# Dutchie Dumbo Ears



## Jason Yarborough (Mar 14, 2010)

My dutchie (Rudie Pegge Lines) puppy is 6 mos old and her ears have not started come up. They are very long ~ 5.5 inches and flop over like a lab's ears. I waited until she was done teething before I started to post them. I've had them posted for two weeks - she's pulled them down at about a week and half into it and there wasn't any improvement i.e. they were still weak and flopped over. She's on calcium supplements that were recommended by my vet. Is there anything else I can do besides wait? How long would you continue to post her ears?


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## eric squires (Oct 16, 2008)

Add glucosamine and chondroitin to her diet, we have posted many dutchie ears, just keep them posted until they stand overnight, do not let them flop, we use insulation foam designed to fit around a pipe and just cut it to fit the ear, you can also use ostomy glue to get the foam to stick to the ear but you gotta be careful not to irritate the ear, then just tape the post like you would for an ear crop


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## Benjamin Allanson (May 2, 2008)

why put so much effort into getting their ears to stand up?


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## Mike Schoonbrood (Mar 27, 2006)

Benjamin Allanson said:


> why put so much effort into getting their ears to stand up?


Why not? There's a small window of opportunity to get ears to stand - so might as well try. I had a Shepherd that needed his ears taped for a week to get his dumbo ears to stand - looked a lot better than the floppy ears.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

My GSD's ears didn't come up until almost 9 months. Calcium suppliments (I used TUMS) helped a lot though.

At 8 months.









Around 10 months.









She had some gigantic ears though and they were heavy - most don't come up when they get that old either.


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## Selena van Leeuwen (Mar 29, 2006)

Benjamin Allanson said:


> why put so much effort into getting their ears to stand up?


 yeah me to. 

He won;t bite with the ears, and yes I can understand that you want to see a pretty dog with erect ears (me to), but what isn't in there, won't come out.


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## Jerry Lyda (Apr 4, 2006)

My son has pups from Rudie Pegge lines and has no problems.

Post them.


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## Caolan Donahue (Oct 27, 2010)

Cottage cheese worked like magic for my gsd. I thought it was a joke when it was recommended to me but it worked really well really fast. A lot of the time the soft ears is just a calcium thing.


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## Lynn Cheffins (Jul 11, 2006)

if you feed gristly, chewy meat and bones the working of the jaw muscles can help the ears to stand if they are going to go up.


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## Maureen A Osborn (Feb 12, 2010)

I agree with the cottage cheese, I feed it after I crop my dogo's ears.


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## Mike Scheiber (Feb 17, 2008)

Jason Yarborough said:


> My dutchie (Rudie Pegge Lines) puppy is 6 mos old and her ears have not started come up. They are very long ~ 5.5 inches and flop over like a lab's ears. I waited until she was done teething before I started to post them. I've had them posted for two weeks - she's pulled them down at about a week and half into it and there wasn't any improvement i.e. they were still weak and flopped over. She's on calcium supplements that were recommended by my vet. Is there anything else I can do besides wait? How long would you continue to post her ears?


You have chosen a breed that looks ain't exactly job one


Selena van Leeuwen said:


> yeah me to.
> 
> He won;t bite with the ears, and yes I can understand that you want to see a pretty dog with erect ears (me to), but what isn't in there, won't come out.


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## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

Mike Scheiber said:


> You have chosen a breed that looks ain't exactly job one


It's interesting that you say that. I used to like everything but the stripes until I owned a couple of Dutchies. Then, little by little, they grew on me so long as it is brown on black.:smile:

Definitely would not care for floppy ears.


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## Danny hill (Oct 22, 2010)

i have had the similar problem with my large general purpose working dog.. his ears were up for the first six mnths then both down then back up ..then his left ear flopped and never came back up.. now at three years old the left ear is partially cocked.. tried taping ,glue and even massaging the ear from the inside working my way to the tip 4 times a day and longed for it to work eventually realized that it wasnt gonna happen... and thought god this is gonna make him look silly .. but i wasnt going to show him and it has never caused any problems with him working .. i currently have a 11mnth old pup who has been the same but raw meaty bones are sorting her out where as my 2 yr old bitch gsd that has certain weinerau (if i spelt it right ) generations in pedigree has never had this problem. i put it down too breeding and then got told it is possibly a case but if it is going to happen and the ears are going to stand then they will....if not then you might as well try and find rocking horse poo .. as it wont ever happen good luck any way ..hope all turns out well


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

This was cut out of a shoulder pad we had on blouses. The glue has to be good - won't harm the dog's skin - and I guessed his ears only needed a "push up". By the time the ear is up the foam will more or less come away.

I agree with Mike Schoonbrood, it doesn't harm the dog and his "look" is much better. The pup was about 7 months' old.


