Ear Cropping?

[JBGRAY]

I have a 12 week old apbt and he's got the floppy ear thing goin'.  I partially wanted to crop his ears, but at the same time, I'm thinking it may be cruel and he may be a bit too old now to get this done.  From what I've read, the only drawback to having uncropped ears is slightly greater risk for ear infection and possible tearing of the ear.  I am not wanting to cut his tail at all, since I like the little white tip he has at the end of it.

Oh, and another thing:  I'm havin' a hell of a time in leash training him.  I walk him near everyday, but without the leash....he always walks right beside me and always comes to me when I call him, even in the presence of other people and dogs.  Once I put the leash on him, he just lowers his head and won't budge. 

Thanks.

[SinCitysmallGUY]

I have a 12 week old apbt and he's got the floppy ear thing goin'.  I partially wanted to crop his ears, but at the same time, I'm thinking it may be cruel and he may be a bit too old now to get this done.  From what I've read, the only drawback to having uncropped ears is slightly greater risk for ear infection and possible tearing of the ear.  I am not wanting to cut his tail at all, since I like the little white tip he has at the end of it.

Oh, and another thing:  I'm havin' a hell of a time in leash training him.  I walk him near everyday, but without the leash....he always walks right beside me and always comes to me when I call him, even in the presence of other people and dogs.  Once I put the leash on him, he just lowers his head and won't budge. 

Thanks.

How long is your leash. We ran into the same issue with both of our dogs.. they wouldn;t listen or budge with the leash or when they could see the leash. I shortened them up and made them walk right next to me. Low and behold problem solved...

Both of my boys have not had their ears cropped. The wife didn't like the idea... She said how would you like your ears cut.. The only reason I can validate cropping of ears anymore is if they are working dogs, which I doubt. Your dog won't tear his ear off running around the yard.. At least in my opinion. Plus when you get their ears cropped it automatilcly points the finger that your just another Pit owner.. It makes them look more aggresive or so it seems that's what people think. Something to think about. Post some pics of the lil guy and good luck.

[JBGRAY]

It is a 6' chain leash.....he is growing quick, though of course, I can just hold most of the chain in my hand.  Also, should I ditch the collar and get a harness instead?  I hate the feeling that I may be choking the dog.  Anyway, here is his pic(at 8 weeks old)

[chaos]

It is a 6' chain leash.....he is growing quick, though of course, I can just hold most of the chain in my hand.  Also, should I ditch the collar and get a harness instead?  I hate the feeling that I may be choking the dog.  Anyway, here is his pic(at 8 weeks old)

my opinion working with both harnesses and collars, I actually felt I had more control with a collar, not the choker kind, just a regular leather collar.


As far as the ears go, I wouldn't do it, my female we just put down had hers done before I took posession of her(old roomates), anyways it always seemed to bother her, and I have her sister, with full ears and she hasn't torn the off yet, 8+years old, so the choice is yours, personally I like them whole.

[Vet]

I despise ear cropping....  I used to work at a practice that did quite a few of them.   I ended up putting back together more than one puppy after my boss cropped their ears.... 

Its a purely cosmetic proceedure, very different from a medical ear amputation.  With cropping the dogs ears are generally taped for several weeks post proceedure to shape the ear into the desired shape.  This isn't done with a medical amputation.  It also leads to many of the problems we see outside of the surgery itself.  I've seen dogs with some nasty, nasty post operative infections because of the ears being taped.  I've also seen them rub the sutures out of the ear.  The pst opertive complications just outweigh the cosmetic advantage of cropped ears.    Also in dogslike pits, you loose a major source of their facial expression by removing the ears.   Pits (and dogs in general) have a great deal of nonverbal communication that comes from the ears.  Shortening or removing the bulk of the ear will affect this. 

No veterinary school in North America teaches ear cropping any more.  As a result, some of the younger vets out there are either self taught or they learned from an oldtimer---and may have learned that old timers bad habits with the ears. 

[Geo]

they look friendlier and more personable with natural ears

cropping is so 1980ish !

[Vet]

they look friendlier and more personable with natural ears

cropping is so 1980ish !

LOL@1980ish. 

I do feel like somewhat of a hypocrit though because I don't like ear cropping, I won't do the surgery, yet I've owned two dogs with cropped ears---my boxer was and the Dogo is cropped. 

[~flower~]

I would leave them natural.  I would never have any future dogs cropped.  They didn't have any problems, and seemed to do fine, but I know it was at the minimum uncomfortable and annoying to have them taped.  In Danes that have the longer show crops and are shown, they can spend years being taped to keep them standing, the shorter regular crop stands faster and usually doesn't need extended taping time.

  Dogs have a lot of sensitivity in their ears.  If you read about any type of therapy like TTouch, the ears are a big source that you work on.  I can rub Emmett's ears and he will like it, but rub Addie's who are natural, and you can almost put her into a coma!! 

I also personally feel that the type of crop done in some dogs is very severe, so I like them even less for both the look and the loss of sensitivity. 

I have had a few "discussions" with people about cropping and one point a person made was that cropping "was natural because erect ears are how dogs ears are supposed to be (being descended from wolves)".   I countered with that is bullshit and since man bred out erect ears in some breeds, if man wants them back in he should start over and not mutilate the dog to get them!  Ha ha!! That argument still cracks me up!!   

So unless the dog is a working dog where the ears would get torn in the brush or whatever and end up getting cropped anyways because of damage, then I say leave them as is.   

  He's a cutie, so rub them fuzzy ears!    

[~flower~]

Oh, and what vet said about most vets not learning how to crop is true.  Cropping is an art form, a bad crop can be aesthetically horrible, along with permanently  painful to the dog possibly. 

