CROPPING GREAT DANES' EARS - HELP!!!

[thebritt]

An aquaintenance of mine just got a 6-week old GD puppy and is planning to crop her ears because she heard that floppy ears affect their hearing! AAUUGGHH! Any good source of info would be appreciated - her ears are BEAUTIFUL! She's a Blue with blue eyes. Her ears are exquisite!
If someone can convince me that cropping a Dane's ears is justified, I'll "let it go" Thanks!

 

[what was i thinking]

my favorite part of my dogs are there floppy soft ears....
i love to just pet them.
might be a little gross... but when my lab puppy got hit by a car, my husband didn't bury her for three days.(he knew i wasn't ready) i would just sit in the garage and stroke her ear. if i could have found a way to keep just her ear i would have. ok maybe not that far, but it was hard.

 

[mamaKate]

Great Danes are super prone to fungal ear infections. If she plans to feed the dog a commercial diet, by all means, crop away!

 

[what was i thinking]

http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/earc.html
http://www.vchumane.org/files/VCHS_Tails_fall04.pdf
this is a vet talking.
I am not willing to perform surgical procedures that are not medically necessary. Most of the vets I know hold similar attitudes. Doberman Pinschers can lead perfectly healthy lives with long tails and floppy ears.

Ear cropping and tail docking are painful. The procedures may lead to infections, disfigurement and other complications. My decision not to perform these surgeries was straightforward.

 

[thebritt]

Quote:
I was a vet assistant for 3 1/2yrs, and the doctors at the practice felt the same way. Dear Doctor. is there a medical reason to preform this operation? The owner plans to breed and "possibly" show this dog. Don't judges allow both ear treatments?

 

[mamaKate]

I've had 3 GD's. The first had natural ears. Even with diligent maintenance, his ears were frequently infected. The second had cropped ears. In her (too short ) 8 years not one infection. I currently have a GD mix whose ears weren't done because my vet was away and her fill-in had ethical reservations and refused to do the surgery. I should have gone elsewhere. She has had chronic ear problems for 10 years. She is now on the BARF diet and it helps. It's still a problem, though.

 

[what was i thinking]

Quote:
I was a vet assistant for 3 1/2yrs, and the doctors at the practice felt the same way. Dear Doctor. is there a medical reason to preform this operation? The owner plans to breed and "possibly" show this dog. Don't judges allow both ear treatments?

i would not be the vet... sorry was just saying that i was quoting one.
i have an aust. cattle dog with ears that stand tall and i has an ear infection all the time. i also have a rottie and she never has one and she has floppy ears and loves to swim.....
check to see if they have changed the standards at all.

 

[flopshot]

this one could get a bit heated.
when i raised Rotties i had a three day window to have the tails done because my vet said the nervous system was not fully developed at that time. after that, she would not do the tails.
if the breed calls for the tails and ears to be modified then you have to consider what that means to you as the owner.

 

[mamaKate]

She can show her in the US either way but the judges often favor the cropped ears.

 

[what was i thinking]

here is another piece
Today, this surgery is purely elective. The American Kennel Club does not require cropping of the ears for showing, though many of the individual breed clubs include it in the breed standard. The American Veterinary Association has publically stated that it would ideally like to see the procedure discontinued.
you can read more here
http://hubpages.com/hub/CropDock