# Upright ears?



## Tavi (May 21, 2010)

Ok I have an odd question...does anyone know what age you can definitely tell whether or not your dog will have floppy ears or upright ones? I was told you can see it around six months and they should be fully upright around a year...does that sound right?

Buddy is determined to confuse me...he currently has floppy ears...but most Formosans have upright ears. And sometimes its almost like his ears are upright as well..hence the photo below...But I can't decide if they'll go upright or if he's just teasing me! 

Oh well either way he's still adorable...


----------



## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

My GSD puppy got upright ears about 10 - 11 weeks old. He looks older than that and since the GSD is the only breed I deal with that is all I have to offer you. He looks like his ears may be about to come up. 

Questa's ears are up but one is currently a leaner LOL. With GSD's the ears will sometimes flop down a bit when they are teething. Old tyme breedrs say this is so and at that age used to add Calcium to the diet. I don't go for that at all as it out balances the phosphorus and can cause issues. Another thing I have heard is that when the ears start to flop to be sure the puppy has good hard stuff to chew on. Well.. they are teething so you do that anyway.. but I have been giving fresh marrow bones because it really encopurages chewing on something appropriate. 

Again.. that is my breed. Maybe you can do an online search for yours or ask your breeder.


----------



## Tavi (May 21, 2010)

Ah thx Elana I appreciate the feedback! Hardest part is no breeder or breed experts on my breed...hmm since the actual breed is extinct or darn near close enough. Formosan Mountain Dogs were pretty much destroyed during the war and bred out through bad animal handling, now a days we can only recognize separate points in the cross-bred dogs. LoL I like to say Buddy is the perfect example of guess my breed! Poor Buds is a stray with unknown history from Taiwan now. I guess I'll know when it happens or not...he just keeps teasing me this week with perking up his ears all the way up and then the next second they're all floppy again. LoL


----------



## melaka (Mar 31, 2010)

My puppy had ears that tipped over until about 6 1/2 months old. For a couple weeks they would take turns one standing up with the other one floppy. Then one day they stood up and they are up 99% of the time now since about her 7-month mark. They do still tip over now and then when she's tired/very relaxed, but most of the time they are even standing when she's sleeping.

from this:









to this:









So in my experience the teething thing made sense as they seemed to stand up when she was mostly done teething. Honestly I kind of miss her floppy ears sometimes.

And, she's a mixed breed dog so I really had nothing to compare her to, though I know her mother's ears did not stand up.


----------



## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

They can go up even at 6-7 months old but if that late they may be soft and floppy. I notice AKC gsd ears are later than my dogs in going up but working line most times have them up even quicker. If you want his ears to have a chance at standing I heard akc gsd people are using a new glue from ace that is not invasive and does not require forms. It lasts 2 weeks you are only gluing edge of each inside rim to the other ear to support while the cartlidge gets strong enough to stay upright. You must be careful of ears you wish to stand they are delicate and if get any creases forget it cant be repaired into standing.


----------



## Shiningsummer (May 24, 2010)

melaka said:


> My puppy had ears that tipped over until about 6 1/2 months old. For a couple weeks they would take turns one standing up with the other one floppy. Then one day they stood up and they are up 99% of the time now since about her 7-month mark. They do still tip over now and then when she's tired/very relaxed, but most of the time they are even standing when she's sleeping.
> 
> from this:
> 
> ...


I'm sorry, I don't have any advice-I just wanted to say AAAWWW to this picture, she is so cute .


----------



## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Usually by 6-7 months they should be up but sometimes because of teething and changing calcium levels they can go up and down to about 8-9 months. Very rarely they stand up closer to 1 yr of age but that's extremely rare. It's usually set by 9 months. How old is your pup now?


----------



## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

My mutt had very floppy, beagle like ears as a young pup, then they went totally erect around 8 months. Now as a 3 year old adult, she had erect ears with very wobbly tips that swing over the side like some rat terriers have (but moreso). I don't know about your breed but sometimes it will just keep changing until adulthood so you just never can know for sure till then.


----------



## Tavi (May 21, 2010)

From what we can guess Buddy is around seven months old right now. Now here's a side question when he was younger he was born on the streets to a mother that was pretty much surviving on rice bowl donations from students at the Taiwan university she was hiding at. If the ears setting has something to do with calcium I wonder if this poor diet might have caused some deficiency. Not to mention though Buddy does have all his adult teeth in he's been diagnosed with Enamel Dysplasia...meaning no enamel on his teeth so we're already dealing with one aspect of his poor start in life. Some of his siblings have gotten their upright ears already and some I sadly lost touch with so I'm not sure about them...ah curiosity is such a fun thing. LoL


----------

