vet needed for ear crop: how to find

[katie71003]

HI everyone. My daughter got her first boxer on Saturday. We were able to get her early due to the breeder being shipped to Iraq. She is a pretty little flashy dark brindle. We named her Abby. I have my own vet who Ive had for 8 years, however Ive never cropped a dogs ears before so not sure how well he does them. Abby is a show prospect so we are wanting a show crop. What is the ideal age to get their ears cropped? I think I read it should be done before 16 weeks. Also how do I go about finding a vet to crop? Also is there any photos I could see of a show crop vs a pet crop? What exactly is the difference?

We live about an hour and a half from a very good breeder who shows and owns many champions. I dont think she is listed on Boxerworld, but I know for a fact that she is responsible and health tests and does ALL the right stuff....Would it be okay for me to actually call her and find out where she gets her pups ears cropped or would that be rude considering I did not buy my puppy from her?

Any advice on this is greatly appreciated!

 

[DogNamed_Boo]

Congrats on the new puppy... ...As far as when to crop...8 to 12 weeks .Boo was cropped at 10 weeks..I woiuld crop no later than 12 weeks...
As far as finding a good vet that does a good crop...I would contact your local boxer club..Most club members do no mine giving out info for cropping. Also ..contacting the breeder you are speaking of would ok...I would think. I would only take recomendations from show breeders ..they know who does a good crop.
If you have pictures of how you want the puppy cropped ..that will help the vet also.

If you lived in Fl ..I would tell you who does a wonderful crop.

Good luck

lovicon
Boo & Vickie

 

[gmacleod]

The best place to start would be either your local boxer club, or a local breeder who shows (and also crops) her dogs. I would think that the breeder you've thought of would be a good choice - and if you call, and are open and polite in asking her advice, then I can't see any obvious reason why she should mind. You could also ask your own breeder for recomendations - if not for a local vet, then perhaps for another local breeder who you could ask for advice.

The difference between a show and pet crop, as I understand it, is in the length and amount of bell left on the ear (the show crop being longer with less bell). I don't crop though so you may get better information from someone else. You could also take a look through the gallery - there are plenty of cropped show and pet dogs there to compare

As for the timing thing - you may not actually have quite as much time as you think. My understanding is that the ideal time to crop is 8-12 weeks and that a lot of vets (most, even) WON'T perform a cropping surgery after 12 weeks. If you're going to be looking for a 'specialist' to do your crop, you might want to hurry things along a little

 

[katie71003]

Thanks so much for the information! The breeder I got the puppy from unfortunately just left for Iraq so cant question him:(
I am going to contact the breeder I know and speak with her and find out which vet she uses. Shes got so many champions under her belt, I know she knows what she is doing. Many ppl on boxerwork know of her I believe, I just dont thinK i can mention her or her kennel due to BW rules but not sure .
Thanks so much!!! and Im on my way to check out the gallery and see what i see
Katie

 

[PawPrintBoxers]

8-12 weeks is cropping age. The vets out here won't touch a puppy much later than that. If the breeder you bought your pup from actually is a show breeder, I would have expected them to direct you to a qualified vet. It is not usual for a show breeder to NOT arrange this ahead of time since they know it has to be done quickly.

They honestly should have helped you when you bought the pup regardless of their deployment. If the breeder is not a show breeder, then that would explain why they did not help you with the cropping.

Yes, you can call a true show breeder and ask them for a referral. I refer people to my cropping vet all the time. But remember, the crop does not make the ears stand. You have to train them over time to stand.