Ear problems in Great Dane?

[Luvmydanes]

We have a 18 month old great dane, and we did not have her ears cropped. Lately she has been shaking her head, and she has gotten a sore on the tip of one of her ears from shaking it. We've tried spraying it with anti-bacterial spray, and when she shakes her head it just reopens the wound. I think it is cause the flys bug her when she is outside, so she shakes her head to get them off, which then re-opens the wound. Any advice? We might be getting another dane pup soon, and want to know if we should crop his ears or leave them. I almost feel like we should have cropped hers to keep this problem from happening. Thank in advance!

[Luvmydanes]

Thanks Julie,
Either way, I was planning on calling the vet and asking him about it tomorrow. As for our other dane that we had, the difference between him and Jasmine is nothing more than training. And it made all the difference. While Dane got a great home with older kids, we knew that had we gotten him the training when he was young his roudiness wouldn't have been such a problem. He was just too wild and far too big to be that wild around the young kids we have. Jasmine is a completely different story and I really believe that it all has to do with the training. If she is running and comes close to the kids, she will fall over at their feet rather than run into them. If nothing else, it was a great lesson that we have learned. The extra money to have them in obidence training is well worth it!

[Kermit]

Oh no no no no!!!! Her problems are not because her ears aren't cropped!! Please don't EVER feel bad that you didn't have the ears cropped!!!

Sounds like she might have a hematoma, which can happen in any dog with floppy ears, but I personally don't think that is any reason to crop a future Dane. My boy Connor is cropped, not my choice- I adopted him that way- and he is scared to death to have his ears touched/cleaned/examined now because of the trauma of having them messed with his entire puppyhood. With cropping you risk infection of the edge of the ears, and then there are months and months of taping and trying to get them to stand right, what a mess, and I just don't believe that it is better for the dog in any way. It is purely for "the alert look". I have heard some people argue that it helps prevent inner ear infections, but I think that is a far-fetched idea that helps some people justify cutting their dogs ears off for looks. I know there are people who will strongly disagree with me here, but this is what I believe.

Leeloo has floppy ears and they cause her no problems at all. If your pooch is having problems due to flies, there are several products on the market which will help repel them. I just don't think the answer to ear problems is cutting off the ears.

I know you will make whatever choice suits you and I would not judge you for it, but I just don't think cropping is the answer. I think the answer is proper care and prevention, and awareness. I am not trying to offend anyone here with my opinions, but I can't hold in my feelings on this issue! Thanks for letting me express myself!

I hope your pooch feels better soon!

[Luvmydanes]

Oh no...we would not crop her ears now. I know that even if we wanted to, the time has passed for that. I am not sure if I was mis-informed or what, but a previous breeder told us that if you don't crop your danes ears then this is what happens. She said because they're ears are floppy and they like to shake their heads, they will split open at the bottom if you don't crop them. Whether or not that is actually true, I don't know. I think I will look for a fly repellent too. I just feel so bad for her. I was looking up info about cropping and I never knew it took 6 months of having them bandaged to get them to stand up straight. What a pain I think that would be. Thanks for your input!

[Kermit]

  She is so gorgeous by the way!!!