Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello to you,

Im posting from australia so my experiences are different to yours from the usa. I am surprised at the acteptance of ear cropping in the states, it has been illegal in australia for a while now and I have two 3 yr old dobes without cropped ears and they are adorable, soft and floppy I couldnt imajine them any different. (when i figure out the photo thing ill show you).

They do have cropped tails (I also dont like this either though when i was ready for a pup, no respecting breeder would have undocked pups) one I know was done by a vet but the other ( a rescue dog) I fear didnt as the crop is very short ony one vertabrete extends past the body.

I just wanted some feed back on how people feel about the pain the babies go through, its just that the process seems so long( 6 months!) what can the dogs do with all that gear on their heads.

please no flames just sincere thoughts, im not an animal activist just a dobes friend that hates unnessesary pain.

We were not originally going to crop our dobe because our vet said it was a horrible thing to do and I wasn't going to show him anyway. He had an ear infection that wouldn't go away though and was costing 400 a week so we took him to another vet and they said crop and he'll be fine. And hes been great ever since. He was fine the minute we brought him home. The only time he had some pain was when he rammed his head into the bathtub! When he had his ear infections he was constantly whining and rubbing his head and not wanting to be touched. I don't know what we would have done if we hadn't gotten him cropped.

Now I'm all for it because i have completely fallen in love with the breed and its history and I really like the look of the cropped ears. It would have been great to have iot bred in, but its not. I know my dogs are completely spoiled and if someone wants to say it was mean, fine. I know, especially with my dobe, that it was the right thing to do. Floppy ears wouldn't bother me with a rescue but when I get another pup i'll have them cropped again. I now dobes are not prone to ear infections so I guess thats not an excuse but I just like their look that way . When I think of a dobe I think of the upright ears and the pretty face. The just dont seem liket he same dog to me without the crop.

I didn't get the long show cut done so his ears were not taped that long and we kind of let them go towards the end anyway! His one side leans but when hes alert I can't tell. The cup was only on, I think, a week or two. He played just fine with it on. Same with the taping. My byron is the biggest baby in the whole world and he lets you know when hes hurting, and I never got that when his ears were done. There are of course horror storys of it being done but people need to find someone who knows what they are doing.
Do you have pics of your pups? Theres a link to my boy at the bottom! Any more specific questions I'd be happy to answer, I can blab about him all day! My trainer just took in a rescue that had his ears done but the owner neglected to tape them right. He got it fixed somehow but the pup was only seven months old. He was fine and happy too. The thing I don't agree with is getting the tail done after a couple days. I hear about people getting there two year old dogs tail off because it knocks stuff off a coffee table! My friend has a boston that has a bad dock too. hte bone is poking out from the skin. The vet said it would cause her more pain to fix it though.
Byron pics

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Wrote out another post and it got eaten!

Heres a ink to a pic of byrons ear gear. He was running all over htat day playing wiht his toys I don't remember how long after they were done that is though. Need to write dates down!

And I also wanted to add that when I see a dobe with a great crop I almost automatically think that they are cared for greatly. A good crop takes a lot of time and effort. SOmeone can't just go get the pup and tie it outback. I've heard thats why some people prefer rotts

And yesterday...

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Wish I could edit this! That other pic didn't work so heres another

ANd another one

And yes, That is how he sleeps all day!
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Ear-cropping is illegal in Switzerland. Cropped dogs import is banned too.

And this is Shadow

Regards

Adriana

thanx for sharing,

shaddow has a tail too! how long is it? it looks like a greyhound tail.

as far as Im aware you can import cropped dogs into aus but It is a not allowed to in the show ring.

how long has cropping been illegal? is the poularity of dobes high or has there been a drop off after the cropping laws?

Any Swiss dobe/dog site you would recomend?

In Switzerland it's not allowed to cut *anything* in a dog, except for very well-founded reasons: health, neutering etc. This applies of course not only for dobes, but for rotties, boxers etc. too. Some exceptions might be made for some of the working breeds, where the cropping is not merely estetic, but vital for the work.

This is the law for about 6 years or more. The result is some people tried to trick this law, because in the beginning they were allowed to import cropped dogs older than 5 months of age. But now it's forbidden all the way and they say they would put the dog down and fine the owner in case they find such a dog. Which is not very logical in my view, but I'm not sure they relly apply it like that. In any case, they are very serious about animal protection. So most people accept this as it is, because you can only show uncropped dogs anyway. I don't think people who love the breed would give it up only because they are not allowed to cut them the ears and the tail.

