To crop, or not to crop?

Question

Ok you dog owners out there, do you think it is okay to crop a dog's ears for cosmetic purposes only? Some dog breeds whose ears are usually cropped are the Great Dane, Doberman Pinscher, and the Boxer. if you have a dog of these breeds, are there ears cropped or natural?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Boxer_%28dog%29.jpg

This is a picture of a boxer with natural ears, and cropped.

http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/customergraphics/danes.jpg

Great Dane, natural vs. cropped.

Doberman Pinscher.

Natural (awwwwww =3) - http://www.dogs-central.com/dogs-puppies/doberman-pinscher-puppy/images/doberman4.jpg

Cropped - http://www.i-love-dogs.com/dog-breeds/images/Doberman-Pinscher.jpg

So what's your opinion on this whole ear cropping business? I hear it's illegal in most European countries.

Answer 1

The animal rights components have made cropping, docking and a slew of stuff 'illegal' in Europe - they will soon make companion animal ownership illegal as well because they are leading the apathetic European masses around by the nose so that in and of itself has no real meaning in the question - superfluous nonsense.



I do crop and dock my Dobermans and it isn't for 'cosmetic' reasons but even if it was, I would likely do it. I have owned, showed, trialed uncropped/undocked Dobermans and while I have little issue with them being left that way if you WANT to, I have the choice in this country (that extremist, ignorant ARs haven't yet taken away from me) to crop and dock my dogs.

'Natual' in nature IS erect -- humans have produced breeds of dogs with dropped, unnatural ears - why don't the ARs go after them? Answer: They will soon and no one will be able to own a companion animal cropped or otherwise.



Please learn before making inane statements about 'natural' - those are not 'natural' ears as no creature in nature has dropped ears - do ya think there might be a reason for that? :) hahaha



add: ?? Yes, animals in the wild can and are born with 'pointy' erect ears. There are no dropped ears in nature.



add again: I have to ask, since you admittedly know little about dogs, why would you make the erroneous qualification in your question that cropping ears is 'for cosmetic reasons only' when that simply is not true? I know there are the occasional couple of dog owners that say there is no difference but there is indeed a huge difference and are very good reasons for cropping that have nothing to do with 'cosmetics'. I pointed out the falicy that dropped ears were 'natural' in the attempt to educate you and others to the fact that this is not in the least bit natural OR healthy or nature would not have selectively produced ALL creatures with erect ears in the first place. Look at primitive bred dogs like Xolos and such and you will see an erect, pointy ear - guess nature did that for 'cosmetic purposes' only, huh? :) Is it 'natural' that for the most part the majority of humans have lost their ability to reason as well?

Answer 2

I'm a cropper, docker and dewclaw remover.



In many breeds, cropping and docking (not to mention dews) is not "cosmetic only".



It's also illegal to spay/neuter in some european countries. THAT is spreading as well.



I am with Nancy M on this one. PRICK ears are what is natural. Not drop ears, which were developed for scenting purposes.



Rose ears, such as on sighthounds, is for the purpose of streamlining the dog while running.



The doberman was bred for protection. They were bred for short, smooth coats, no excess skin, tight flews (lips) and are cropped and docked. This decreases handholds so that in the event of an attack on their owner, they can protect their owner with minimal damage to themselves.



Dobies also have extremely LONG, brittle and skinny tails. They break. It's nasty. I volunteer in rescue and have seen some NASTY things come out of natural tails. I've seen gangrene from a hematoma cause by smacking the tail against a wall. It's not pretty and one of the dogs almost died. Out of the 6 natural tailed adults we've had since I've been there only two had undamaged tails.



I've seen dewclaws ripped and hematomas on ears. It's not pretty. Dewclaws BLEED like crazy if they're ripped and if a hematoma is not treated, properly quickly, part of the ear may have to be removed.



If prick ears and bob tails could have been bred in and kept the structure of the dog, they would have.



