Ear cropping in dogs

One of those really difficult decisions for many purebred dog owners is the one relating to ear cropping. 

Some breeds of dogs through the ages have traditionally been recognized partly by the distinctive look of their head; cropped ears have been a trademark for these breeds.  Doberman Pinschers, Boxers and Great Danes come to mind right away.  And even many of the smaller breeds such as the Miniature Schnauzer have traditionally had their ears surgically changed to give them a distinctive appearance.

In our modern times, many people have come to question the need or advisability of cropping the ears of dogs.  The aspect of animal cruelty comes into play in that many people will argue that there is no medical, physical, environmental or cosmetic advantage for the dog to have the pinnas (the ear flaps) surgically altered.  And to subject any dog to the "disfiguring" and unnecessary surgical procedure and subsequent taping and bandaging that sometimes needs to be done after the surgery amounts to animal cruelty and is indefensible.  There are others that will argue that for some dogs, the cropped ear will help prevent ear canal infections and make the opportunity for pinna trauma and infection much less likely.  They will state that the ear cropping is no different philosophically or ethically than any elective surgery such as spaying and neutering or removing protruding dew claws.

The fact is that ear infections are common in all sorts of breeds whether they have cropped ears or not.  As a veterinarian with 32 years of experience treating hundreds of thousands of dogs during that time, I cannot find medical justification for cropping a dog's pinnas.  So the choice to crop a dog's ears is a personal decision that a purebred dog owner needs to weigh carefully... partly because what you think you will get may not occur.  I refer to the disappointing cases where the pup's ears have been cropped and yet, no matter what everyone tries to do, the ears won't stand erect! 

Potential reasons for cropped ears not to stand erect...

The cartilage within the pinna is too thin to support the weight of the ear

The ear crop was too long for the size of the ear

The ears are "set too low" on the dog's head

Scar tissue formed along the ear margin

NOTE:  Supplementing a pup's diet with extra calcium in the hope that it will "build up" the ear cartilage is not scientifically or biochemically valid.  Adding additional calcium above the usual balance of that mineral with phosphorus and Vitamin D  has actually been shown to cause growth problems in dogs.  Don't add calcium to a dog's diet in the misguided hope that it will "strengthen the cartilage".

There are all sorts of methods of taping the ears up after the surgery and helping to support the pinnas while they heal.  You can do everything right and yet in some dogs the ears will not hold that erect posture... which was the goal of the surgery in the first place!  Adding extra Calcium to the pup's diet won't work and can actually be detrimental to the pup's growth.  Massaging the pinnas won't help.  The pup "loosing it's teeth" has no impact on the strength or rigidity of the pinnas either.  Of course all pups should be eating an optimum diet to begin with so supplementing an already high quality diet will have no additional benefits.

As your pup's caretaker, you have a choice.  Weigh all the pros and cons, and then make your decision.  Expect to be criticized by those who disagree with your choice.  I was criticized by a number of breeders for NOT doing the surgery... they seemed put-out by the fact that they had to find another veterinarian to do it.  But just as the decision not to do the surgery in my practices was my personal decision to make, so it is your choice whether or not it will be done on your dog.

Comments

[JD]

I think it's cruel to crop. I have been to many dog shows so I'm familiar with some standards of breed appearance, but was so happy to see more and more natural-eared great danes being shown.

[Diane]

I too think it is cruel to crop. It is not at all the same as neutering, as the dog is asleep for the most painful part of the operation, while the whole healing process from cropping is painful. In Great Britan they have almost completely stopped cropping, if they have not completely stopped. Many breeds can not be shown in England with cropped ears.

[Linda]

Cropping is not cruel, nor is it painful. It is no more painful than the circumcision of a 2 day old infant. It is non-invasive, unlike spaying. Many vets prefer not to crop because they don't know how. I have seen many bad ear crops come from vets. It is not just cutting off the pinna - it is an art and can only be done by those vets that have the talent for it. Aftercare is not painful. I don't know where people get these ideas. You want painful? Get a face lift. In any event, cropping is a choice and should remain as such.
*L*

[Cindy]

Dogs dont choose to get their ears cropped or their claws removed, their owners do. And as for anyone that thinks its non invasive, they obviously have never seen very many surgeries. There are risks involved when your talking about ANY surgery PERIOD. Vets recommend spays and neuters because it decrease the risk of MANY cancers as the dog ages. It also helps out at the animal shelter because it decreases the number of animals they have to KILL everyday due to over population.
So instead of spending your money on plastic surgery for your already beautiful dog,
consider donating it to your local animal shelter.

[steph]

people that crop there dogs ears are [censor] if i ever i meet anyone who did that i would cut there ears off see how they like it

[C.M.]

