breeder. She said that her experience is that sometimes the DS's with Malinois in their background have "soft" ears that sometimes will be reluctant to stand. As I said in an earlier post Gwen's ears looked the pictures you posted and I changed her food to a higher protein/quality food and they responded well. Her ears are still soft however, and when she runs real fast... the tips flop a bit. I did not use tape or glue or other stuff, too much of a bother for me.

her feed is good. her cartilage is pretty soft, that may be the reason, I am looking at her Pedigree and her father is Fawn, I have heard that you can register a Fawn color as either?

I have heard that if it is Brindle you can register them as either a Mal or a DS... Gwen's grandfather is a Mal and she got the soft ears from her dad, Hitchcock.. I always thought that if it wasn't brindle it wasn't a DS. Maybe one of the breeders can tell us.

Kristie Elliott wrote:I have heard that if it is Brindle you can register them as either a Mal or a DS... Gwen's grandfather is a Mal and she got the soft ears from her dad, Hitchcock.. I always thought that if it wasn't brindle it wasn't a DS. Maybe one of the breeders can tell us.

Yeah, now im confused, Im trying to remember, An old trainer of mine had a Fawn DS

Found an article
"
At this time the most notable difference between the Dutch and Belgian Shepherd is the color. At one point in time there were fawn Dutch Shepherds along with the many different color brindles seen today"

Dutchringgirl wrote:her feed is good. her cartilage is pretty soft, that may be the reason, I am looking at her Pedigree and her father is Fawn, I have heard that you can register a Fawn color as either?

It depends on what registry you are looking at. UKC will not register a fawn DS, unless it is out of 2 registered brindle parents. Even then I think it is supposed to be a restricted registration.

AKC will accept a "brindle" malinois registration if you are just wanting ILP status.

When I dealt with someone who dealt with ACA, they would register anything on just your word. I almost pulled a "fawn DS" out of the Chicago area for rescue that came with ACA papers. Mal rescue stepped up and took it in.

There are many fawn dogs being produced out of 2 brindle parents and UKC registration is easy to get on any brindle dog that closely matches the breed standard. They do not research the pedigrees. I would venture to say that the majority of brindle dogs being produced in NA right now are atleast 1/2 malinois. I know many "breeders" who have maintained brindle on 50% of their litters, even though the majority of the pedigree is fawn. Stripes sell, or at least they hope.

That being said, I don't want to sound like a hypocrite. My last litter is 1/2 DS and 1/2 mal. We bred an awesome fawn bitch to a registered DS sire that we have used before with great results. Our intention was not to produce Dutch Shepherds - and they will be called DS/mal X. Our intention was to produce great working dogs for our police K9 program.

Interesting. Little miss flop ears is passed out from being outside all day playing.

I have seen that article regarding the fawn DS. I was under the impression that the fawn DS was no more. I think some of Gwen's siblings were fawn. I'd have to check though.

I don't think you sound like a hypocrite Christie, at least you are honest in your advertisement.