Uncropped ear health

[MickeyFan]

I was recently talking to a co-worker with a boxer. She claimed the reason it is better to have cropped ears is because they are easier to keep healthy. She described a situation where a boxer will shake his head so hard (you know the ear flapping thing) that he breaks the blood vessels along the outer edge of the ear. This area then becomes infected and the whole ear will swell.

Is this something I should be on the lookut for in my own uncropped dogs, or is she blowing smoke?? I figured if anyone would know the anwer to this question, it would be y'all.

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[joanna]

years ago, I was told that the reason that the tails are cropped was because the bone is not developed enough in it and it would break and cause the dog to possibly bleed to death. I have never heard of such a thing accually happening, nor have I ever heard of uncropped ears causing issues of broken blood vessels. I think they are both untrue.

 

[Aimee]

There are no health benefits to cropping ears. With that said, my female had issues with the tips of her ears cracking and bleeding but this was due to a yeast infection and had nothing to do with having natural ears

 

[JulieM]

My natural-eared girl does have times when she shakes her head so hard that the edges of her ears break open and bleed (in fact, she's got a "notch" missing out of one ear from this). *However* like Aimee's girl, it is due to a yeast problem, not simply the fact that she has natural ears. I would think that in a cropped dog the edges of the ear would not break open as easily - not as much tissue/weight/velocity/whatver - but I don't consider that a reason to crop.

 

[MickeyFan]

Thank you for your replies.

I suspected this person might not be the most credible of sources. In the same conversation, she told me she keeps her dog outside year round, and breeds her dogs because she "thinks they are beautiful" - she is no breeder. Her last boxer dog died very young from cancer (a dog she bred). She also explained that her current dog had a very extreme underbite. Isn't that specifically mentioned in the standard as an undesirable trait? Current dog is gigantic and sounds like he has a bad temperment. This woman does not health screen (I asked her) and doesn't care to breed to standard.

This was a conversation that made me walk away mad. I took what she had to say with a grain of salt, but I wanted to verify with people on Boxerworld.

 

[BXRmum]

Ty is 2 1/2 yrs old and he has never had any health problems with his natural ears. They are always very clean and pink!

 

[P's Poppa]

ears

I hope this doesn't sound dumb but, my boy has natual ears and shakes his head alot, can boys get yeast infections :confused:

 

[kay85]

I was told when we got our boxer that the reason they cropped the ears was to help keep them clean. When the ears flap over, it holds the dirt in and makes it easier for them to get ear infections. I just use a cotton ball to clean out Roxie's ears and we have not had any problems. Sometimes I wonder if people just make up reasons for cropping. I am not against cropping, but some of the reasons I have heard make me wonder.

 

[tingoddess]

Ear Health

As a professional groomer I can attest to the fact that excessive or violent head shaking can lead to hematoma's in the ears, basically the vessels break and blood pools under the skin. I was unaware that boxers had ear leather's long or heavy enough to be affected with issues such as these. See, you learn something new everyday.!

Yeast infections can effect ears of either sex and any breed. I don't think boxers would be anymore prone to this than other dogs with similiar sized ear leather. I think genetics and environment play the most pivotal roll in whether a dog gets frequesnt ear infections.
Lots of swimming, humid or dirty living conditions can contribute to ear problems.
As to cropping I believe it was orginally done to prevent other animals and humans from having something to grab onto when engaged in a physical confontation. Many guarding breeds are cropped.
My doberman had cropped ears and I always was cleaning them. They were like dirt funnels. LOL

I think the woman who is breeding out of her back yard should be ashamed of herself! Her ignorance hurts the breed and hurts good breeders who care! I hope local rescue groups aren't too burdened with her rejects
:(

 

[tugger]

Brit has natural ears and when we rescued her she had yeast infection in the tips of her ears. When she shook her head hard the scabs would bleed. It took a while to heal and she was fine.

I like the natural ears. Personal preferance.

I clean Brits ears all the time. I use a cotton swab and cotton ball. She loves it too. She bends and twists to make sure I get the right angle. When I have finished cleaning her ears and this is gross but she loves to examine the cotton swabs and cotton ball. LOL.