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Please take a look at my pictures and tell me your opinion

17K views 93 replies 25 participants last post by  julie87 
#1 ·
Arexa is now almost 7 months old and I am really beginning to panic, seems like her ears are getting worse instead of better :( her most current photo shows like ears almost gave up. On picture where she is 5 moths old her ears would be like that every time in the car while driving, now not even that. Sometimes she will pick them up and they will be criss-cross, but mostly floppy. I have tryed taping 2 weeks ago for a few days it helped a little but as soon as the tape came off so did her ears :( I have tried tender mender glue for a few days got worse results than after tape. Today I put some breath strips in her ears with tender mender glue, I just don't know what to do anymore I hope I am just worried for nothing, she is my first GSD and I don't have much experience. It very important that her ears are up! Please tell me what I should do I am thinking of taking her to a professional to tape ears...

 
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#42 ·
OH and another thing I forgot to add, I have noticed that ever since i glued her ears she wants to chew A LOT more... I don't know if it has anything to do with her ears being glued but I was just in shock how much she wanted to chew. Also gluing is so much better than taping it is a million times easier to apply and it doesn't bother my girl, she only tried to scratch it once right when i put it on her.
 
#45 ·
the bully sticks are effective not because of the chewing action, because most dogs can practically inhale them, but because they are a source of collagen and chondroitin . You must be careful when buying this and make very sure that it is not a product from China as so many "treats" are . Buy only natural , no colour, no preservative, no flavouring , no "smoke" , plain dehydrated . Trachea will provide the same benefits. -- same chemistry as gelatin .
I have a raw pet boutique two roads over that buys boxes full of fresh raw pizzles and then dehydrates them . I can buy them fresh and floppy or dried . She also buys
boxes of trachea with the organs still on . If you are close to an Asian or West Indian grocer you can buy cow skin -- an excellent source of collagen . Or cow's feet which you can boil and have all that gelatin release. Or get yourself chicken carcass with the keel on and either give them these or make a bone broth , essentially making your own gelatin. Cow lips are good .
At this point you could go into a study of bone development. A fetus' skeleton is basically collagen , ossification takes time . This is why hip x rays show differently as the dog ages because the growth plates are cartilage , which can be damaged ! and will show as a gap on the x ray . Bone is ever changing, living , dynamic , responding to nutrition and physcial stresses - weight physical activity . Very interesting research being done in this area to prepare human-kind for living outside of the Earth's gravity on space stations where there is no gravity. Bone will lose its ossification .

So collagen is beneficial to bones , being the material which creates the scaffold for ossification .
Your dogs ears were up so the genetics are there . They fell because the dog had high demands but on his body . By mucking around with the ears you could create a problem by damaging the tissue. Feed well , and wait.
 
#48 ·
" stuffed raw hides she is busy for hours lol"

I would never give raw hide . Know too many incidents where dogs have run into serious, meaning fataly serious problems . Not only do many of them have preservatives which "embalm" them , or come from off-shore with who knows what else , but they come off in chunks and absorb moisture in the gut . There they begin to swell like a sponge taking up water . Indigestible , they saponify , get soapy-slimy. They act as a dam preventing food from going through the digestive system. Put pressure on tissue. They spoil in the gut creating bacterial havoc , tissue dies , necrotizes and then you have emergency surgery .
One of my high levels competition dogs spoiled by his loving owner was on the operating table and when it was evident how much damage had been done and how much of the intestine was dead , necrotic tissue, the owner and vet humanely kept him under the anaesthetic and helped him pass on to his next journey .
When the vet phoned the supplier / importer of these raw hide products they were lightning fast to respond with cash , compensation - without questions at all - so not unfamiliar with the problem .
 
#51 ·
Wow I didn't know that thank you for sharing there is a lot I still don't know she is my first GSD :) I will remove all the rawhides and tell all my friends who have dogs to discontinue these evil treats. Any other treats I should be aware of? I usually don't even buy her treats often chews yes but not treats. I give her boiled chicken breast when training her.. And other boiled meat sometimes... Oh and beef jerky rarely. Is beef jerky safe for dogs?


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#57 ·
I thought I would update everyone, Arexa is now 7 months old, I removed the glue and breathe strips 2 days ago. Her ears are still now up! That spay really messed her up because they were up before then now its been 2 months and her ears are a mess! Here is updated picture of her
 
#64 ·
okay , she has a nice tight dry type build -- could stand a little more weight through muscle - in the sitting picture her prosternum was protruding so I wanted to see her standing to see how much tuck she has -- not bad .
In the sitting picture she looks like a 1960's retro Pierette Eden - remember the craze for the huge eyes - like so Vintage Eden Pierette Print | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The muzzle is large and so is the eye making the face look gaunt.

