ears

Question
i have 2 husky/shepard mix pups, they have just turned a year and their ears r still floppy. they are both large dogs and  their ears will sometimes(evryonce in a great while) stand somewhat, is this being lazy or just maybe the ligaments broken, we got them when they was 8 weeks old and have no idea how they was handled before that. i know shepards ears take maybe a year or longer to get them to stand. and alsowe always have to keep one tied when outside or they take off to hunt if they r loss they will bring at least 3-4 groundhogs home a day, any advice to get them to not hunt them?


Answer
Huskies do have erect ears, which can take some time to develop from puppyhood.  If you combine that with shepherd dogs, which often have larger ears that can take even longer to become erect, you could have a mix that can take a while.  It also wouldn't surprise me if they stayed floppy somewhat for most of their lives.  When you have mixes, it's often hard to have accurate expectations because the genetic developments are obscured in the lineage.  I wouldn't worry about it much - if they are pets, the erect/floppy ears shouldn't matter as much - just keep an eye out for infections which are more prevalent in floppy ears.

As for outside, huskies (purebred Siberians are notorious for it), have two problems:  1) High prey-drive; 2)Wanderlust.  Sibes were born to run, and you can't have them outside, off lead at all and not expect them to be off.  They love to get out and explore.  The only problem, Sibes get tunnel vision when they are out (which they were bred to get pulling sleds) and often get lost, or worse, hit by cars.  You have to have them properly secured outside.  They are also master escape artists, so a 6-foot privacy wood fence with a hot electric fence wire at the bottom is what we use - and one of ours has gotten out since we installed that.

As for hunting - you have a husky.  Nothing you can do will curb that desire - they were bred to be self-sufficient hunters.  The high prey-drive means what they see, they will chase.  Their breeding to run means what they chase, they will most likely catch.  Their breeding to be effective hunters means what they catch, they will kill.  You're only real defense there is a properly secured yard which they have a limited hunting territory.  Our two dogs (both around age 3) have virtually eliminated all forms of rodentia in our backyard - so they have much fewer kills than they used to, only because they have less things to get now.  It's just something you have to understand about huskies - they are a dog, and it's something they were bred to do.

Hope that helps, ande feel free to contact me with any other questions.