I’ve
been asked countless times “Does it hurt”? Hell yes it
hurts! If you don’t believe me try taking a pair of
tin snips and working on your own ears. I’ll just bet
you will stop in a hurry. The puppies are under either a
local or a general anesthesia
during the surgery
but often once it wears off they scream in pain. I might point out
that we have only two dogs that are cropped at the moment. The
oldest is going on 8 years of age and it took almost a year to
get his ears to stand and on top of that he was allergic to the
adhesive on the tape. The second is a female and her crop is
too short for her head but I wasn’t there to speak to the
veterinarian because she is of our old bloodlines and came from
another kennel. All of the rest of our guys have natural ears
and we will continue to keep the future generations with all
their parts intact.
No we do
not cut off their dewclaws either. That is done at 3 days of
age and the idea of cutting off new babies’ thumbs just doesn’t
set well with us.
I have
seen some ear crops that are done so poorly the dog's ears look
deformed and either due to the surgery or aftercare, or genetics the ears do not stand correctly. Or not stand at all. If you insist on getting your puppies ears
cropped research the veterinarian and insist on seeing photos of
the results on his past surgeries and that he knows the
difference between a Pit Bull cut and a Great Dane cut.
Call your local Great Dane club for recommendations. Not all
veterinarians are created equal.
I used to
be a veterinary technician and helped the doctors in surgery.
A good ear cropping veterinarian will mark off where to cut the
ear before he proceeds or use metal forms that are breed
specific and give right shape for his head. Heads grow and if
the cut looks too short it is going to look even worse after the
dog is grown.
This is a
personal decision.
Ear cropping is not right for
every dog, and it is not right for every person who owns a dog. We
recommend a consult appointment with the veterinarian if you are
unsure about whether or not to crop. There is a tremendous
amount of aftercare involved to make sure the ears stand
properly, and an owner who is
not committed to being diligent about the aftercare, should not
crop their pet. A consult appointment will give you the
opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of ear cropping with a
doctor, and help you to make the best decision for your new
puppy.
There are a
multitude of methods for aftercare and ways to hold or prop the
ears to train them to stand and it can take up to a year to get
them to stand properly and still there is no guarantee. I’ve
see Styrofoam cups used also tampons, mole foam and skin
adhesive, aluminum racks that suspend the ears, popsicle sticks
just to name a few. If you are determined to do this please
click on the link below and get the right information and least
invasive supplies and methods to accomplish your goal.