Tail docking is done at 3-5 days old when the tail is still not hardened bone and the nerve endings aren't developed. I've been with a litter and the only puppy that screamed was the one the assistant held upside down...duh...



I picked my boy up after his ears were cropped and he acted like nothing was done. He came home and ran around like an idiot until I had to put him in his crate. The only problem I had with him was that he DID NOT want to sit STILL for taping.



European countries have also outlawed crating/confining and decreed that you have to walk your dog x number of times for x lenghts daily. You also can't work x number of hours and have a dog....



Banning cropping/docking/dews is the first step in enacting these types of restrictions... so don't buy into the AR stuff that promotes the rights of AMERICAN CITIZENS being taken away.

Answer 3

I have two neapolitan mastiffs. One is cropped and one is not.



I think it depends on the breed, as to whether one should crop or not. I personally like my male neos ears cropped, he looks a lot more regal with it done. The standard for the neo requires the tail docked by 1/3. My breeder docks the tails himself at 3 days, and quite frankly, if done properly at the right time, with the right experience, it was not so bad. It took less than 15 seconds for him to do it, but he has also been in the breed for over 25 years.



Here is a picture of my male:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mookiebones/1895784757/in/set-72157603870188880/



Here is one of my female (which I think looks better w/o the crop:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mookiebones/2234867380/in/set-72157603870188880/



As you can see, there are two different "looks" to the dogs, and it is a matter of opinion as to what you as the dog owner finds pleasing to the eye.



I know of some health benefits of having a dog with cropped ears. I once owned a neo without cropped ears and he was constantly getting ear infections. I eventually had to crop way late, and it was a mess. I did this because I could not keep the infection under control, his ear leather was soo thick that his ears were never able to heal properly from the infections. I wish I had cropped when he was younger.



Tail docking is done at such a young age, and there are many health benefits for the breeds it is done on. Trying to heal a tail wound is next to impossible.

Answer 4

I own 4 Miniature Pinschers, all adopted rescues, 3 cropped and 1 natural. For a MinPin I love the natural standing ears which can be shown in the breed ring but rarely do well. For my Dobe I prefer cropped ears IF done right and are standing. If a poor crop job or lazy owners didn't post long enough so neither or only 1 stands than a natrual ear is better looking. My Dobe has the longer show cropped ears which had to be taped for 8 mos to stand right. His ears are very nice and set off his regal head to perfection. Many vets do not crop or only do pit crops so it is very difficult to find a vet who knows how to crop. When my Dobe's litter was done the breeder had to drive the litter 100 miles or so to the vet who did them. I also prefer their tails docked as most of the MinPins, Dobes and Rotties have unattractive gay tails when left alone.

Answer 5

I have a 13 month old boxer, I chose to have her ears cropped at 10 weeks, my biggest reasoning behind it was that that is one of the characteristics that make a boxer look true to it's breed, also I didn't want people to think she was a mastiff! Europe has banned it and there are alot of vets here in the U.S. who will not crop. If you chose to have it done please find a vet who is reputable and can show you pictures or actual dogs they have done the procedure on, also make sure they do a "champion cut" and not the "fighter cut" The differnce being that the champion is the longer tailored, regal cut used on boxers, great danes and dobies. The fighter is used primarialy on pits, I have seen boxers who's ears were cut to short, ie. the fighter cut and it did not look good, they lose their personality just because of a bad crop job

Answer 6

Personally, I'd rather not see it done. The dogs look pretty without cropped ears, and that is all there is to it. It isn't needed, if it doesn't happen naturally - then I am sure there is no reason for them to be cropped other than cosmetic reasons, which we all know - is not a need, rather than a want.



My sister has a fawn Boxer with natural ears, I love Boxers - especially with the natural ears.

