Doberman Ear Cropping

You might have seen many Dobermans in your lifetime. But mostly, the Dobermans that you would see have cropped ears.

Why one would ask? Simple, makes them look more aggressive.

Benefits of Ear Cropping

It improves their hearing capabilities.
It’s difficult for someone to get hold off, in times of a combat.
It makes the Doberman less prone to ear diseases.

But, scientifically none of this has been proven and frankly against the Law of nature and Humanity.

Before and After Ear Cropping

**Figure 1 Doberman without ear cropping**

What is Ear cropping?

The outer or the flabby part of ears are cut away in a surgery.
The Inner ears flab is stitched together and pressed or stuck to a hard, flat surface.
During the healing period, the cropped ears are held straight pointing upwards from the head with the help of an external surface.
After healing, the end-product is two small, straight and pointy ears.

Best Time for Ear Cropping

Doberman must have their ear cropping surgeries between the age of 6 – 12 weeks.
After 12 weeks, their ear cartilage hardens and can’t be morphed.

Different kinds of Ear cropping

There are basically three types of Ear Cropping, available in the market

Military or Short Crop

Ear are cropped really short. So that they fit the description of a deadly, terrifying dog. The dog takes 6 months to heal after the surgery.

Medium Crop

In this cropping more inner ear area is left, this one is done up to the standards and liking of the owner. The dogs takes 6 months to 1 year to heal.

Large or Standard Crop

In this cropping method, most ear is left. But the ears are given different curves and is used for Dog shows. This is the most painful and takes almost 1 year and more to heal.

How it’s done

Dogs between the age of 6-12 weeks are put under anesthesia.
Their outer ears are cut off, according to the specifications provided by their owners to the Vet.
Their inner ears are stitched together and pressed onto a hard, flat surface to make them straight and upright.
Depending upon the type of the crop, intensive healing is required and extra care is required.
After healing properly, these dogs will have aggressive looking pointy straight ears.

Why it should be avoided

Doberman are prone to Von Willebrand’s disease, which is genetic in nature. In this disease, blood clotting doesn’t happen due to some defect in the platelets. This can become very dangerous for dogs under going the unnecessary ear cropping surgeries.
It affects the dog’s body posture and language; they might not be able to communicate properly with other dogs and humans.
There is no guarantee that the surgery will be a success.
Doberman’s ears are very sensitive and even without surgery they need extra care while cleaning and handling.
If post-surgical care of the dog and wound is not carried out properly, the dogs can die from ear infections.