Cropped ears for certain breeds?

[B3r_&_Ray]

Hi there, let's first start off by asking what kind of dog you have?
Are their ears cropped or natural?
How do you feel about cropping ears?

I want to get my boxer's ears cropped but then again I don't.
I love the floppiness of them right now because she is a puppy still and she has the whole puppy ensemble look going for her.
But idk if I'm going to regret it when she's older because I like that show-worthy look the cropped ears give them.
Very confused. I only have a short window to do this. My vet said he likes to do it between 10 and 12 weeks and my Ray just turned 10 weeks on Thursday........ any suggestions?

Did you get your dog's ears cropped and are you satisfied with the results?
Or maybe you didn't and really wished you had?

[xellil]

My theory is why mess with perfection?

My Dobie has cropped ears (he was a rescue) and they don't stand up. Dobies naturally have wonderful, soft floppy ears.

My feeling is if you are doing it for looks - don't. I'm sure you will hear a ton of opinions going the other way :) - in the end, you decide whether it's worth it. Personally, I consider it a mutilation. We don't chop people's ears into points so they will look meaner.

[Sprocket]

I see no reason to crop any dogs ears. It is purely for fashion. They look much better in their natural state. I know many people crop pitbulls ears but I would never do that to my dog. IMO it is to make the dog look fierce and Gunner is far from that. I'd rather stay away from the blood thirsty pitbul stereo type and leave him in his natural adorable floppy eared state. My mom said to me the other day that she is normally pretty afraid of pitbulls but around Gunner she feels no fear because of his personality and that he looks like a nice dog.

Tail docking is another story, however. Many times it is for health benefits (happy tail) or for working benefits (terriers that go down into tunnels and use to be pulled out by their tails). For cosmetic reasons, I dislike tail docking. Why mess with perfection?

[brandypup]

I have a beagle and chihuahua with natural ears and tails. :)

Of course if I had a breed that docks I would have to consider my options. I probably wouldn't do it. Not very many dogs look good with cropped ears. I do not liek the box crop look but that is just me. ALso I see very many bad jobs as well. I dont think there are too many that really know how to do it properly. So if decided to do it then would be the job opf finding someone who does it right and does it well. Too much for me to consider. Bad enough finding a decent vet sometimes let a lone someoen who crops. :)

tails- I think happy tail is a reason to dock a tail or other medical reason but general looks naw. Ah Natural is bettter.

Good luck in yoru descions.

[catahoulamom]

I have a pit bull. I would never have even contemplated the idea of cropping his ears because pit bulls are "scary" enough as it is to the general public. However if I had another breed that was usually cropped I would opt not to as well. I don't care what anyone says, it is a painful procedure and the weeks afterwards of healing are a pain in the a** for you and the dog.

I don't mean to sound argumentative or insulting when I say this but to be honest I can't imagine why anybody would ever alter an animal for looks.

[kady05]

I think cropping is a personal preference. If you like the look, then by all means, find a vet with a great track record and have your pup cropped. If you don't, then leave them natural. For me, I wouldn't crop a dog I intended on having "just" for a pet. I'd only crop if I intended on showing the dog.

I have two natural earred dogs and one cropped dog. I LOVE the look of Sako's crop on him. His ears were.. awful as a puppy, and my breeder & I went back & fourth on whether or not to crop him. Decided to at 9wks. when he was still with her.. he was bouncing around at her house playing with his siblings the night after his surgery. After care was very minimal (I picked him up 5 days after his crop), no posting required for him. Remember with a Boxer, you'll more than likely be posting for a LONG time in order for them to stand. I've been around Dane & Dobe pups with their "cone heads" and none seem to mind it though.

Docking is completely different.. it's done at around 3 days old and is looked at as a fairly minor procedure that requires no anesthesia.

Surprisingly, I have never had anyone be afraid of Sako when out in public, can't say the same about my other two. Have no clue why, because I do understand that sometimes cropping can make them look a bit more serious, but that's been my experience.

Oh - picture of Sako's crop:

[Sprocket]

I believe also that it make increase the chances of getting foreign objects in the ear canal due to not having that natural protection.

[naturalfeddogs]

Its purely cosmetic. Its also a pain to post, wrap, post, wrap..... Boxers imo, look better with natural floppy ears.

[kathylcsw]

I don't have breeds that get their ears cropped but if I did I wouldn't do it. I think all dogs look better with natural ears. Cropped ears look harsh IMO. Both of my dogs - JRT and Toy Fox Terrier - do have cropped tails but they came to me like that. I would not have cropped on my own. For myself I don't believe in cutting off pieces of body parts for purely cosmetic reasons.

[GoingPostal]

All of my dogs came to me as adults, my oldest girl is cropped, the other two are natural. However the crop looks like a homejob, one ear is basically gone, people have told me she looks "scary" compared to the other two and she is prone to ear infections. Personally I would never crop a dog, I love natural ears and don't want to spend a bunch of money or put a dog under for a cosmetic procedure. Some dogs do look really nice with well done crops, danes and dobes especially. If you are looking to crop make sure you see pics and find a vet who knows how to do a proper job, nothing uglier than a bad crop job, I see a lot of Danes with short wide ears and Dobes and Boxers with pit bull looking crops.