Seriously though I wouldn't muck around with the ears . they were up , they should come up again. Cartilage in the ear can be damaged . Nice pup !
 
#67 ·
okay , she has a nice tight dry type build -- could stand a little more weight through muscle - in the sitting picture her prosternum was protruding so I wanted to see her standing to see how much tuck she has -- not bad .
In the sitting picture she looks like a 1960's retro Pierette Eden - remember the craze for the huge eyes - like so Vintage Eden Pierette Print | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The muzzle is large and so is the eye making the face look gaunt.

Seriously though I wouldn't muck around with the ears . they were up , they should come up again. Cartilage in the ear can be damaged . Nice pup !
Yes, I figured thats why you wanted to see her standing up :) We were just at the vet 3 days ago, and she said her weight is perfect for her size, she is just on the smaller size for GSD. She is 44 pounds and you can't see her ribs but you can feel them and you can see her waistline. I actually noticed lately she seemed a bit skinny to me thats why I asked the vet that question, she is also blowing her coat so that makes her appear even more skinny, I was thinking she was going bald with all the fur coming off her :) I also switched her food to Blue Buffelo Wilderness I still mix it with Royal Canin until her poop firms up a bit :) its been a week so far. I will try taping again soon because that was the most effective for her even though she took it off the next day there was a lot more difference than from gluing. I can't let it go I need her ears up, thanks for your advice Carmen:)
 
#69 ·
3 months seems very early for rabies ,
the spay , at a prime growth period , was an assault on her body , let her recover , give her what she needs to do so.
Yes, poor dog. She is my first personal dog and I will never spay again...I don't get how removing body parts suppose to make them healthier..they say it prevents certain cancers but then again it increases chancer for other diseases...why do it at all... I will deal with her heat cycles and behavior issues but I will never let them spay another dog of mine... but thats already another topic.
 
#68 ·
How about leaving these young bodies alone as much as possible? No neuter, spay or over vaccinations until they are fully grown?
It is easy to say to not care but it is a bummer when they don't get up. I know it doesn't change the dog's personality but a great part of the beauty of a GSD are the ears. They make the dog look regal. Ever seen the Farside cartoon about domestication of the wolf?
I am always sorry for owners of a GSD if the ears don't get up.
I have a sight hound with erect ears , so the opposite problem. He is 11 years old now and I still notice it but wouldn't trade him for the world.
 
#71 ·
How about leaving these young bodies alone as much as possible? No neuter, spay or over vaccinations until they are fully grown?
It is easy to say to not care but it is a bummer when they don't get up. I know it doesn't change the dog's personality but a great part of the beauty of a GSD are the ears. They make the dog look regal. Ever seen the Farside cartoon about domestication of the wolf?
I am always sorry for owners of a GSD if the ears don't get up.
I have a sight hound with erect ears , so the opposite problem. He is 11 years old now and I still notice it but wouldn't trade him for the world.
100% agree with you, everything the vet does ruins our dogs, they don't help. I come from Russia in a small village, we had our local vet there, but we would NEVER spay animals and NEVER give vaccines, and guess what? They were always healthy, my childhood dog just died 2 years ago, he lived to be 17 years old and never seen a vet in his lifetime, he was fed human food, we were poor back there so what we had he would have as well, and he was SO HEALTHY. All the toxins from dog food and the vet office just do more harm then good! Oh and by the way it was very common to have GSD as guard dog back there, and none of them had the normal genetic issues they usually have in USA or UK and so on... forget hip displsia forget DM, and forget kidney problems.. none of them existed back there...just thought I would mention it :)
 
#72 ·
oh , you can spay , just wait until the body has fully matured
I wish I discovered this forum BEFORE I got my dog. The morning I called the vet to schedule the spay she was 5 months old and they said to do it asap before her first heat cycle. Also our state requires each dog owner to have a dog license before 4 months of age that includes her rabies, and they must be spayed or their fees are 10 times more expenssive to license them. I wish I didn't listen to the vet, I learned a lot more from these forums form helful folks here then I learned from vets, I will never take advice from vet again, I will research and ask on this forum, people here a lot more trustworthy then the vet.
 
#74 ·
Its been 7 days after taping, I removed the glue/tape 10 minutes ago I think the picture speaks for itself :) I am so relieved they are standing I'll wait a few more days to take new pictures for everyone to see just to make sure they are still standing :) I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!

 
#76 ·
They look great, but don't get disappointed if they begin to get weak again after a day or so. Just keep doing it and eventually it will work. It could take months, but it will be worth it in the end. I hope they stay this time. I've been working on my eight month old for over a month. They look great for a couple of hours when the glue comes out. Then he goes and plays with my female and they begin to get weak again. He has taller ears like yours does, so it will take longer. When they drop they look exactly like your GSD.


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