And with the numbers of vets that not only crop, but that crop well dwindling, people have taken it upon themselves to do it ( they get some ketamine), and their have been vet techs that have done it on the side and gotten into big trouble, it was a big problem in the Great Dane community for awhile, not sure if it still is.

[Lord Humungous]

I call the term "working dog" bull shit. Its 99.9% visual. If cropping was for working dogs, hounds, pointers and setters would all have their ears cropped since they spend so much time in the brush. Im not saying it doesnt have its place but I think it should be painted with the right brush.

[~flower~]

I call the term "working dog" bull shit. Its 99.9% visual. If cropping was for working dogs, hounds, pointers and setters would all have their ears cropped since they spend so much time in the brush. Im not saying it doesnt have its place but I think it should be painted with the right brush.

You have a point. Most dogs would not be considered true working dogs either. 

[Vet]

Oh, and what vet said about most vets not learning how to crop is true.  Cropping is an art form, a bad crop can be aesthetically horrible, along with permanently  painful to the dog possibly. 

And with the numbers of vets that not only crop, but that crop well dwindling, people have taken it upon themselves to do it ( they get some ketamine), and their have been vet techs that have done it on the side and gotten into big trouble, it was a big problem in the Great Dane community for awhile, not sure if it still is.

The worst are "hatchet crops".   Take a puppy, take a hatchet, heat it with a torch until its red hot, then CHOP.  Those are messes. 

[~flower~]

The worst are "hatchet crops".   Take a puppy, take a hatchet, heat it with a torch until its red hot, then CHOP.  Those are messes. 

I hate people  

[Vet]

It is a 6' chain leash.....he is growing quick, though of course, I can just hold most of the chain in my hand.  Also, should I ditch the collar and get a harness instead?  I hate the feeling that I may be choking the dog.  Anyway, here is his pic(at 8 weeks old)

I keep looking at that picture thinnking that that exam room sure looks familiar.  Where was this picture taken?   PM me if you don't want to broadcast it.   I may be completely wrong in recognizing it. 

[JBGRAY]

Picture was taken via my camera phone at the Hollywood, Fl Animal Hospital, right off of I-95.  Oh, and I decided not to crop his ears.  Kinda didn't want to in the first place anyways.

[~flower~]

Picture was taken via my camera phone at the Hollywood, Fl Animal Hospital, right off of I-95.  Oh, and I decided not to crop his ears.  Kinda didn't want to in the first place anyways.

 Good decision!!  I never thought about ears and showing expression til Vet mentioned it, but that pic is a good example of that!     

[Vet]

 Good decision!!  I never thought about ears and showing expression til Vet mentioned it, but that pic is a good example of that!     

yeah, ears are very important for dog to dog expression...


My boxer had short cropped ears when I got him.  He also was an intact male with really straight legs.   Somehow that seemed to make him appear "cocky" to other dogs.  My wife and I used him for years at the humane society to evaluate dog aggression in other dogs.  For whatever reason when we walked him past the front of a kennel 9 out of 10 times if the dog was dog aggressive, itd go off on him.....  and not necessarily other dogs.   

I think a big part of it was due to his ear crop. 

[Butterbean]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!   I wouldn't change a thing on him 

[emn1964]

My pit's ears are natural too.  I just didn't see the point of cropping her ears other than to make her look tough.  And since i didn't get her to boost my toughness quotient, I left her ears alone.

As for which collar to use, I use a chain training collar.  They are mis-named choker because people who do not know how to use it will seemingly choke their dog.  The chain is used to administer a quick correction.  If placed on the dog properly, it will tighten around the dog's neck quickly during a correction then just as quickly release.  Having said that, most people do not know how to use one.

The chain collar gives you the most control over the dog when placed high on the dog's neck just behind his ears.  The harness gives you the least amount of control.  When that puppy gets bigger, if you have a harness on him, he will be taking you for a walk.

[knny187]

I like pinch collars better

[BigNBloated]

I like the very distinct look of cropped ears. Im thinking of having it done on my pittie.  Very small window though, i gotta decide in the next week.

[SinCitysmallGUY]

I like the very distinct look of cropped ears. Im thinking of having it done on my pittie.  Very small window though, i gotta decide in the next week.

To each his own but I think it's more hassle then it's worth.. Why would you want the pups ears cropped? It makes them look more aggressive and if he isn't working or pulling things and his ears could get caught why change their natural beauty.

[BigNBloated]

To me thats just how the breed looks right to me. Like a dobe with cropped ears or a dane its just how i've always seen them.

[BigNBloated]

Heres a pic of my baby the day she came home, her name is Macy.

[buffbodz]

I've had a few pits and the first one didn't come with the ears cropped.  One was white with a black stripe and the other was all black.  I, the fool, had it done.  When I went to pick up Buck, he looked at me like "Master, what have you done to me"..He was in a daze for the day and I noticed how cruel it really was.  Just like using a big pair of scissors cutting leather.  He pulled out the first stitches and was a bloody mess.  I learned the bucked trick, but I'll never do it to another dog, ever.  My min-pin came with the ears and tale cropped.  I must say they look allot slicker than the ones who aren't, but who would want to cut flesh just to look better, not me and never again.  My min used to bark all the time till I fenced in a spot way off the road for him.  Some idiots even suggested a new procedure that would cut the poor dogs vocal cords so he wouldn't make such a racket, nothing a little training didn't do,  Some people use the "It's only a dog and he won't feel anything".  Makes me want to yank their vocal cords out or cut their ears, Spock style.  OK, I'm done.