Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I am new to the Doberman Forum. I had a little female yrs ago and she was honestly, THE best dog. When she passed away, I couldn't bring myself to get another dobie.

Now, my little family includes 2 retired Greyhounds(12 and 14) and 2 BC mixes (9 and 10). Down the road, I would like another doberman, preferably an older rescue.

I had my first dobies ears cropped, but I have really come to like the natural ears. I don't mean to start a debate, as I know this is a sensitive issue, but I was trying to find out if the AKC still require cropped ears to show in the ring? This was all I was able to find..."Ears normally cropped and carried erect. The upper attachment of the ear, when held erect, is on a level with the top of the skull." It was the "normally" that lead me to think it could go either way (cropped or natural).

As I said, I will be looking for an older female, so her ears won't really be an issue, I was just wondering...
Thank you for any help.
Cathy
PS. I have loved seeing everyones pictures.. thank you for sharing.

The part of the phrase in our standard that says "ears normally cropped" means that ears should be cropped in the usual fashion. This interpretation was verified by one of the people involved in writing the standard, Peggy Adamson.

So uncropped ears are considered faulty. Additional support for this is provided by what the standard *doesn't* say..there is no mention that uncropped ears should be accepted without penalty, and no ideal uncropped ear is described.

It's not a disqualification, so dobermans can be shown with uncropped ears. There have been very few uncropped doberman champions in this country (I think there have been 4 to date), but this is due to the quality of the dogs that are generally shown uncropped..most well bred doberman puppies in this country are cropped by their breeder prior to placement.

thank you so much for clearing that up for me.
a nice day..
Cathy

One other thing to remember is it's not specifically the AKC that makes these requirements. The AKC is simply a registery and the standards they accept are set by each individual breed club. I was just at the 4 day Wine Country Dog Show in NY and while I missed the Dobes being shown I did stop to watch the Great Danes and there were several that did not have ears that were cropped. They didn't place either but then they are being subjected to the opinions and politics of the ring judge.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

I don't think you will have any trouble finding a natural earred Doberman if that is what you want. The best place to find them is through rescue. Most back yard breeders do not crop, but please do not support them. There are many Dobermans needing good homes.

Unless you are planning on showing in the conformation breed ring, uncropped ears are not an issue. However, Murray Dobe is correct when she says that well bred puppies from good breeders are cropped prior to going to their new home. Cropped ears per our standard are what most breeders see as their own vison of the breed...... so the puppies they produce will all be cropped by someone who is really good at it.