9mo old American Brd GSD ears STILL flopping about?

I asked about 4 months ago (on a diff acct which i haven't been on in a long time so yahoo closed it) when my Blazen was 5mo old (60lbs). Now hes 9mo old (~85lbs+) tomorrow and his ears are still floppy. Occasionally they will full fledged stand up when hes engaged in fetching his ball, chewing his raw hides, or swimming, the other day one of them stood for about 45 mins then just flopped back down. I have taped his ears up on and off for last 3mo with little to show for it. He is AKC, parents had perfect ears, he comes from a family of working dogs. His diet is superb, I free feed Nutro Naturals Controlled Growth but he prefers his raw diet instead, naturally. My family has had GSD before only one had issues getting her ears up so they supplemented with Calcium, which i have been doing religiously. I can't really tell if there has been any improvement. He also gets daily vitamins since a pup, Glucosamine Chondroitin and fish oil. Physically, his head is too small for his ears (his ears are about the length of his snout, they are gargantuan) and he is still much shorter than he is long, he also is not neutered. I'm hoping his ears will pop up in due time and the reason for the tardiness is because a. his ears are freakishly large and b. all the calcium is going to his bones since he will probably be around 110-115lbs like his father. I'm at a loss. He's adorable with floppy ears but would be stunning handsome if his ears stood. Any suggestions of things I haven't tried yet?

Patience - that you have previously "taped his ears up on and off for last 3mo" shows that you have NOT tried that essential element of dog ownership.I find it hard to believe that a very oversized stud comes from genuine "working lines". Increased size very adversely affects agility and the feeding bill - both aspects are important to anyone who uses a true working dog.As his sire IS horribly oversize for a herding breed, obviously you did NOT buy him as breeding & showing stock, so what his ears do is irrelevant to whatever you did get him for, just as it is irrelevant to him.And you should not be free-feeding him - add http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_GSD_Source to your browser's Bookmarks or Favorites, so that you can easily look up such as feeding, vaccinations, weights, clubs, teething, neutering, disorders, then go to the Links => Feeding section and study the research on how free-feeding worsens the degree of HD that the genetics were going to produce anyway.You don't mention supplying a nightly gnaw bone (such as a length of oxtail or sheep-spine). That has benefits for both teeth & ears.There are 400+ YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with GSDs. Each group's Home page tells you which aspects they like to discuss, and how active they are. Most allow you to include photos so that you can show people what your pet looks like. So join some that suit your interests, and ask there..Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly"In GSDs" as of 1967

If his ears are that large, and haven't been up for more than 45 minutes up til now, it's very unlikely they will come up on their own. If his lines are truly as large (oversize) as you indicate, it makes the odds even less. I don't believe in taping a GSD's ears...what will be, will be. If you're not happy with that, and they're not up in another month, your only option would be to consult with a vet or experienced breeder/showman on intervention. Good Luck.

If they haven't been up consistently before now, they probably won't come up. They should be up by 7 mos for the most part. I agree with Becky you should just let 'em be, taping doesn't always work anyway and the ears will probably always be soft and floppy even if you do get 'em to stand up.