Answer 7

Dogs with naturally pricked(German Shepherds) or "cropped" ears usually have less ear problems than dogs with natural floppy ears, because dogs with floppy ears hold in more moisture, I have heard some vets who suggest cropping to breeds who are gererally cropped for cosmetic reasons(Great Danes, Dobes, Boxers, etc.) because most know of the moisture problems in the ears, but the thing is they probably would not suggest cropping to a Labrador Retriever. I do not agree with cropping(or docking of tails) and I think it is a waste.

Answer 8

Dog's ears used to be cropped to prevent the tips from being damaged. Dobermans especially have thin ear skin and to prevent damage while doing their jobs, they were cropped. Pit breeds had their ears cropped to keep other dogs from being able to easily grab them. There is no reason now for dogs to have their ears cropped. I think it's cruel and most of the time it doesn't even look nice. I would not crop. It is illegal to crop ears and tails in Europe.

Answer 9

I love the natural floppy ears. My puppy had a 1 ear up and 1 ear down thing going on and although I didn't like it I wouldn't crop the other ear. Turns out the ears changed and now they're natural and floppy.

Answer 10

I own and show Danes I have both cropped and natural. My show boy is natural and does very well in the ring. I like both looks, but likley won't crop another one of my Danes in the future.. I really enjoy my guy and his natural ears. I actually currently have 2 natural ear Danes and 1 cropped Dane.



As for the myth that floppy ears get more infections then erect ears it is just that a myth. I will tell you that dogs with cropped or natural erect ears can and do get just as many ear issues as do floppy...there are breeds/mixes that do get ear infections on a regular basis but it has nothing to do with erect or floppy ears...it has to do with the amount of hair in the ear canal. Breeds with a lot of hair in the ear canals need to keep them plucked. Also dogs that swim a lot tend to get ear infections because of the water getting into the ears . Allergies are another very common cause of ear infections and tend to occur in dogs fed foods with corn or wheat in them.

At the hospital we see just about as many erect/crop ear dogs with ear issues as we do flop ear...ear issues have NOTHING to do with erect or floppy ears.

Answer 11

Definitely don't crop unless you are involved in showing your dog where it is required. I've seen a lot of bad ear crops gone wrong and it's near to impossible to fix. All floppy ear dogs look cute and natural just they way they were intended.

Answer 12

I have a pit and she has natural ears. I don't believe in cropping ears for cosmetic purposes. Those dogs were born with floppy ears, so why change them? It's how they were meant to be.

Answer 13

It's unnecessary and the only reason vets do it is for greed.



Dogs who have cropped ears and docked tails are statistically more likely to be attacked by strange dogs. The reason is they they cannot properly communicate to them! Dogs use their body language to communicate with one another and rendering an animal "mute" for the owner's vanity is a disgusting and cruel practice.



It is not "painless", as many vets like to claim. I have assisted these surgeries, and it was my job to be there when the animals woke up. Many of them try to tear off their bandages, shake their heads so hard blood flies everywhere, and scream and cry!



Putting a dog under is never entirely safe. To do it just for cosmetic surgery is selfish, cruel, and morally reprehensible. If someone does this and their dog dies, they really have nobody but themselves to blame.



Just as piercing your dog's ears and gauging them, piercing his nose, and getting sleeves tattooed on him would be wrong and is illegal, so should cropping be illegal. It just isn't right.

Answer 14

I think they both look cute, but if there is no other purpose to crop them then they shouldn't. It would be best just to keep them natural.

Answer 15

They look mean when they are cropped. I have a pit bull and his ears aren't cropped and he is cute that way.

Answer 16

I don't think it should be done if it is unnecessary.

If there's no purpose, just let the dog be natural.

Answer 17

Dont do that!!

its extremely mean to the dog to put them through that. You'll freak em out and put them trough pain all because you dont like thier ears!?

thier fine. Its not worth it!!!

Answer 18

I am personally a big fan of floppy ears so I don't think it should be done.

Answer 19

You should leave them the way they are.Just let them look like a regular dog.

Answer 20

cropping may be painful and makes the dog look angry and vicious.

Please dont