ear cropping questions please help!!

My baby is 6 months old. I'm not sure if he's to old to have his ears done now or not. I spoke with 1 vet and he said its cruelty and 50% of dogs die a horrible death when having ears done. I don't want to be cruel, just would like some facts(it sounded to me that what he said was on the absurd side seeing as how many dogs get their ears done with no problems; but then again I'm not a vet). I live in the tampa bay area, so if anyone is out there that can help me with facts, please let me know.

 

Sounds like the vet you spoke with is biased against ear cropping. Find another vet.

 

it will probaly be hard finding a vet to crop them at that age

 

I have a female that was done at 5 months. It's past the recommended time but i've seen them cropped successfully at every age. The main thing is that once the dog has past the age, the ears will most likely have to be cut shorter to get them to stand on their own. If you do it earlier then you can have a show cut, and they will heal quicker. My female had to have the short cut done because the initial cut had to be brought down because she could not stand em up, but she ended up looking better with that style. It depends on what style will look best on your dog since they all are different. If the shorter cut will look good on your dog then you should be ok but most likely you won't be able to get a longer length than if you did it earlier.

 

Thank you all for the help. I just spent time calling area vets, only found 1 that is willing at 600.00 + dollars with no garantees of how they will look or even if it can be done correctly. Maybe I should try in other areas. Wish I could find someone in the area who has had it done and could give me a refferal...

 

If i was you i wouldn't even worry about getting her ears cropped, cost too much and maybe be stress on the dog, But thats just my opinion do as you wish, I also think dogs look better with natural ears.

 

I completely understand your opinion. I was told aside from asthetics it also makes it easier to clean the ears as well as being able to check them for dirt, mites, etc. I did just find someone in tampa for 400.00, and its an outpatient deal, as opposed to him being in the vets for 2 days like the other place. I'm still in the "considering it seriously" phase of the project/ weighing the pros and cons. Like I said, I don't want to stress him or hurt him, just looking out for the long term...

 

imo theres no advantages in cropping them its just for looks

 

My vet down here does them at almost any age.He charges $87.50 up to 15 pounds and $1 per pound over. A K9 officer buddy just had one he had gotten back done and she is 7 mos old.He said they came out good.Most vets don't like doing crops period.Then you have to take into account the type of ear your dog has.A dog whose ears are prick or semi prick stand better that flat ears when done older.

 

Most everyone I know would steer away from cropping that late....not that it can't be done. The results are far less predictable since the cartilage has often hardened and is less likely to maintain the new shape. I've never known ANYONE that's lost a dog to a crop but there are complications that are not infrequent. My 7 week pup was cropped...aesthetics only...and the damn vet taped his left ear too tightly and caused impaired circulation which resulted in an enormous hematoma. It's healing now thanks to CutHeal and religious cleaning, but for a good 10 days I was very concerned he would actually lose the ear. The vet tried to pass it off on the pup "scratching it" but that was BS. I kept him in an E-collar so he had no way to possibly get to it. When the nasty, huge scab finally came off it was very linear and corresponded to the line of taping. I'm hopeful he'll grow hair back on it but I'm at least grateful that he'll have an ear. Needless to say, I'll never patronize that vet again. I'm also glad he didn't develop an infection in it, but that's more a result of my paranoid care of it than anything the so-called vet did. I regret having his done and would only consider cropping others for floppy hound ears on a dog headed for conformation competition. Admittedly I'm biased following this bad experience....despite the fact that my other cropped dogs have breezed through without any problem (although ALWAYS before 12 weeks). I personally wouldn't risk a bad result given the age of the dog. jmho.

 

Man that's cheap! Any vet I've checked here in Atlanta charges from $400-600 easy, needless to say I did'nt go to them. Some said, "your dog will look weird with a big head and small ears" talking about a 10 week old female pup.....others said they treat ear cropping like an "Amputation"!!! Sorry to say but 90% of the pitbulls I know of here never got cropped by the vet..........

 

It is a looks only thing... I wouldn't imagine cutting up my dogs ears. Ears give a dog so much personality in my opinion.

B

 

Untill you get a pup who's ears keep growing, then at 7 inches people start calling it a hound dog........lol!!! thats why I was late with one of my female pups, by the time I realized her ears were way too big she was past the age, had them cut late at 5 months, but healed very nice and to this day no more hound dog, just a scary looking, very strong female pitbull with a stronger bite then all the dogs including my males. I will say that I don't take her out as much as the other dogs with ears, way more people are scared of her because of how she looks, while the ones with ears get alot more attention, oh well.

 

It Is Just A Matter Of Preference,but I Usually Cut My Male Dogs Ears.the Vet Down Here Is About A Buck Twenty.

 

Whatever you say... Do you really care what people say about your dogs? Ears don't make a dog. I suppose that is the "look" you are after since you collect blue dogs. Looks must matter... :rolleyes:

Anyone that doesn't want to perform illegal practice of vet medicine or butcher their dogs ears risking the chance of infection and damage to the unguarded inner ears.... :rolleyes: I'm sure you just put some ice on their ears and break out the rose clippers. Real humane and real legal... You're giving all the newbie owners great thoughts on how to save a buck and ruin a dog.

B

 

I DID GET THE VET TO DO A COUPLE FOR ME.I DIDN'T LIKE THE WAY THEY WERE CUT.I HAVE HEARD OF MANY WAYS OF CUTTING EARS.LOOK IN SOME OF THE OLD PHOTOS OF EARL TUDOR'S DOGS.DO YOU THINK HE GOT THE VET TO CUT EARS?NO,HE HAS SHOWED SOME VETS HOW TO DO IT.THANKS FOR THE INPUT THOUGH,TAKE CARE.

 

Alright, you're right... then explain your comment. Maybe I misunderstood?

B

Edit: This post reflected his answer in the post directly above this response BEFORE he chose to edit it, not the post in quotes (for anyone wondering why it doesn't make sense)

 

Without Saying Who It Is,there Is An Old Dog Man Still Alive Who Has A Jig For Clipping Ears.he's Trying To Get A Patent On It Right Now.but The Best Bet Would Be To Get The Pups Ears Cut At The Proper Age With A Licensed Vet,for Sure.

 

Somebody woke up wrong today, you sound grumpy today. Who said I collect blue dogs? And that female I was talking about is fawn, you do know that a pitbull does have a standard to how it should look, so a pitbull that looks like a hound may benefit from a cropping, as mine did. Overgrown ears are just like any other flaw in standard, overgrown head, tail, ect. all are against the breeds standard to being proportioned and you will be penalized for them in a show. So by me cropping her ears I simply corrected a flaw in her physical appearance as far as her breed standard is, most other flaws cannot be corrected. I have more dogs that are not blue then are, only have 2 that have grey and white on them the rest are fawn and red. Her's a cup of coffee for you............

 

My dogs ears were done before I got him.And I was told they paid $150 to have them done.i feel it's up to the owner of the dog.If he wants to put his dog through that then thats on him.