Hi,
I have 3 Boxers, all have cropped ears. I chose to crop them because I prefer the look of cropped ears on a Boxer. I also don't know how to train the non-cropped ear to lay correctly. I have read that non-cropped ears are more prone to infection because they hold moisture, I also have read with cropped ears the dog's hearing is better. I brought my females home at 6 weeks of age but I have read that 8-10 weeks is better for the pup. According to my books the pups need the extra time with each other to develope socializing skills. I know people who have brought pups home as early as 4 weeks though. As for food, that realy depends on the dog. I have read that you should never buy food from a grocery store only pet stores. Then the only way to tell if it's good for your dog first if they like the taste (if they wont eat it then it's not doing any good), other than that their coat should be shiny and soft, lots of energy (Boxers love to play and can't seem to be still for very long). I have read everything I can get my hands on trying to find out a good brand of dog food and everything just tells me to look at my dog and see if it looks healthy and acts healthy if so why change their food. I also asked a couple of vets about can dog food and they don't recommend it. They said it's not as healthy as dry food and it has too many calories. One more thing about cropped ears, if you decide to do this you might want to look at a few photos & see if you prefer longer or shorter. It might be helpful to take a photo of your preference to the vet that does the surgery. There are lots of differences, I prefer slightly longer. I have seen some where the dog reminds me of a horse (very long).
Alisha - Indiana
