German Shepherd puppies in Virginia
This 4m old male GSD puppy has flying nun ears, and they were developing a crease on the inside. I advised taping them. With his owner’s assistance, I taped them up, and he adjusted beautifully. Patricia will monitor them daily, checking for the slightest sign of inflammation or infection.
Thank you to Virginia Kennel Club for allowing us to use the grooming table for the ear taping.
Kemy’s ears have been taped up for two weeks. We took the tape off yesterday, and lo and behold, they look great! And by great, I actually mean on their way to being great. They will need to be taped again!
Kemy’s right ear had a small area of inflammation near the inside edge. Because of this, they cannot be retaped immediately. (NEVER tape an ear with any sign of infection or inflammation.) Josh will clean them daily, and in a few days they can be taped again. I expect them to flop a little more before we can tape again, which is normal at this stage.
Go Kemy! Overall, I am VERY pleased so far with the outcome given the way her ears originally looked. (Scroll back to previous posts.)
Here are some pics of the puppies that are two years old today. If you have a puppy from this litter, please send pics. I will add to this post as I get more pics.
I got together with some friends today and practiced handling Clyde and See See. They are 2 years old 2/6/23. Here are some pictures of the two of them stacked. Thank you Kevin, for taking the pictures.
It’s cool to compare them. Clyde has a better croup, and See See has more rear angulation. See See has better pigment, and Clyde has better ears. Clyde has great bone, and See See has a nice front. Clyde definitely has a masculine look, and See See is definitely feminine, which is desirable in the breed.
My neighbor came to visit, and she is a dog lover! The dogs love her so much!
Kemy came back today for a retaping. I had hoped her ears might stand a little bit more since yesterday, but instead they were more droopy. But at least we know the bases will stand. I think with a real concerted effort we can get this puppy’s ears up. The old school wisdom is “If they’re not up by 6 months you’ll never get them up.” But I have proven that wrong before.
Josh really wants this to work. So we will keep at it until they come up.
Josh brought his 6m old female GSD, “Kemy”, back over for a retaping. The ears are coming along nicely. They definitely look better than they did, but have a ways to go. We decided to let them “rest” overnight, and we will retape tomorrow. The ears look very healthy, with no sign if irritation or infection, which must be closely monitored during taping. Josh has done a good job keeping the tape dry and keeping her comfortable.
Sometimes when the tape is taken off, the ears are a little tender. And so they don’t hold them up as well as they do the next day. Other times, the ears are as good as they’re going to get and the ears fall back down without the support of the tape. So we will see what tomorrow brings. Regardless, we will keep at it until they are up.
Jasmine brought her friend Lexi with her to dog class, and with Liz helping out, I got video of three GSDs, including two of mine, Clyde and See See, in handling class.
The room where we have class is rather small, and the floor is slick, which is fine for smaller dogs, or dogs that do not have to go so fast in the ring. GSD handlers have to go faster than any other breed handler because GSDs are shown at a “flying trot”. These ladies are doing an amazing job with these GSDs despite the less than ideal conditions.
If you’ve been following my blog for awhile you might remember Winston’s Auntie Gail. She is my neighbor and helped me so much with my last litter which included Clyde and See See. She visited the other day and it was quite clear that she and Clyde REALLY missed each other. Each pic is a little different but I love all of them. The last one is best.
My friend Josh came back to day for a retaping of his puppy’s ears. First we had to get the glue off, and that was a job. In the pics, you can see that her ears are still floppy.
Shepherd Sight