Cropped Ears

[frankied]

At the risk of being inflammatory, I find it strangely amusing that those who don't crop are the ones who "howl" loudest about how cruel it is

I just think it is a matter of you have your reason for cropping and they have their reason for not cropping and one of the reasons some people choose not to crop is due to the fact they think it cruel. To each his/her own right? MHO I will admit I think both uncropped and cropped are lovely. But I love my Angel the way she is even if she had no ears ! In fact I was going to have her cropped until we did the pre surgery bloodwork and she was anemic. It had to be put off and too much time went by. But I am glad we did not do it as her floppy ears suit her personality! :P Again that is just MHO :D

Christa

 

[JulieM]

one of the reasons some people choose not to crop is due to the fact they think it cruel.

Yes, and they are certainly entitled to their opinions. The irony is that many people who think cropping is cruel have absolutely zero experience with the procedure, or with pups who have gone through it recently. They object to the idea, but have no real concept of the actual procedure and thus no basis for determining whether it truly is cruel or not. I get the most vehement arguments from people who live in countries where cropping has been illegal since before they were born - how can they say with any credibility how cruel or painful the procedure is? Meanwhile in my experience, the recovery rate from a crop is about 6x faster than the recovery rate from a spay - yet no one would chastise me for spaying my bitch, in fact they would applaud me.

I don't want this to turn into an ear war, and if it does I'll close the thread - I'm simply offering an alternate viewpoint, and advocating tolerance of the decisions of others.

 

[FarleyBoxer]

I guess my opinion stems from the fact that I just don't see the necessity in putting anyone or any animal through a medical procedure that's not actually medically beneficial. Julie, your point about spaying is well taken, but most would argue that procedure has so many health benefits that they outweigh the inherent risks and recovery time.

I am also not a big advocate of plastic surgery for humans. I saw a TV program on plastic surgery that featured a young woman who almost died after a breast augmentation surgery. She said that sitting in her hospital bed, with her parents at her side, wondering if their daughter was going to die, she was thinking, 'I'm putting them through this why? Because I wanted bigger boobs?' I knew a boxer who died during his cropping surgery from complications and I just can't justify to myself taking that risk for what is basically aesthetics' sake.

I don't think I have to have gone through the process with my own dog to know that I personally don't agree with the concept, which is why I won't argue whether they're in pain. To me, that's secondary to the fact that, most would say, it's unnecessary to put a pup through the whole thing, including all the posting/taping. And those who argue against it obviously wouldn't do it. I have never done heroin, but I know I don't like it. That may be a little trite, but you get the idea!

Camille

 

[JulieM]

Julie, your point about spaying is well taken, but most would argue that procedure has so many health benefits that they outweigh the inherent risks and recovery time.

True, but many would argue vehemently the other side. Especially in countries other than the US, where spays are not done as a matter of course - yet those bitches do not die from mammary cancer or pyometra or suffer from unplanned pregnancies at an exponential rate. Certainly some percentage of bitches will suffer from these problems, but they are not so widespread that not spaying is an automatic death sentence. Even in this country, breeding bitches are not spayed and aren't dropping dead left and right from these problems. Don't ge me wrong - I do advocate spaying pets, because my experience has been that the majority of dog owners in the US are not responsible enough to deal with an intact animal. But when you get right down to it, spaying is a surgery of convenience, and it is far more invasive than a crop.

And of course there are those who feel cropping does have health benefits. I cannot support the contention generally, but I do know that the only dog I have who has yeasty ears, the only dog I have who has cracked and bleeding ears, the only dog I have who is constantly scratching her ears, is my uncropped one. Were I to base my opinion solely on personal experience, it would be quite logical for me to feel that cropped ears are far less troublesome than uncropped.

Listening to the intense cries of pain from a litter of boxer pups as they awoke after surgery was a horrible experience. I have monitored many animals after many different types of operations and never have I seen such obvious signs of pain and trauma.

This simply indicates a vet who is not especially skilled at cropping (or, perhaps it would be more fair to say, not as skilled as my vet.) The crop puppies I've had that were still "out" when I picked them up woke up with barely a peep. I have not seen signs of pain or trauma in newly cropped pups, other than the typical disorientation seen from being anesthetized - yet the spay/neuter pups I've had have shown obvious signs of discomfort for several days following the surgery.

To crop or not is a highly individual choice. My purpose here is not to sway someone either way - it is simply to point out that there are people who have not had problems with crops, whose pups have not showed signs of pain or discomfort, who have seen worse pain from procedures that people subject their dogs to without a thought.

