Author Topic: Ear Cropping  (Read 21004 times)

Offline MyDaneDuke

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Ear Cropping
« on: February 28, 2007, 01:53:58 pm »
Hi everyone! My husband and I are getting our puppy's ears cropped next month.  I was just wondering what everyone's experiences with ear cropping has been.  What did you do to make puppy feel better and did the ears seem tender or did the puppy seem to be in pain?  Please no debates (I know many people feel strongly against this), I'm just looking for some advice and some first hand experience. Thanks everyone!

Offline schelmischekitty

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2007, 02:06:38 pm »
we had our pitbulls ears done, and i will NEVER do it again, because even getting pain medicine 2-3 times a day he would just sit there and scream out of pain all the time.  it looks "nice", don't get me wrong, but to me it just wasn't worth the torment he and i both went though (i felt very guilty for intentionally putting him through that).  his also got infected because our vet wrapped them too tightly and they couldn't breath at ALL through the layers of bangages, also his bandages did come off really fast and we had to have them rewrapped twice a week the first two weeks, because his ears bothered him so much he'd paw at them b/c the infection and we ended up putting an e-collar on him to make him stop.  we ended up changing vets after the second week, because i just knew something wasn't right (which is when we found out they were wrapping it wrong, and that they were horribly infected).  it took them 4 hours to clean his ears and let them air out enough and go down in swelling enough that they could re-wrap them and let him go home.  it was a very horrible experience for us, especially since everyone told us it was a very "simple" procedure that didn't hurt them much if they got their medicine.
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Offline dober_gurl

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2007, 02:52:53 pm »
I don't really remember Maggie's ear cropping but I don't think it bothered her too much. She did end up with an infection though and only one ear stands, so I have to say you must go with someone who knows what their doing. Not all vets know what their doing when they do it and often mess it up!
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Offline MyDaneDuke

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2007, 03:01:50 pm »
Thanks for sharing your experiences.  I have always been a little hesistant about the ear cropping because I don't want to do anything wrong and have my pup get an infection or something worse.  My husband is very insistent about the ear cropping though and has already scheduled an appointment. I really do not want my puppy to be in pain.  How long would you say that the puppy was in pain? I'm going to have to do some more research so that I can be fully prepared. 

Offline Tinksgirl

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2007, 03:45:59 pm »
I like the ear cropping look, and to me it just doesnt look right on danes, dobe's, and some pits without cropped ears.  I have pits and the two got there ears done, I gave them pain med. and put an ecollar on them to keep them from scratching them but after 12 days the stitchs were taken out and they were fine, not a big deal.  I think your dane would look gorgeous with his/her?? ears done.  Just make sure to get some pain med. for the first few days and maybe you can just take him/her to the vet to get them taped so they can sedate em and it be over with.

Offline schelmischekitty

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2007, 04:02:42 pm »
forgot to put in we had caine's ears laser cropped, and they came out looking very nice after it was all done and said.  our vet was clueless about the after care, even though they did sedate them, they wrapped them too tightly.
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Offline schelmischekitty

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2007, 04:26:37 pm »
true, our vet we changed to (who was great) told us after about 4 months it isn't guaranteed they'll stand even with tons of taping.  also, i agree, the older they are the more it hurts b/c they move SO much more, just like with tail docking.
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Offline Kermit

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2007, 07:11:26 pm »
I adopted a 6 month old Dane who already had cropped ears. I tried to tape them. He had severe anxiety whenever he was wearing the tape, and would only settle down after I took the bandages off. His anxiety made him lose about 15 pounds and have diarrhea every day. I finally gave up and we've got floppy ears most of the time unless he is alert. He absolutely hates having his ears touched now, and I simply cannot clean them without a fight. Seems to me like he is never going to forget about that experience. :(

Offline Gevaudan_Jo

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2007, 07:24:38 pm »
We got memphis' ears cropped at i believe he was 6 weeks old, the breeder gave us tips to help the ears stand.
The only time memphis had been in pain, i'd say, would be durring the stitches removal... he cried in pain, but was fine right after that. Holding him still do tape was a chore, but he was really good. and the ears turned out alright (for our first time) lol
personally, i prefer the look of a dane with cropped ears... though, all danes are beautiful.... :)
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Offline critter crazy

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2007, 09:45:33 pm »
I have owned dogs with cropped ears, and would gladly take on another, however  would not Crop my own dogs ears. Idont see the point. Natural is the way to go. JMHO.
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Offline rayray

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2007, 10:23:01 pm »
i have so many people with min pins, dobies, and danes that have gotten their dog's ears done and regretted it....and nothing looks worse than a bad ear crop.  almost every dog that i have worked with that has had cropped ears will not let anyone touch his or her ears.  what a drag!  i like the cropped look better but why put your dog through the pain and the risk of it looking like crap for the chance that it might turn out ok.  i think that cropping is a waste of money, time, and your dog's trust in you.
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Offline Bella's mom

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2007, 11:42:13 pm »
Hi everyone! My husband and I are getting our puppy's ears cropped next month.  I was just wondering what everyone's experiences with ear cropping has been.  What did you do to make puppy feel better and did the ears seem tender or did the puppy seem to be in pain?  Please no debates (I know many people feel strongly against this), I'm just looking for some advice and some first hand experience. Thanks everyone!

Welcome!  I haven't posted for a while, but saw your question and had to add another note.  I'm Tessie, mom to Belladonna (Great Dane).
At first, I was going to crop Bella's ears.  I just thought that was the thing to do.  After some research about how hard it is to tape and keep up with it (not to mention pain), I was hesitant.  When I went to my vet for our first visit (Bella was 8 wks old), he took a long look at her and explained that her ears sat low on her head already.  He said that he could only give me a 50-50 shot of her ears standing even with me returning every week for him to retape properly.  So... I would be out 300+ dollars, Bella would have smaller but limp ears, and I probably would have lost my mind trying to deal with it along with everything else that comes with a new puppy (house training, etc, etc).  I'm glad that I didn't do it, so just make sure that your puppy's ears even appear to be high enough on the head to give it a chance.  Otherwise, you may end up with a dane with ears too small for its head!  :)
Tessie - Belladonna's and Mojo's Mom

Offline MyDaneDuke

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #12 on: March 01, 2007, 08:36:17 am »
I appreciate everyone's feedback!  :) To answer someone's question about why we are waiting so long,....it's actually only a little over a couple weeks.  He will be under 12 weeks old...the vet that we are going to wouldn't crop them if he was any older than that.  They also asked if we wanted a show crop or a standard crop...I'm not sure what the difference is.

Offline MyDaneDuke

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #13 on: March 01, 2007, 10:12:28 am »
Great link! Thank you!  I'm going to talk to my husband about it getting done before 10 weeks. 

Offline Tinksgirl

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Re: Ear Cropping
« Reply #14 on: March 01, 2007, 11:41:06 am »
I dont think you have to worry about your pup being head shy.  I have my two bullies whose ears were cropped my littlest had her ears cropped really short and I play with her little tips all the time, the experience didnt tramatize her or leave her head shy not one bit.