[PitRottMommy]

I know, bad bad...I decided to post the debate that will probably get me removed from my moderatorship.

Crop or no crop?

I, personally, prefer the cropped look. I do not, however, support (my affectionate term) "home crop jobs". You scissor the ears, I think they should scissor your b@lls. I like nice, tall crops. Not so tall that they need to be stacked and racked, but a tall crop. I think the "fighting crop" is horrendous. Ears trimmed off the head, pinnae tips at less than 1.5" and "curved" ear crops (you know, the ones that look like the tips of the ears are connected by a string because they curve towards one another) are absolutely tasteless, IMO. I also don't like a "cup" look (um...that would be one gripe I have about Brogan's crop) where the bottom of the ear is not trimmed away from the head and it only serves to collect water when it rains--lol.

Now that being said, *ahem* some veterinarians will ruin your only shot at a nice crop. Like a guy I USED to work for! Below is my opinion of a very nice crop. This picture was sent with Brogan when he went for his ear crop. Below is a picture of what he came home with. To fix it, we'll have to have it done again--and I feel he's too old to be put through that abuse. At any rate, we're stuck with the ear crop--and I'm learning to deal with it.






Let's hear what you've got to say


Sami

P.S. Before I get reamed for it, Brogan was on a nice, high dose of painkillers while his ears healed. I cleaned them every day to keep him from feeling as though they were irritated. I would also recommend waiting the full 10 days when given the "sutures out in 7-10 days" talk. Brogan had a small spot on the bottom of one of his ears that didn't close and it had to be stapled in order for proper healing to take place. 3 additional days could have saved us the trouble.

[Purple]

I like the natural look.

Cropping a dog's ears provides no health benefits. It's simply to make the dogs looks more appealing to the owner.

[Patch O' Pits]

Originally Posted by Purple I like the natural look. Cropping a dog's ears provides no health benefits.

Me too and I agree!

[Michele]

I like the natural look. I'm a sucker for ears....

[Wyldmoonwoman]

I like natural ears, but if I were to have a show dog, I would crop the ears

[buddysmom]

I like ears that flop

Originally Posted by Patch O' Pits Me too and I agree!

i think it depends on the individual dog. if my dogs had ears as nice as these look i say leave them. nick had ears just like this and i now regret having them done. now lizzy and bronson both had hound dog ears. horrible look imo and yes i did it for them to look better. it's the owner of the dogs decision and i support whatever the individual decides to do.

[CynthiaATL]

I say it depends on how the dogs ears look. Scrappy has nice ears. On the other hand Mike has one that sits perfect and 1 that does not.

The BIGGEST problem I see at work is owner complience when it comes to cropping. They DO NOT follow up. Or they take the E Collar off and the dog tears the sutures out. Or they do not bring them in for retaping so the ears do not look right.

I say if you chose to crop do not go with the cheapest Vet. Do your research when it comes to Vets.

It is a cosmetic surgery.

[HighVoltageAPBT]

Originally Posted by Boogieman i think it depends on the individual dog. if my dogs had ears as nice as these look i say leave them. nick had ears just like this and i now regret having them done. now lizzy and bronson both had hound dog ears. horrible look imo and yes i did it for them to look better. it's the owner of the dogs decision and i support whatever the individual decides to do.

I agree I like floppy ears with a good earset. Hound ears, and bat ears have to go. I like a nice ear crop not to long not to short. I ALWAYS take a picture of exactly what I want that way there can be NO micommunication on what is to be done. The very first ear crop I had done I didnt know and OMG I will ALWAYS take a pic from now on.
Here is the first one that I didnt take a pic lol:

Luckily he grew into his ears:

Here is two of my other dogs who are cropped:

[Patch O' Pits]

I agree it is personal choice thing

Originally Posted by Wyldmoonwoman I like natural ears, but if I were to have a show dog, I would crop the ears

Why, the standard actually says natural is preferred. Mine all have ears and show

[GHOST]

Originally Posted by Purple I like the natural look. Cropping a dog's ears provides no health benefits. It's simply to make the dogs looks more appealing to the owner.

i like the cropped look but it did serve a purpose along time ago ,,but those activities are illegal nowdays and there is no need to have them anymore,,,

so i never fool with them,,, (having them clipped) because they are there to help protect the ear and keep objects and things out of they're ears

they look good but i'll stick with health over looks anyday

[bahamutt99]

Not crop. I fought to keep my girl's ears, and I'm glad I did. I even had somebody do a digital crop on her, and ew.

