Is cropping a dog's ears beneficial to health?

Question

Our family just got a new boxer puppy. Her tail is docked, but her ears are not cropped. My husband is in favor of cropping her ears, I am TOTALLY against it(he's not a bad guy, just mis-informed, I think). Anyway, he mentioned he'd heard that the cropped ears helps ward off ear infection. Thus far, I've not been able to find anything indicating this is true. I'm hoping someone can provide an answer so that I might use it as leverage to my plea to not have her cropped.

Answer 1

Cropping is a breed standard for many breeds, as it used to serve a purpose. For example, if you had working breed w/ usually pendulant ears- they cropped them to appear more agile, alert, etc..also Upright ears can hear better thus making them more suited for their work. But these days it is merely for aesthetic reasons. But - Let me warn you. I had my Doberman's ears done and for this breed- It looks wonderful. But it is a ton of work and is costly. In my area- it was hard to find a vet that would still do this procedure and was experienced, it cost about 500.00$. The aftercare can last from a few weeks to 6 months !!!!! This is many many days of posting and re posting and vet visits to ensure they were healing properly, pain meds, etc. I had to take my little guy to the vet every 3 days for 5 months. It is a huge commitment and if done improperly, can lead to unsightly ears, ears that may never stand, infection, etc. But it is also a personal choice- I often have people that approach me with negative comments. But in the end, my Doberman is happy and his ears stand beautifully.

Answer 2

A dog with floppy ears may be prone to ear infections, if the ears aren't kept clean and dry. I had a Cocker Spaniel (among other "floppies") and never had a problem with her ears.

Cropping ears is very painful for the dog, and must be maintained religiously during healing, or they can develop an infection from that! Sometimes the cropping doesn't take, and you have a dog with one ear up, one down. Silly looking, at best! The cleaning and taping is no fun for the owner or pet, not to mention the hostility you will be met with every time you go out in public with her!

A dog with cropped ears looks sharp, but that's not a good enough reason to do it.

Many vets now refuse to crop ears, since it's no longer required by the AKC to show dogs. It's considered needless cruelty and mutilation. Just call your vet. He or she will probably refuse to perform this service. Problem solved! If he or she will crop ears, I'd suggest looking for another vet, this one isn't looking after the pet's best interest!

Last suggestion. Tell hubby he can get the dog's ears cropped after he has his own done! Good luck!

Answer 3

Cropping ears is a throw back to when dogs fought and hunted and it was believed it would keep their ears from being grabbed and bitten.



There is NO reason to do it now = it is just a remnant of old thinking. Dogs, incl. boxers, can now be shown without any cropping and in Europe

it is so frowned on now (it HURTS the dog to do this, it would hurt you) that a cropped dog can no longer be shown.



Stick to your decision and do not crop this poor guy's ears - your husband is wrong, it does nothing at all to ward off infections, it is just a needless mutilation.

Answer 4

Docked Tails and Cropped ears is a cosmetic thing.

Unless you are planning on showing this dog or breeding it. Its not needed. I only say this because people expect to see docked tails & cropped ears.

If you do get lots of ear infections it won't be because you didn't crop its ears.

Answer 5

The only ear surgery that really is good for the health is done in dogs with repeated severe yeast growth. They enlarge the canal and sometimes "crop" the ear to let air flow into the area.

Answer 6

Cropping of a boxer's ears is beneficial to it's health just like a breast enhancement would be beneficial to you.

It is PURELY cosmetic.

I had doberman's for 15 years. I never cropped and they never had ear infections plus they did not get trash in their ears running through long grass.

I showed these dogs and had a long up hill fight with many breed judges because they were not "uniform".

I usually lost in the ring.

So I went the other way and did obedience and won consistently.

My dogs were healthy and happy and many went into service work.

Don't crop--it's needless ELECTIVE surgery.

Answer 7

Any dog with floppy ears can get ear infections, but you don't see everyone cropping their Labradors or Cocker Spaniels ears, which are two breeds that ALWAY have infections.



In my years of experience, I haven't seen any more uncropped Boxers with ear infections than cropped ones. And cropping can also go terribly wrong, resulting in massive infection and malformed ears, even if done by the best guy in the business. I've seen that more than once. It's just not medically neccessary.

