Cropping??to do or not to do

[LoveMyBoxers]

I have two boxers, one with cropped ears and one with natural ears. I don't by any means regret getting Ginger's ears cropped. She looks great with them, and they really fit her personallity (the little Seargeant). But on the same hand, I don't regret not cropping Roxy's ears. They are rather big (I think), but so soft and velvety, and they also fit her personallity (she's such a goof-ball).
I was lucky with Ginger's ears, though. We had them cropped by a vet that was recommended to us by a friend that has dobbies (so I was able to see what their ears looked like). I don't think that she was in any real pain from the surgery. The day it was done, I dropped her off in the morning, and when I picked her up that night she was real dopey and slept all night. I took her to "grandma's" house to baby-sit her while her wires were still in, but never had to give her any pain pills. She did shake her head real hard one day and threw one of the wires out so I had to get that put back in, but the stiches were clean and very well done (can't say so much for that vet's bedside manner though). After the first week, the wires were removed and then she had her whole head taped up, ears in cotton rolls similar to a feminine product, and medical tape all around her head and under her chin. That was cute, she looked like she had a tooth ache. I too am one of the lucky ones that didn't have to tape the ears for them to stand.

Good luck on your decision, I know it's a hard one to make, I've been there myself!

 

[JillE24]

I also chose not to crop because I didn't want to put all the work into taping & because I like the natural ears.

But I didn't realize that you can tape or manipulate natural ears to have them lay flat. My Laila's ears do the flying nun thing alot (take a look at the pic in my gallery called "Her Favorite Place") & while I think it's cute & would love her no matter what her ears looked like, I do like them laying flat better. Guess I'll have to search & see what I come up with - unless any of you have ideas.

Thanks!

Jill

 

[robynkendall]

JillE24...did you look at the websites LaylaMommy included in her last post (great job btw, laylamommy)? I also didn't know about taping natural ears, and the first site really explains about the many different types of ears that Boxers have. I would also like to know about anyone taping natural ears

 

[JillE24]

Robynkendall,

I saw the last 2 sites but not the first one. Laila is definately the puppy on #3 :p . She's 20 weeks now though, so that's how she's going to stay. Last night I couldn't stop trying to play with her ears to see if I could get them to lie down. Sometimes they do on their own, but mostly they're up.

I'd still like to hear how anyone has taped or massaged the natural ears down, if they'd like to share.

Thanks!

Jill

 

[nhbdaddy]

we have chosen to crop both our boxers ears simply because we prefer the cropped look. The breed is beautiful either way. Right now, our baby Angel (9 wks) is in week 2 post crop, and her ears look great. If you go with a "pet" crop instead of a "show" crop, you will not have to tape the ears at all. At least thats been our experience with our two, as long as you get them done between 7-9 weeks. Good Luck in your decision!!

 

[JodyO]

Our breeder almost made us crop our boxers ears. He was determined to be pet quality when we chose him and she said we could pick him up after his ears were done. They were even going to pay to have them done for us.

My husband and I were first time dog and boxer owners at that time and we did not feel we could handle the responsibility that came a long with the care. We wanted to spend the first months of our puppies life bonding with him and training him and learning about dog ownership, not healing his ears.

Reluctantly our breeder let us have him (prob because he was the runt!LOL) but she warned they do not breed for natural ears and could not guarantee they would lay flat.

Of course we had no idea what that meant and now he has shrek ears (they are too short). He is still cute to us, but next time I will research how to massage and tape natural ears!

I totally see where my breeder was coming from now, but I still stand firn that we were not ready to handle all the work it takes to make cropped ears stand. We barely made it through puppyhood!!! LOL!

Just my two cents!
Jody