I'm writing to state my personal opnion just like anyone else but what I won't do is rip everyone elses opnion apart like the rest of the people did. Cropping ears, docking tails, removing dew claws and spaying/neutering is a personal choice. Plain and simple! what's the point arguing about it or calling people names like a child? Everyone's different, people are going to do whatever they want no matter what you say or do, so don't rip people apart and call them names, state your opnion and move on.

[det]

i want to know the full detail on how ear cropping is done as there is no literatures available (recumbency, anesthesia used, specific site of incision,special instrument/materials needed etc)

[det]

i want to know the full detail on how ear cropping is done as there is no literatures available (recumbency, anesthesia used, specific site of incision,special instrument/materials needed etc)

[Kim]

I have a boxer who's ears I chose not to crop. He is now 4 years old and is still adorable as he was as a pup. I also have a Boston Terrier who has a case of the "floppies". He is now a year old and his ears will never stand up. The vet told me there was nothing I could do when he was a baby. I wish I would have researched it back then a little better. Yes, I am a little disappointed but he does look pretty darn cute and mischevious.
There is a site though, that I found that has many links to pages that show different taping techniques for dogs with and without cropped ears: www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/eartaping.htm

I agree that people are going to do what they're going to do regardless, and it is rediculous to rip on people who decide to crop or remove dew claws or whatever. My boxer has his dewclaws and I wish like crazy he didn't. He has ripped one completely out 3 times so far, and he was in misery each time until it grew back. My Boston fortunately had his removed by the breeder.

[Kevin]

Most people who comment on cropping being cruel have never had experience with a cropping. There are many other elective surgeries that are 1000X more cruel than ear/tail cropping. Can you say circumcission?
Domestication in itself was cruel: inbreeding and all that went with it, just to get a breed standard. All dog breeds were inbred! All for human use. So cropping is another just another part of a selfish human want that's been going on forever: owning pets.

[Roxanne]

In my opinion ear cropping is a choice, I don't care whether people agree or disagree. I do think that the decision should be well researched and thought out. You hear about the ear croppings that have gone bad, but most of cases it was the fault of the dog owner not researching enough about the vet or the breeder. All I want is the dog owner to become as informed as possible in order to prevent mistakes.

[willow]

Beautiful dogs wheather croped and docked or Natural is a matter of choice......Neither is B A D , I prefer docked tails and croped ears since it makes sense to me. For me dogs are eaiser to keep clean and do less damage to knees and coffee table nic-nacs....If you go to a butcher/vet it could be a problem for your dog , I have seen botched tails and ears ( shame on the vet who said he could preform) if you go to a competent vet. you and your dog will have little distress save the wallet. Well done crops and docks require a very good vet and a very good owner .
Willow

[Jess]

i have a boxer that is one year old and i didnt want to get his ears cropped but now when he shakes his head around constantly his ears smack toghter and his tips of his ears bleed.... can they crop ears even when they are a year old? because now i am considering it

[nikki]

to these people saying that cropping is wrong...

I have one thing to say.
" have you actually seen any dog at all, after its tail or ears have been done?"

my doberman is 3months old. her tail is done, tomorrow she gets her ears done. I would have to say that she has no problem with her cute stub and I do not believe it is hard on a dog at all. I read these statements of this being a major surgury... however I have gone through many surgeries and none of them are anything like ear cropping. Honestly if you want to know how it affects the dog.(such as pain or cruelty) find someone who has gotten it done for their dog. see how their dog acts. because mine is a sweetheart and I dont think her being asleep for a little bit is going to change her at all. remember that it is done by professionals who know what they are doing. they look after their patients and are concerned about the animal. I think that it is inhumane NOT to get a dobermans ears cropped.

[GOD]

COME ON GUYS, I KNOW WHAT I'M DOIN!

[Falck Roni]

I think dogs get ear infections quicker not croped in boxers.
This is a personal prefference.
Dont let annybody tell us what to do with our dogs////

[Heather]

I have 2 Dobermans- one is a year old and one is 3 months old! My year old dobe got his ears done at 12 weeks by laser and everything went PERFECT! and aftercare was not bad at all! it only took about 4 weeks of re-tapes and he was not tramatized at all! and my 3 month old dobe girl just got hers done today! And they look great and shes doing awesome! Its totally a personal preference but its really not as bad as it seems!

[J]

I had my boxer pups ears cropped and it does not seem to phase her one bit. She is still playfull and mischievous. My vet has done many ear croppings and has done a fantastic job on my little girl. Ear cropping is a personal choice by the owner and I have witnessed cruel things. e.g. walk your dog without a leash and see the effects of your dog after it is attacked by another dog or hit by a car. Crop ears if that is your choice.