But but but... I think it is the owner's decision if they want to spend that kind of money on something asthetic. I think home crops are incredibly cruel, but veterinary crops are not. They're just not for me, unless I have to do it.

Loki's virtual crop:



Loki in all her natural beauty:



I would like to add one other thing. For folks who routinely crop for the show ring or whatever reason. It makes it difficult for the people who are researching a dog's pedigree and want to see what kind of ears get passed on. I know that is a lesser point of dog breeding. But for someone who'd be interested in including nice natural ears on the list of things to include in the program, it becomes extremely difficult in some cases to figure out which stud would be more likely to throw good natural ears, because most/all the dogs in his pedigree are cropped!

[Shon]

Just to voice my opinion, for absolutely no particular reason... I believe people who crop their dogs ears should be held to the same accord as "dog fighters." I don't see it as being all that very different, other than dog vs. dog compared to dog vs. human for personal gain and cosmetic statements. But that's simply my opinion

Originally Posted by Patch O' Pits I agree it is personal choice thing Why, the standard actually says natural is preferred. Mine all have ears and show

Patch are speaking of UKC? the ADBA does not have any preference, although there is a judge here and there that will comment quietly, or not so quietly while they are there about a crop. gary hammonds does not like it and will be quick to tell you so.

i have thought about it as this thread has came up on game-dog also and i have to tell you i will think hard before i do it again. it's not that i regret doing it to the dogs i have now, it's just that i have grown to appreciate the natural look tons more than i did before. seeing the tons of dogs you do at shows and pics in forums opens your eyes to a vast majority of dogs to look at and i've seen many beautiful dogs with natural ears.

[chinasmom]

I think it depends on how the dogs ears lay and whether or not you plan to show. If they are perfect short rose ears, leave 'em .If they are wacked, crop'em.

[LuvinBullies]

I definitely prefer the natural look...even though my Dante has cow ears .

Natas had those adorable little zoomy airplane ears (RIP)...I just love 'em. I love how they pin them back when they are embarrassed (for instance: "Dante UGH! You farted!") or if they hear something curious. I'm a sucker for ears...

[JoeFeezy]

IMO, it all depends on the dog. I prefer natural ears, but if the ears stand straight up with bat ears than i prefer a crop.

[Patch O' Pits]

Patch are speaking of UKC? the ADBA does not have any preference, although there is a judge here and there that will comment quietly, or not so quietly while they are there about a crop. gary hammonds does not like it and will be quick to tell you so.

... that was actually from the old UKC standard. In the revised one from 2004 it says no preferrence in UKC just like it does in the ADBA

Also though this doesn't apply to our APBTs the Amstaff standard still has uncropped as preferred which I find amusing since it seems most of them have cropped ears in the show ring

Pet peeve of mine is that natural ears that are not perfect are even an issue at all since you can't tell what a cropped eared dogs ears would have been like natural. I'd rather have bat ears on a dog than a bad or uneven crop.

[PitRottMommy]

I'm with alot of you. I still like the uncropped look. I chose to do Brogan's ears because I think it adds to the beauty of the beast.

I have no problem with it one way or another, but I will have my APBTs ears cropped. I think its aesthetically pleasing...and it keeps me from having to clean as many ears when I do baths. (Brogan is a 30 second job...Bryce takes me 15 minutes with his rottie ears).

I think we've made it to a point, as owners, that we realize that a tasteful crop isn't a bad thing. I, again, don't like the "cropped off the head" look. I do like little nice, straight ears that stand up very perky off the head. It makes the dog look constantly alert. I guess that's my two cents. lol.


Sami

[Miakoda]

I think it's an absolute waste of money & no different than hanging a ginormous chain & padlock around your dog's neck (or something similar). It's all about looks & fashion & nothing more.

My suggestion is to take your $200+ & help out a dog in need or buy some treats for all your dogs or something.

and it keeps me from having to clean as many ears when I do baths

I find that odd because in all my experience with dogs with cropped ears, they have dirtier ears than normal. I don't mean yeast infection or anything, but just plain ol' dirtier. Same goes for dogs with bat ears.