Clipping dog ears...thoughts?

[X2]

No, you don't read ?


I'm not a supporter of it when done purely for aesthetic purposes but clipping a tail is supposed to be done VERY young and cauterized so less chance for infection and no drugs needed. tail cutting is typically done for medical reasons... dogs like dobermans for instance tend to suffer back pain and spinal damage due to the weight of the tail versus the body. Similar for some sausage dogs.

Ear clipping has little to no medical value... even the argument of infection is a preventable happening. The only valuable outcome is that the dogs ears are less likely to be damaged in a fight. Why is it not a nice thing to do ? You ever seen it done ? It's a bit barbaric and on top of that you need to drug up the dog considerably (if you do it with a pro)... you should only clip ears during a narrow age bracket, so the pup will go thru the drugs and the trauma for what ? To buss a style ? It's borderline inhumane.

[MG Man]

.. dogs like dobermans for instance tend to suffer back pain and spinal damage due to the weight of the tail versus the body. Similar for some sausage dogs..

learned something there

[Halfbreed07]

Didn't read all the uninformed responses, but traditionally working dogs' appendages were cut so that they would not be caught and ripped off while performing tasks like herding livestock or pit fighting/bull baiting. This lead to some kennel clubs adjusting the accepted breed standards to expect a show dog to have cropped ears or a docked tail.
Now if your dog is just gonna be a pet it doesn't matter, unless they got into a fight.

[Halfbreed07]

No, you don't read ?


I'm not a supporter of it when done purely for aesthetic purposes but clipping a tail is supposed to be done VERY young and cauterized so less chance for infection and no drugs needed. tail cutting is typically done for medical reasons... dogs like dobermans for instance tend to suffer back pain and spinal damage due to the weight of the tail versus the body. Similar for some sausage dogs.

Ear clipping has little to no medical value... even the argument of infection is a preventable happening. The only valuable outcome is that the dogs ears are less likely to be damaged in a fight. Why is it not a nice thing to do ? You ever seen it done ? It's a bit barbaric and on top of that you need to drug up the dog considerably (if you do it with a pro)... you should only clip ears during a narrow age bracket, so the pup will go thru the drugs and the trauma for what ? To buss a style ? It's borderline inhumane.

most vets wont dock tails after a month and crop ears after 3 months.
after that the healing process is slowed and may become infected. Plus if you have no time to take care of the ears don't do it.

[src1983]

No, you don't read ?


I'm not a supporter of it when done purely for aesthetic purposes but clipping a tail is supposed to be done VERY young and cauterized so less chance for infection and no drugs needed. tail cutting is typically done for medical reasons... dogs like dobermans for instance tend to suffer back pain and spinal damage due to the weight of the tail versus the body. Similar for some sausage dogs.

Ear clipping has little to no medical value... even the argument of infection is a preventable happening. The only valuable outcome is that the dogs ears are less likely to be damaged in a fight. Why is it not a nice thing to do ? You ever seen it done ? It's a bit barbaric and on top of that you need to drug up the dog considerably (if you do it with a pro)... you should only clip ears during a narrow age bracket, so the pup will go thru the drugs and the trauma for what ? To buss a style ? It's borderline inhumane.

My dog ears were never cut, even though I took good care of him he got an infection deep in his ear that later lead to his death....



Looks good without ear cutting, no??

[X2]

That is a hygiene issue... pure and high breed dogs need to be maintained and looked after properly... they often aren't 'pot hound tough'. If an ear infection is caught early, you have little to worry about. Most people don't realize that pets aren't lawn gnomes that you feed... they are a responsibility.

Some dogs look great without the cutting, some look great with. I have both... the one with clipped ears looks awesome, but would've looked great au natural. The non clipped one looks cute... but it's a trick... he wants to maul you and take your candy.

[metalgear2095]

Had a Doberman with big floppy ears. He didn't look bad but he bite two people who entered the yard without permission. He also won first prize at a dog show. There is no need to cut the ears.