 

[SoleilBxrs]

amen! (my 2cents)

JulieM-
that was soo well-put i just had to post a compliment. appicon i agree whole heartedly about everything you have just posted.

scrock-
i too worked as a Vet Tech for a vet who was highly recommended for cropping. He constantly had numerous danes, dobies, boxers, and etc.. coming in every day, (though i'd like to think that my personal vet does a much better job, crop-wise and service-wise), and I and never saw huge amounts of discomforts from any of the pups i'd worked with.

so my oppinion is that its really ones own choice. And if one does chose to go through with the crop, they must make sure they are committed to the taping process, and make sure they find a good, no wait, terrific and experienced vet to perform the procedure. (though the surgury isn't a major one, sooo many things can go wrong, and i've seen too many bad, bad, bad... crops!) Both my babies are cropped, and i haven't had problems with them yet.. and i still do like the look of an uncropped boxer. (for example Alisha Mobley's dogs, i think they look awesome!) anywho, thats just my oppinion...

-Kat, Cassius and Nikita

 

[Mama_Zookeeper]

I have been a boxer owner for about 28 years. We have also had 2 dobermans during this time. Of the dogs we have had the majority of them have been cropped. The exceptions were one doberman who was sickly as a pup and had several procedures done and we did not want to add to that. A rescue boxer we got was also uncropped...she was too old, but we would not have wanted a crop as she was white and it is our own preference to not have a white cropped. It is a matter of personal choice and preference. I like fawns & dark brindles with a longer show crop. Very flashy fawns and brindles look better to me with natural ears. Whites are also prettier in my humble opinion with a natural ear. The profile and stature of a boxer with a beautiful crop is something I have always admired and loved. There is beauty in all the boxers out there cropped or not. The key to having a good crop done is research. I have a regular vet who does not do crops (in her own words "I am not very good at them so i no longer do them"). She is a wonderful person and a great vet whom I have known for over 10 years. The vet who does our crops is a boxer owner himself and listens to what you want and will give you an honest opinion about who should and should not have a crop. My friend I referred to him was told her dog would be much better off with a natural ear with the help of tape...his excuse the cartilage in the ears was too weak to support a good crop. Those who prefer a cropped ear should not be judged strange or less caring for their pups. I love mine with all my life and would not subject them to something incredibly painful. By the way all the crops done on our dogs needed minimal taping and did not cause any horrible pain that could be seen or felt...drowsiness the first couple of hours and then back to normal. I still want to have boxers of all coat colors with cropped and natural ears.

Dora & the Zoo Crew

 

[Alisha Mobley]

(for example Alisha Mobley's dogs, i think they look awesome!)

Thank you

 

[cmweston]

We have decided to crop Hannah's ears...Well it was a family decision and well I lost! I have found a local vet that does it and I have seen about 20 that he has done and they are beautiful! He also has a book of different crops he has done, I'm taking Hannah to him next week and he is going to look at her ears and then show me which crop he thinks will be the best for her. I'm not sure what other vet's charge to crop but the one I have decided to us said it will be between 275 and 350....he sends them home with pain meds and antibiotics, the space alien collar( kids name for it ) and also the tape. He also wants me to bring her in every other day after the operation so he can check her.

Good luck to both you and baby Hannah, my 1st Boxer ear crop was done with no problem whatsoever, her ears are beautiful and she has won her Canadian championship, however not without sneers, her crop was done with quite a bit of her bell left in tact,and a shorter cut ,this less invasive and heals alot faster, her ears were healed and completly standing in less than a month (the show people call this a pet cut)my second Boxer ears were done before I picked him up, very long and hardly any bell left, (this is a show cut) he is now 5 months and 1 week and his ears are still taped, he has gone thru so much that is makes me cry every time we have to retape his ears, I will NEVER EVER put another puppy thru this, I love the look of the cropped ears, but at the expense of the pup? I am known as the whimp, I agree I am just not cut out for severe crops (excuse the pun)

 

[frankied]

cmweston I looked in your gallery and your babies are beautiful. I like Gracie's crop she is a lovely dog. Will Gunnar be entering the show ring? I see what you mean BTW in the difference in the crop.

Christa

 

[rubyred]

Ear cropping should be banned as it is in England, cant see if you are animal lovers that you would want to inflict pain on your dogs. I personally think the owners ought to have theirs done first! they might not be so quick off the mark to rush their puppies in to the vets.