Ear crop?

[lshamesy]

I'm considering cropping Charley's ears (11 wk old brindle female). I spoke with the breeder and he recommended a Dr. Labounty in Los Angeles. I just spoke with the secretary in his office and she was extremely rude. I asked about taking Charley in for a consultation and the cost is $45. I'm wondering if this is normal (to pay for a consultation)... I'm also wondering if anyone has the name of a qualified "ear cropper" in the Los Angeles area. I'm not sure I want to go through with the procedure and I will NOT do it with a doctor who I don't feel comfortable with.
Please help - I know it's getting close to the deadline when I won't be able to crop her ears, and I'm extremely confused. :o

P.S. I won't be showing Charley - it would be purely to satisfy my preference of cropped ears. Maybe it's not worth it - I know she'll be beautiful either way...

 

[Draymia]

If you don't plan on showing and you are unsure if you even want to crop, I would give it some very serious thought.

Go to the picture galleries and look at all of the different boxers with cropped & uncropped ears.

The $45.00 consult fee is an office call. That is pretty normal.

If you are not set on a boxer with cropped ears, I would say, don't do it. You will love her either way. There is quite a bit of aftercare work to get them standing. Some stand in a few weeks, but most can take several months of taping to get them up. I have a six month & a seven month that are still being taped. We are almost there, but not quite.

 

[Jan]

If you have any doubts, don't do it. Tapeing cropped ears, really is a lot of work and you run the risk of it not working and then you could have a funny looking boxer.

You are going to have to make a quick decision as you don't have much time left to get it done.

 

[lshamesy]

Thanks!

Thanks for the help. I've decided not to do it - precisely for the reasons you both gave.

 

[Boudreaux]

Thanks for not getting your baby's ears cropped. My vet will not do cropping or docking on any animals at all because he considers it cruel and unusual punishment since they can't speak for themselves in the process. He has seen some dogs where they had their ears cropped and after they healed, the ears crossed each other on top of their head. And like the other people mentioned in this forum, sometimes they have to do it again and again if it was done incorrectly the first time. How would you feel to have multiple plastic surgery corrections for a bad eye lift

Just my opinion but I think it is unnecessary. Docking their tails is sometimes necessary because the breed will develop back problems. Love your dog and he/she will love you.

 

[Scrapper's Mom]

If you don't plan to show, and don't have a preference, then don't crop because it IS a lot of work to do the aftercare. That being said, I was not inclined to crop at first because I thought those same things that some have written. But we had intitially planned to show Scrapper so we went ahead with it. When the deed was done, however, and I went to an expert here in NorCal who has people coming from far and wide, it turned out to not be as "bad" as I anticipated. There was ample pain management given and Scrapper returned to his wild puppy self shortly afterwards. But there was five months of taping and you have to be careful and diligent to make sure you don't get those outcomes that Boudreaux mentioned.

So, unless you are planning to show, or have a definite preference for the cropped look and are willing to go the extra mile to make sure the crop is done properly and the dog gets the appropriate aftercare, then don't do it.

 

[markandhaley]

i actually heard what Boudreaux did about the ear cropping situation, our vet won't do it either and they said that the animal rights activists are working on the ear cropping of animals that aren't for show being in the animal cruelty law. something that has to do with the blood supply going towards their ears. actually my uncle had a boxer about twenty years ago (just heard this story when i got my boxer) and got her ears cropped. the doctor told him that she needed to be in a place where not many people are so she wouldn't be disturbed and she actually ended up dying. i'm not exactly sure why but it wasn't because of anything my uncle did ... my babys ears aren't cropped...sorry just thought i'd add my input because i just heard this just a week ago or less! =)
*mark, haley & asia*

 

[Kristi915]

What exactly is the procedure for cropping ears? Is it done surgically?

 

[Kelly_B]

I wanted to have Dakota's ears cropped and my son did not.
So I read up on it and found it is a very painful procedure for him to go through......needless to say, he still has his floppy ears!!

I could not live with myself if I had to look into those eyes and see pain and/or misery knowing that I caused it.

 

[JulieM]

Yes, it is a surgical procedure done under general anesthesia. When performed by a skilled vet, you will see little if any indication of discomfort (let alone "pain") except the occasional yelp if the puppy bumps its ears on something. (Generally a coffee table - for some reason pups just don't seem to "get" that they need to duck their head when they're going underneath one!) Usually the stitch removal is the worst part of the entire process, and I've had some dogs sit through it as if they were half-asleep. As for having to be in a place where they won't be disturbed - I've never heard that, but considering this happened twenty years ago it could be an effect of the anesthesia being used, which took much longer to come out of and was much more risky.