Answer 8

It is true that dogs with drop ears have more ear infections (because moisture gets trapped in there - I have golden retrievers) but it is easily prevented by cleaning ears regularly. If this was such a big issue, every breed would have cropped ears. Cropping is purely cosmetic.



Cropping ears is painful and because dogs use their ears to communicate with other dogs, losing part of the ear flap makes it harder for them to do this. (Dogs signal each other - ears forward - interest, back, fear, and so on). the smaller the ear flap, the harder it is for dogs to send these signals.



I wouldn't do it, but I prefer a natural ear anyway. I'm sure some will disagree with me.

Answer 9

Cropping a dog's ears is mostly cosmetic. In the days when dog fighting was legal ear cropping was also done to prevent the dogs from ripping each other's ear flaps off.

Answer 10

He is thinking the floppy earred dogs. Hounds labs that don't get cropped. Pits and boxer ears are not big enough to cause a problem with ear infections.



Im only against the cropping because I love to play with my doggies ears.

Answer 11

This is basically based on my own observation with my own dogs.



I have 4 dogs and sometimes take care of my mother-in-law's 2 dogs. So I have two that have stand up ears (Husky and Malamute), 3 that have floppy ears (ESS, two mixes), and then a Greyhound, I forget what her ears would be considered.



I have seen more ear infections in my flop eared dogs and my MIL's ESS, then in my Husky and Malamute. My Husky and Malamute have never had an ear infection and the flopped ears dogs have all had one.



When working at a vet's office, I have seen more ear infections with floppy eared dogs, then those with ears that stand up.



The choice is yours and yours alone to make in regards to cropping your dog's ears. I wouldn't listen to those who will undoubtedly say you shouldn't do it because it's cruel and mean and whatever else they say. Get all the information for and against cropping them and then make an informed decision.

Answer 12

It's cosmetic - Purely cosmetic at this point. It's also completely out of fashion and politically incorrect to do so today.



EDIT:

Sure, labs with floppy ears tend to get more ear infections. But labs are water dogs. Boxers aren't exactly born swimmers. Some like the water but they aren't bred to retrieve ducks.



Now with that said, if you are a good pet owner AND if your dog plays in the water (whatever breed you may have) you will make sure to clean his or her ears out at least weekly to make sure they are nice and dry. If your dog is a water nut - be it a boxer or lab and he or she has floppy or pointy ears, you will dry his or her ears each time he gets wet won't you?



Now if you are a good pet owner, you will groom your dog, ears and all, floppy or not and make sure that he or she is healthy.



So from a health standpoint, cropping is not necessary. It's cosmetic. Same with Danes. You are going to see more Great Danes with nice natural floppy ears because the public is starting to realize that those dogs are just as beautiful the way God made them and cropping isn't needed.



EDIT 2:

Hey DP: Bloodhounds and Bassets have some of the largest ears around. Want to know why? The ears gather the scent and bring the scent to the nose. That's what their ears are for.... So go figure. Imagine cropping the ears of a scent hound... Lot's of breeds, lots of ears. Been that way for 1000s of years. Long before we started snipping ears.

Answer 13

It's true... Dogs with heavy natural ears .. You must be far more diligent in keeping them clean.. A natural and

and covered ear is far more likely to develop a yeast problem than an ear that is cropped and open to the ears..

Think about it, dark warm moist spot... It's bound to easily have bacteria, and problems..



This arguement.. ' if they were meant to look different, God would have made them look different ' doesn't hold water.. God didn't create each of the breeds.. God created wolves and other wild animals.. MAN created the different dog breeds.. That's why so many of them have so many problems... God didn't create heavy ears that need to be cleaned all the time... Do wolves have big heavy ears that get yeasty and need a person to clean them??????

Answer 14

I see many discussions online about ear cropping, many times these discussions get quite heated. People seem to have VERY strong opinions on the topic of ear cropping.

if you have a puppy, and are debating on wether to crop or not. please read on.

First,if you feel you want to crop,please do NOT be dissuaded by those who will insist that this is a cruel surgery

please ask yourself would breeders or people who obviously love their dogs do something intentionally cruel ? it IS a cosmetic surgery,but, this is done by a veteranian, while the puppy is asleep. please note that at this time, cropping is now optional.this is not necessary to do if you simply have a boxer as a pet. it is a personal prefence. if the cropping is done by a knowledgable vet,the healing procedure is usually pretty fast. the whole procedure is usually less stressful when you have your vet,or your breeder to help you with the entire process.

