My new purebred 18 mos female GSD has floppy ears most of the time

by Connie
(Chicago, IL USA)

Is there anything I can do to get her ears to stand up?

She's had a rough early life (2 shelters, 3 houses, 4 foster homes, and now me with a 3 yr. old gsd male at home)

Any foods I can feed her to help the muscle tone in her ears?

She's quite a tall girl, pretty skinny right now but that won't last.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've heard taping can hurt the dog. Thank you so much.





Total German Shepherd: Congratulations on rescuing your new German Shepherd puppy - yes, she's still a puppy. Good for you!

Concerning her ear carriage, at this point her ears are the way they're going to stay. After the age of about 7 months, if your German Shepherds ears are not up chances are really, really high that they're not going to to ever come up.

Food wise, feed her the best food you can afford to help put some weight on her in a healthy manner. But as far as her ears go, the food won't help those to go back up.

You mentioned having another German Shepherd, maybe you can get them on the same food over time if there are no underlying health issues that would warrant a special needs diet for either one of them. That'll make it much easier on you.

BTW, ear taping does not hurt the dog if done correctly, if the GSD puppy needs it, but it has to be done before 6 months of age or so in order to be successful. So ignore that myth. It's not true.

But at any rate, good luck with your new companion. Enjoy her uniqueness. Get her into training if you can and on the best food you can afford and help her and your other GSD to bond and you should all be fine. Good luck.