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

Jerry Lyda said:


> My son has pups from Rudie Pegge lines and has no problems.
> 
> Post them.



know of 3 dogs in the area where i train...2 with floppers and one with a copmpletely unadjusted ear...(ear is sagged in comparison to the other ear so the dog looks out of whack)

all 3 are Pegge dogs...the one with the ear out of whack is the dog that trains on our club...he aint pretty but i agree with selena....He dont bite with the ears...as long as he works the works...never cared if the ears went up, down or sideways for that matter....may make him ugly but the simple fact is:

" The better he works the more beautiful he gets " 

JMO


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

Alice Bezemer said:


> know of 3 dogs in the area where i train...2 with floppers and one with a copmpletely unadjusted ear...(ear is sagged in comparison to the other ear so the dog looks out of whack)
> 
> all 3 are Pegge dogs...the one with the ear out of whack is the dog that trains on our club...he aint pretty but i agree with selena....He dont bite with the ears...as long as he works the works...never cared if the ears went up, down or sideways for that matter....may make him ugly but the simple fact is:
> 
> ...


forgot to ad a picture of the out of whack ears dog....great worker but not the most goodlooking dog out there...hes 15 months old here...


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## Benjamin Allanson (May 2, 2008)

alice i like your thinking


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

I Would say if you started to tape them at 6 months and they have not stood up before this , you waited too long, but its worth a try ,. I would have started tapeing by 4 months


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

if it is important....feed what people have said as supplement.

Go to walgreens and buy Mole Foam Padding, it is used for various medical applications....

Go to vet and get Skin Bond, glue.

Cut mole foam to fit ear shape, I also use a piece of wire coat hanger to make a small frame to make the foam more rigid and to make the foam more easily shaped or bent....I have seen it done without wire though too...

glue those suckers in there. adjust shape accordingly.

if anything will work that will.


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2008)

crop them...


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## Harry Keely (Aug 26, 2009)

Jody Butler said:


> crop them...


:lol::lol::lol:


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Alice Bezemer said:


> forgot to ad a picture of the out of whack ears dog....great worker but not the most goodlooking dog out there...hes 15 months old here...


Wow, that's honestly not quite what I pictured when you described him. It looks like the top of his head was put on crooked. ha ha.


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## Jason Yarborough (Mar 14, 2010)

Thanks for all of the feedback. I’ve been posting her ears (with skin adhesive and pipe foam) now for about a month and a half and have her on calcium supplements. Her ears usually stay posted for 3-4 days before the adhesive gives away. The ears will stay up for a few hours, at most, and then flop again. One flops to the center of her head and the other flops straight over like a lab’s ears….then I repost, repeat again in 3-4 days. Does anybody have a recommendation on how long to post them before giving up?


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## Benjamin Allanson (May 2, 2008)

Just give it up already their just ears. If they don't stand on their own it wasn't meant to be .


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## Dana McMahan (Apr 5, 2006)

When I was showing Danes, we'd have puppies posted for weeks and weeks, especially ones with the heavier, longer crop. We used the insulation foam cut in half like someone recommended and medical adhesive, and do a bridge in between for ears that were having problems. Make sure your pulling out all the pockets (folds) that may develop. I would keep them consistently taped for a while and while you're taping, try and keep the dog restricted so they don't get pulled out of position where they can build pockets. If you cut a "v" shape into the foam, you can create an air pocket so the ear canal doesn't develop any type of debris/infection. That should allow you to keep them posted longer between re-taping. Since they are standing for a few hours at a time, I'd say its worth continuing to tape so long as you have the time.


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## Kim Gilmore (Feb 18, 2008)

Nicole Stark said:


> Wow, that's honestly not quite what I pictured when you described him. It looks like the top of his head was put on crooked. ha ha.


Looks like a unilateral CNVII injury, probably suffered as a baby puppy if mom or other littermate stepped on his head. Won't affect anything other than the one cock-eyed ear. Learned a lot about it as I had a Belgian that suffered the same thing (propped ear in addition to glued it to the "correct" ear for many months and never got it up where it needed to be).

Braendon at about 6 months; http://s528.photobucket.com/albums/dd323/SARTervs/Braendon/?action=view&current=IMG_1832.jpg

Kim Gilmore


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

Nicole Stark said:


> Wow, that's honestly not quite what I pictured when you described him. It looks like the top of his head was put on crooked. ha ha.



yeah looks kinda freaky lol...still he works great hes just not something you really want to look at to closely but then again...his work makes up for all the faults in appearance


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

One of the best HRD dogs I ever saw was a GSD that had one ear that hung like a hound's ear. 
I always thought she should have been pts because of that ugly ear. :twisted: :^o


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Bob Scott said:


> One of the best HRD dogs I ever saw was a GSD that had one ear that hung like a hound's ear.
> I always thought she should have been pts because of that ugly ear. :twisted: :^o


yep shoulda been put down...bet the ugly bassid even had his front dewclaws...[-X


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