Ear Cropping

[laurieroyal]

We will be picking up our first boxer puppy in about 6 weeks! The litter was just born a week ago. The father is from a great bloodline (Virgo Boxers from Austin) and I know we can ask our breeder but don't want to keep continually inundating them with questions. We have absolutely no idea what age you need to get the ears clipped or what this entails. We live in Northern Texas (almost in Oklahoma) and there are hardly any boxers in this area so no club to ask. Can anyone help? We would appreciate any input anyone can give!

 

[KBENDER]

The question is are you going to show him?,If not why get his ears done.

 

[Sabrina Jay]

Contact the breeder (or the sire's owner) for a recommendation for a vet for the cropping in your area.

Ears must be cropped by 12 weeks of age. There is an EXTENSIVE taping process after cropping also, to get the ears to stand. You must be deligent in the aftercare.

 

[Bosco'sMom]

You can do a search on this site for "ear cropping" and I am know you will get lots of answers. Cropping is a personal decision for each owner. It is purely cosmetic and some prefer the look. Other prefer the natural look. We had Bosco's cropped because my husband likes the cropped look. It wasn't too bad. He didn't even require taping, but make sure you do your research on the vet before you do it. I believe there may be some vets out there that have no business cropping because they don't know what they're doing. Good Luck!

 

[raifig]

I am personally very much against cropping Boxers' ears. Their ears are very soft and expressive. Our Boxer, Buster, shows a wide range of emotions using his ears. If we had cropped them, we would have lost out a lot of his communication with us. We have just adopted our second baby and we will keep her ears natural just as our male's are.

 

[KBENDER]

Right on, you will miss a lot by croping their ears

raifig where did you adopt from?

 

[None-removed]

Just a reminder folks, since this exact thread has gotten heated in the past -

Cropping is a cosmetic alteration that is legal in the US, it is not mandatory for conformation dogs (but is advisable per the AKC Standard). While some may disagree with it, it is a legitimate personal choice.

 

[laurieroyal]

Thanks For All The Input

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to my post. I am new to this and did not realize this post had the potential to create controvery - though I should have realized sooner. My husband and I actually have differing opinions on this too -- he simply prefers the cropped ear look while I don't view it as important. It's great to hear from people on both sides of the fence. It really shows this forum's value!

 

[raifig]

Maybe my interpretation of adoption may not be the same as others. I consider anytime we add a non-human friend to our family an adoption. We bought Daisy Mae at a breeder from Leming, Texas. Our male Buster, we got from a lady in Gardenridge(not a breeder).

 

[Alisha Mobley]

As mentioned before ears are normally cropped by 12 weeks. Taping depends on the type of crop and the dog...some require more taping than others. I have 3 non-show crops and one show crop. My non-show crops were taped for 10 days...after that we were done. My show crop dog was cropped, taped 7 days after the crop then taped for about 6 days and we were done. Others have had a much harder time getting the cropped ear to stand...I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

Your best bet would be to talk to the breeder, see what they recommend and what they're experience in cropping has been. Be ready for extensive taping just in case.