Unfortunately dobes and big dogs in general have a bad press because of some accidents happening here and in Europe in general. This is why I can't recommend any Swiss breeder, we have Shadow from a shelter. *I think* his breeder was this one:

http://www.dobermannzucht.ch/

but I am not sure, as Shadow came into the shelter without any papers from his previous owners. This site has a forum too, but it's German/French only, I think. However, if you live in the US you won't be buying a pup from Europe anyway. If you don't and have some more questions for me please send me a message.

Regards

Adriana

I understand the laws somewhat in Europe, and IMO it is a shame that most fanatical animal rights people are more concerned about cropping and docking than they are about the abuse suffered by so many animals. We are fighting for the right to continue to crop and dock in the USA and in Canada. I just truly think that it should remain a matter of choice, and that animal rights people should worry a little more about the abuse so many animals suffer, and not the fact that people who love dogs like Dobermans, want to retain the traditional look called for by the standard. When people look at my beautiful cropped bitch and say they think cropping ears is cruel, I'm telling them that starving and beating a dog is cruel, but I don't think the minor cosmetic surgery my bitch underwent at 7 weeks can even be compared to some of the abuse I have seen in the dogs we rescue. If you want to "see" cruelty, I can load a picture of my current foster Doberman who came into rescue at 6 months at the very brink of death weighing only 21 lbs. I'm a little more concerned about what was deliberately done to him than the fact that he has cropped ears! I don't care if someone wants to have natural ears, I just want them to respect my right to have cropped ears & a docked tail.

I'm hoping my picture shows up - still tring to figure this out!

This is my current foster boy for Doberman rescue. This picture was taken a week after he came into rescue and had already gained almost 10 lbs. Also, the picture is of his "good" side as the other side had open pressure wounds and large patches of missing hair. He came into rescue at 21 lbs - he was approx 6 months old. That he lived is beyond a miracle. This is what "cruelty" REALLY LOOKS LIKE! I think his beautiful cropped ears are insignificant when compared to what someone deliberately did to him after he was cropped! It kind of puts the word "cruelty" into the proper perspective - don't you think??

That poor dog! I can't see how someone can do that! Even if they say they can't take care of it then find someone who can!
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Yes you would think that someone would turn in a dog if they could not afford to feed him, but sometimes people do terrible things deliberately - it is beyond my capability to understand it. I actually have worse pictures of this foster boy from the day he came in, but they are really too shocking to post. If you are interested in seeing him, you can go to the rescues website at www.dvdpa.org and he is featured on the home page.

I think this kind of cruelty is what we need to worry about, and not the pampered cropped and docked Doberman currently sleeping on our couches and beds!

lovely pics joce,

the puppy photo with his ears is just how my boy looked. The female(spayed) i got as a three year old but her ears are much smaller and she seems to be able to rotate them more, she can have the funniest expresions with them- one right up one right down or even inside out!

Cropped and docked is the standard in the USA and Canada - and done correctly, it does not cause undue pain or stress to a puppy. Tails & dewclaws are done at approx 3 days. Ears are normally done at approx 7 - 8 weeks at a vets office. I've seen puppies the day after cropping and they are fine - playing like fools with their cups on their heads. Posting is something that they are just used to from a very young age - it is not painful to them at all.

I've had both cropped and uncropped Dobermans - I like both, but I prefer cropped and I show so cropped it is! I'm also active in Doberman rescue and see plenty of uncropped Dobermans - it is usually easier to place cropped Dobermans in this country because that is what most people want.

IMO - if you don't like cropped breeds then get a different breed that is not cropped. For the most part you can't buy a really good quality Doberman from a reputable breeder in this country without it being already cropped. Maybe someday the fanatical animal rights people will get the right to choose taken away from us - I really hope not. IMO the right to choose means the right to choose a different breed!

I'm trying to post a picture of my bitch's cropped ears - not sure if it will show up or not! She has a show crop and it took approx 6 months to get it to stand the way you see it. It never bothered her at all to live with posts in her ears. The result is beautiful and so expressive because she can move them much more than an uncropped dog can. I can read her moods so easily just by looking at her ears.

Heres a link from a couple posts down of someones new pup. There are pics at the bottom with the cup on. It looks happy. And it is the cutest pup in the world if they are reading this!
Firebreathas(sp) pup pics

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Hello, we recently had our puppies ears cropped and he did great,
he was up and playing the next day with no signs of discomfort.
Both ears are standing perfect after 2 tapings so the process
was very short.