J

[Rachel]

It's unreal what these people say to try to justify ear cropping...
Comparing it to circumcision seems to be most common, and i want to set the record straight because i am SICK of people's ignorance to this issue.
I had just written to woman earlier today about it...

I just wanted to take the time to argue the fact that you wrote about the dog with the ears cropped.
Circumcision and ear cropping are two completely different things... We're comparing vanity with health related issues.
Apparently you are unaware of the medical benefits of circumcision.
Not only does it siginifcantly reduce the amount of infections and germs from the area, it also is a large factor in reducing a man's chances of contracting AIDS. Now I don't know about you, but I believe that those two things alone are very good reasons for it. In many cases keeping the foreskin on can result in very painful issues as an adolescent and adult. Many men are faced with hygiene problems and are in frequent pain because the skin gets too tight over the head and they have to practice what they call "stretching" which you can guess involves forcibly pulling the tight skin over the head to the shaft, casuing severe pain and tearing. I'm not saying it happens everytime, but it happens enough. Why even put your child at risk for such unnecessary pain? If it's a large benefit to his health then I'm not seeing the problem. You agree with removing parts of dogs ear so the dog is "more attractive"? It's all vanity and it's disgusting. And you can say they don't feel pain, but until we give you a bit of anethesia and hack off yours ears then YOU DON'T KNOW. Would you be willing to go through that? And then wear tape around for months "training the muscles"... That alone tells you it's not mean to be like that. If you have to TRAIN muscles to be a certain way then you know it's unnatural. And there is NOTHING that that does to improve the dogs health. It's just some shallow cruel habit that monsters like you buy into.
I'm sorry, but I'll disagree with you. And I don't care for a reply back because obviously in this matter you are very uninformed and I make it a point not to waste any more time than necessary with morons.

[Snoopy]

I just got circumsized yesterday and I feel great. I even lined up a date at the vet for tomorrow night too.

[james]

this is america! stop imposing your beliefs on someone who is free to do something that is not breaking the law. if your really concerned about these animals turn your energy to changing laws about what concerns you. basically this is cosmetic surgery, and if you've seen tv news magazines (20/20 etc.) humans altering their appearances sometimes have a bad outcome but probably mostimes the outcome is good.so dont ink someones coat. call your legislator! i love animals.but its going too far when you got to impose your beliefs on! case in point: i live in new orleans. after the storm animal rescue teams from around the country came and rescued dogs and cats from the city while everyone was under mandatory evacuation(my pet evaced with me). this was a great thing for animals needing rescue. like dogs and cats trapped in houses,but they also took most of the ferrel cats. so now, there is a big rodent problem. not to mention that a friend of mine's house was spray painted with "seen cat ->" on the front. not only had he taken his pets, his house is in an area that didn't flood! the only damage,aside from his fence, to his house was the big spray paint sign!

[Viv]

I grew up in England,when I came over here,seeing a boxer with its ears cropped really looked ugly to me.
I adopted a pure bred Poodle,whose tail hadn't been cropped.I asked my Vet about cropping it,to make it look more like a Poodle and he told me it would be very painful for my dog.
I didn't do it.
No clue how people can say this cropping of ears,etc isn't painful.
When someone falls down and breaks their leg,it doesn't hurt me one bit.
No I wouldn't put any dog of mine thru that.
I like the natural look anyway and how nature intended for them to be.
Cruelty O.K'd,awful..
Plus,I don't think people should have a choice,it should be made illegal.
Why a Vet would do such a thing to a Dog is beyond me but I suppose the almighty Buck,wins everytime.

[doggiegirl92]

Floppy ears are cuter =) they give the dog more character.

But little cropped tail nubs..
gotta say im in favor of them.

[Ripley]

My husband and I have a 3 year old doberman pinscher and she is such a sweety. We decided to crop her ears. The surgery went great and the ears were wrapped. But we had to go to the vet clinic every week to have the tape ripped off and then new tape put back on. The first time I heard her squealing in the back was enough for me. We kept the tape off and let the ears do whatever they wanted after that. So now she has one ear that stands and one ear that doesn't. And she has a tail. We decided no more cosmetic surgeries after that. She is one interesting looking doberman. I love my Ripley to death and anyone who says Dobermans are aggressive dogs are hugely mistaken. But I will never crop again.
I believe it is the owner's choice. And I personally think cropped ears looked better, but I just can't do it again.
Will someone tell me if this is normal practice to just rip the tape off like that? The vet I chose had done many crops. And for her to tell me it wouldn't bother Ripley was just not true. I could hear her squealing.

[anonymous]

Ripley,
I'm a former vet assistant,
They could have used an oil base adhesive remover to help the tape come off easier, and slowly, ... thats about it. They must have been in a hurry. The practice that i worked for refused ear cropping and tail docking.