SOMETHING TO PREPARE FOR IF YOU CHOOSE TO CRP AS FOLLOWED::::

***when the surgery is over,your pup will return to normal usually by the same evening. mainly, you must watch to make sure that the pup does not scratch at his stitches (and possibly pull one)

***During the first week,you must keep the sutures clean and free of scabbing. this is not necessarily hard to do, and neosporin can be used to soften any scabs. persistance is the main issue! pups dont like to hold still for anything ((as you probably noticed)

***there are many methods of ear taping,and different breeders or vets prefer different methods. its best to take the advice of your breeder/vet and try the methods they suggest.if that doesnt seem to work for you,there are many other methods that you could find online.

***Actual ear taping can last anywhere from a month after surgery upto when the puppy is 8+ months old. it depends on the crop,the quality of the dogs ear leather and your persistance of keeping the ears taped

***Do be prepared to have maintences. cropping is not an instant gratification.it takes alot of patience and persistance,and tape to get these ears to stand properly. if you dont feel you can deal with frequent taping,it would be adviced not to crop.



Many people will debate that a cropped ears is cleaner and easier to maintain,while other will argue the opposite.weither you choose to crop or not.you still need to maintain your dogs ear health by cleaning, and checking for debris



Remember::: cropping is not cruel or a mutilation.it IS a cosmetic surgery,but it is performed under sterile and clean envirements by a veteranian.of course with any surgery there are risks....anytime you put your dog under there are risks of problems .just make sure you inform your vet NOT to use acepromazine,which is a common drug that is used to put dogs to sleep before surgery. it has been known to cause death in boxers.



whatever you decide.be comfortable with your decision....neither argument is ''right'' or ''wrong''. if you want to crop, and your prepared for the after care. then by all means,ask your breeder to refer you to an experienced vet and be persistant! if you choose to keep those floppy ears,enjoy them as well..

whichever you choose make sure to do regular ear cleaning and maintence..



GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 15

No. Cropping ears is just like docking tails. It is, was, and probably will be used JUST FOR THE SHOW RING. It's like saying if you trim YOUR ears you won't get ear infections.



-Your Doggy Expert

Answer 16

Cropping a dogs ears is only for looks, sorry it has nothing to do with health. It is a prefrence of the owner. I am an animal control officer and we run a shelter mostly people do it if breading or for show. It wont hurt the dog and it heals quickly, but again it is just an owners preference.

Answer 17

No, ear cropping is for looks only. In fact, if not handled correctly, ear cropping can end in infection and not even stand anyway. It takes weeks/months of taping and posting that are uncomfortable.

It does not help infection. It makes it easier for water to enter the ear canal if anything.

Only crop the ears if you are ready for two months of posting and taping and prepared to deal with sore and itchy ears. I am not against cropping when done properly, but in my opinion, there is no reason for it and I choose not to put my dogs through it.

Answer 18

Hullo there, I raised bred and showed Great Danes for 14 yrs, and tell your loving hubby ear cropping has nothing to do w/health but appearance.........in England ear and tail cropping is illegal............hope this helps

Answer 19

if they were meant to look different god would have made them that way to begin with...

just like getting a baby humans ears peirced, it is parental vanity. not the desire or request of the child to have pain...

it is simply parental vanity..

did you also know that for a lot of breeds, having the ears or tails docked is actually a disqualification to the breed standard?? and they can no longer compete...



good luck,, i agree with you on this one..

Answer 20

Total myth, it does nothing for the health either way, except traumatize the poor dog getting its ears cut off.



I'm not sure how one could explain how less of an ear flap can help avoid ear infection, but I can tell you for certain that it's completely untrue.

Answer 21

Totally for looks only. No healthy, medical advantage whatsoever. Let me get a pair of scissors and trim the skin off the outer edges of your ears. Nope, not good.

Answer 22

Do it it can help with ear related issues.

Answer 23

No its only for looks

Answer 24

ill give you some sites

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1591&articleid=853



http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/should_I%20_crop_my_great_dane_puppy.htm



http://www.walterbrasch.com/painful.htm



http://www.petville.com/pet_community/0_dogs/index.html



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