Not touching the ears - fact or myth?

[doggiedad]

i didn't play with my dogs ears untill they were up and
i didn't allow other people to play with his ears untill they
were up.

[PorkandBeans]

Originally Posted by doggiedad

i didn't play with my dogs ears untill they were up and
i didn't allow other people to play with his ears untill they
were up.

And how did you deal with the situations that I mentioned? i.e. sleeping up against a wall or his crate with his ears smashed against it? Surely your pup did this at some point, did you physically move him? Get up in the middle of the night to make sure his ears were free and clear? Because it seems like those instances where their ears are held down in an awkward position by a wall or crate during extended sleep would do more damage than just petting the dog.

[zzena]

I think it is a myth. This is my first gsd and she is 17 weeks now. I have had her since she was 9 weeks and she plays rough with my basset hound all the time.My basset is always tugging on her ears. When I got her at 9 weeks, ears were down. They both went up at 13 weeks and then back down at 14 weeks and then both back up at 16 weeks.

[Gretchen]

Originally Posted by doggiedad

i didn't play with my dogs ears untill they were up and
i didn't allow other people to play with his ears untill they
were up.

Same here. Our breeder gave us a booklet to take home with us and there is a long paragraph about not handling the ears until they go up. There were other things to consider, chewing and teething and calcium and more but I am a work now and cannot remember everything. Our dog has some big beautiful, upright ears so I'd say this advice works. Molly is a bit sleepy here so she has airplane ears.

[TommyB681]

Iv never heard this before and I think that speaks for itself myth

[Jericho2007]

I think the longer the ear the longer it takes for them to come up. I think unless you are handling your pup's ears to the point you are damaging the cartilage then it's a myth. Mine sleep up against them a lot and it doesn't change them or damage them. I can see if they were held in a certain position for a solid week or longer then you may see some change or damage.

[martemchik]

It's a myth. Some breeders that know their lines have softer ears will tell you this to give them more of a chance to stand. It's the same as when some breeders recommend you start taping at 3 months just to make sure they stand. Breeders that know they breed soft ears still want the ears to stand, so their customers are happy, and so that when others see their dogs they aren't questioning "where did you get that dog?" so they know to avoid said breeder that has GSDs who's ears won't stand.

[zivagirl]

Has to be a myth. Otherwise, the Divine wouldn't have made them so pleasingly fuzzy.

[blackshep]

Myth, I maul my puppy's head all the time, ears are just fine

[Neko]

Weird I was also told not to touch puppy's ears and to tell everyone to please avoid his head. Yet I know people who have GSD's and kids and their dogs ears are fine. How to you tell a kid not to play with the dogs head? you don't. Hmmm