Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Friends of mine in the Daytona FL area are considering getting a Doberman Pinscher puppy. They have experience with the breed, but will request that the breeder leave the ears natural so they can get them cropped and work with the ears from day one along with the vet that does the cropping.

They are new to the Daytona area, and would like to check out a few vets that crop ears so they can hopefully find one that has the artistic ability to do a nice crop.

HUH?? This makes absolutely no sense at all.

Why would you request to buy an uncropped Doberman and then have to find a vet who crops??

A good breeder will have had the ears already cropped by a good cropping vet, the stitches will be out and they will be in posts.

Good cropping vets are few and far between. I live in SE Pennsylvania and will travel 2 hours to NJ to get ears cropped for a litter. I know of people who will travel 5 or more hours to get to a good cropping vet........... or even fly in a vet from across the country to do ears.

I live in NW FL, and I drive to Atlanta, GA (5 1/2 hrs) for ear croppings, so I know what you mean. 11 hrs of travel a hotel for 2 days is well worth it to me because I know Patricia Edwards is the best in the SE (which I've recommended).

They want to be able to work with the ears from the time they are cropped.

Matter of preference I guess.

well, if they want something inferior to the very lovely crops that a vet like Patty Edwards can provide, then I suppose that there are any number of crappy back yard breeders that will be happy to sell them an uncropped dog...........since they never bother to crop anyway.

I guess I just never get used to how many foolish people there are out there.

You have no idea who the breeder is they are getting the pup from, so please don't automatically ASSume it's from a POS BYB.

As I initially posted, the breeder DOES crop the ears, these people just want to deal with the process themselves along with the vet that actually does the crop.

Would really suck flying back and forth from Central FL to Montana for a recheck and follow ups now wouldn't it!
(Still thinking BYB?, LMAO)

Mary Jo has nothing better to do than degrade other doberman owners and other dobermans. She has beautiful bitches, but I get the feeling she thinks all other dobes are inferior regardless of where they come from. Rather than put everyone else down, why don't you give a little encouragement once in a while.

Velma & Louise are very stunning, and I'm sure anyone that knows "mjansel" has seen her girls and knows Louise has been titled, and will be producing a litter soon!

I don't hide who I am - but you do.

If a breeder in Montana is willing to sell an uncropped puppy to someone in Florida who apparently (from the info YOU have given) does not even have a cropping vet............ AND I am assuming they don't know these people - then shame on them.

Just because someone has been breeding for a zillion years and has produced many champions does not automatically make them a breeder that I personally think is beyond reproach.

It would be one thing to sell an uncropped puppy to someone that you know well AND trust unconditionaly - especially if you know and trust the person that they are going to have do the cropping. It still makes no sense to me, and you're right that I would not do it.

Yeah, I have nice dogs and their breeders had the ears cropped. I got both of them while they still had the cup on their head. I don't think that they are better than every other Dobe out there .......... but I'm sure I have pissed off enough people out there in cyberspace by telling the honest truth as I know it to have people take cheap shots at me. Ya can't please everyone all the time and I for one don't try. For sure, I'm not going to ship an uncropped puppy across the country to someone I don't know and then let them try to find a vet close by to crop the ears. Ain't happening!!

I've tried to talk them into letting the breeder do the ears, but they insist on having it done themselves. Which is exactly why I am trying to help them find a good vet that can do a quality crop.

I was hoping someone with knowledge of vets in their area would be able to recommend a vet so they didn't end up with a (bleep)ty chop job.

It wasn't a cheap shot. You just shred and down anyone that so much as utters the word "breeding". Yes, I agree there are alot of BYB and Puppymills producing crap (MO, is the USHS' nightmare)that people like you and me end up rescueing, but not everyone is! With your knowledge and experience I would think you'd be more apt to help educate those lacking experience rather than putting them down for trying to learn or help someone else.

I've never used the cup, but I am interested in learning how it is actually applied. Where can I find that?

I've spent 5 years on the forums now trying to help people while also seeing the "throw away" Dobermans that end up in rescue. I have NO patience for BYBers anymore, and I'm tired of seeing how many "breeders" feel that their responsibilty towards that puppy ends when they take money for it. sigh......... So if that comes off as "shredding breeders", then so be it.

No one reputable is going to sell a puppy to a person who wants to have the puppy cropped by a vet near them, but does not even have a good cropper. I only know of one good breeder who does not crop - there may be others, but I don't know about them. I would imagine that there is a good cropper or two in Florida, but have no idea who they might be ............ and I would highly doubt that you are going to find them on this list. The best thing would be to contact breeders in Florida and ask them who crops their puppy ears.

The cup is normally a styrofoam cup that is taped in sports tape and then the ears are glued to it with surgical glue while leaving the cut edge open to the air to heal. Different vets do different things. Glueing over the top of the head is fine too. It is just there to keep the ears from flopping around and let them heal.

I gave them email addresses for:

Alpha
Bella-Donna
Cadbrae
Carosel (plus their website)
Hamlet

They're also trying to contact Marquis who is right in their area.

Hopefully one of them will be able to refer them to a top notch vet!