Doberman Ear Cropping: Is It Necessary Or Not?

Publish Date: November 25th, 2021

Home » Doberman Ear Cropping: Is It Necessary Or Not?

Firstly, let us ask you something, why do you adopt a pet?

Love; you got someone to love, and they will give the double amount of love you present to them.

Emotional support; having a pet by your side can assist you emotionally by reducing symptoms of several mental disorders.

Purpose; Parenting a pet will give you a purpose in your life as you will have someone in your life to look after.

Health; owning a pet is a responsibility; playing with them and doing chores for them will burn your extra calories.

However, most of this all, owning a pet gives you a sense of security. Animals are more robust than humans; owning a pet, especially a dog, will create a feeling of protection. Like no matter what type of threat comes on you and your family, your canine friend will be there to protect you. That’s the reason why we all prefer guard dogs. Among them, Doberman Pinscher is the top choice of most pet owners.

Doberman bonds with the owner easily. This breed develops loyalty and a protective duty for its owner. Usually, a Doberman grows up to a maximum of 26 inches in its height and can be petted easily at home like any other dog.

However, Doberman pet parents usually carry out special practices, like Doberman ear cropping, which is not popular in most dog breeds.

Have you heard of the term “cropping dog ears” before?
Let us summarise this for you in this blog.

Keep reading to know more!

Why Crop Doberman Ears?

Did you know that:
“Dogs have almost 4 times more hearing capacity than humans.”

Well, it is expected, as dogs respond to noise far more than humans. Your dog must be the first one to detect if someone broke into your house in the middle of the night.

However, in most dog breeds like Doberman, owners carry a common exercise of cropping a Doberman’s ears. Usually, Doberman with floppy ears will find it hard to hear and more likely to grab by the enemy from its ears. It can directly hinder their protection quality and makes them vulnerable. That’s the main reason as a pet parent; you have a choice to crop your Doberman’s ear. Though, you just can’t cut the ears of adult Doberman as the vet can do it only in seven to twelve-week-old Doberman puppies.

Doberman is known for its aggressive and fierce behavior. That’s the reason why in some cases, Doberman is not considered an ESA. However, uncropped Doberman gives a little softer and delicate look, totally opposite to their reputation. Doberman crop ears assist in enhancing its violent behavior; that’s why it is the other reason why pet parents crop Doberman ears.

Doberman ear cropping styles

Now, explicitly talking about the Doberman ear cropping styles, the ear crop chart consists of three types of cropping;

Doberman military crop
Medium Crop
Show crop

The military crop is also known as the working crop or pet crop. It is the shortest cropping, and cropped ears stand up quickly in this case.

As the name suggests, the medium crop is in the middle of the Show crop and the Military crop in terms of length and width.

Out of all the above, show crop is the most common. Show crop is the longest and narrow crop. The show crop takes the longest time to heal out of all.

If one Surgery doesn’t give the required results or ear cropping gone wrong, sometimes your dog must undergo multiple surgeries.

Surgery and Aftercare Of Doberman Ear Cropping

Yes, you heard it right, Surgery!

The process of Doberman ear cropping includes proper surgical procedures. If you have decided to crop your Doberman ears, please have it done by a dog specialist veterinarian.

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Surgery

The surgery procedure doesn’t take more than half an hour. The vet will firstly give anesthesia to your dog as the procedure is intolerable. The cropping process includes trimming the outer part and suturing the edges of the dog’s ear. Now, the vet will tape up the ears instantly. Ears are kept upright, taped up over the head, and warp with a gauze.

Taping is not mandatory to carry immediately, as some vets do that after healing the incisions. The vet can even book a taping appointment after months.

Aftercare

Due to the effect of anesthesia, it might not hurt your dog during the time of Surgery, but as the doze loses its effect, your dog will feel a lot of pain.

The healing process is very long and challenging for your pup. You have to visit the vet from time to time for a necessary dressing change and to avoid infection, please take proper care of your pup’s hygiene. The taping can last up to six months to a year.

Is Ear Cropping Cruel?

Isn’t it? Cutting flesh out of a living organism is far more than cruel. We cannot even imagine how painful it would be for a tiny little puppy to go through this process. Although doctors give anesthesia before carrying the Surgery, the healing process following the Surgery is still very agonizing for the dog and lasts for months. Even after this, no vet will guarantee you desired results. That’s why cropping is banned in many countries, and most pet parents prefer Doberman uncropped ears.

Crop or Not?

Cropping is an ancient practice that was done primarily in guard dogs. The sole purpose of this practice is to enhance their hearing power which makes them better Watchdogs. However, now people do this practice just for status and class. It’s up to pet owners’ personal choice if they want to crop their puppy’s ears or not. Doberman ear cropping shows no sign of any health benefits, and neither affects their life span. There is no specific ban in the U.S, but American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) against ear cropping in dogs. Because of that, many veterinary schools no longer teach cropping to their students, and some vets deny the brutal practice of cutting Doberman ears even if they know the cropping skill.

End Note

To crop or not to crop? This topic has always been a hot topic among the dog community. If you ask for our personal suggestion, we, as dog lovers, never support malicious activities like dog ear cropping or tail docking. We like to see our furry friend Doberman without clipped ears and discomfort. A Doberman with tail looks more adorable to us.

What are your thoughts about ear cropping in Doberman? Feel free to share your views in the comment section.

About Post Author

Blake Quinn is a huge animal lover and loves to spend time with her pets. She is not a big Chit-chatter and prefers penning down her feelings and views instead of uttering them aloud.
Occasionally, she writes for a living too! When she is not writing, you can find her hiking on rocky mountains, sipping coffee in cozy cafes, and haunting local bookstores!

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2 Comments

Corettad owner on June 22, 2022 at 4:33 am
Can Dobermans ears stand up without cropping?
Reply
- Blake Quinn on June 22, 2022 at 12:29 pm
  You can use tape to train your Doberman’s ears to stand up without cropping. However, this method usually doesn’t give the desired results.
  Reply