Cropping and docking: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

[Christi]

Cropping and docking: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
By Captain A. Haggerty

Well, yes, I do think that docking and cropping enhances the appearance of certain breeds of dogs. I also understand that there are those who are opposed to docking and cropping, maintaining that it is cruel. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The uncropped Boxer has a somber appearance. The undocked and uncropped Doberman looks goofy.



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[Scarlette]

Those are very interesting facts Christi! Thank you for sharing.

I had my Doberman's ears cropped as a puppy, and I cried for 3 days afterward. I think it hurt me more than it hurt her. If I ever get another Dobie as a pup I'm not sure if I will have it done again. The vet said that it will probably be illegal to crop dogs' ears in the very near future anyway.

As a side note.....one of Scarlette's ears flop over her head. It's not the fault of my vet, it's the way her cartilage grew, even though I would sit with her on my lap for hours on end and massage the ear, trying to "train" it to stand. I even put tampon applicators in her ear and taped the ear around it (suggested by my vet) and that didn't even help it. LOL

I live in Missouri and know someone who just got a Min-Pin. It took 5 calls to different vets to find one who would crop the ears. They all say they have quit doing it.

Quote: Originally posted by Christi What about the taping? Some people are worried about the pain incurred with taping. Just use the Haggerty-method of ear taping. Use masking tape. If the cropped dogs are with their littermates, masking tape will come off in 10-30 hours. Then you just re-tape them with masking tape. What does this accomplish?

They have Inserts Now that do not require tape. they are coated in a natural moisturizer to prevent the sores that tape will sometimes cause. My friend just used them on one of his German Shepard Pups. According to him they are the best invention since perforated toilet paper.

[Crittercall]

I have had voluntary plastic surgery and was totally prepared for any pain, discomfort, swelling, etc. that would happen after the procedure. I also had pain medication, ice for the swelling, was totally cognizant of what and why this was going on and was willing to accept it for the results I wanted. (No, I didn't get boobs.)

Now, I also worked for 10 years in the veterinary business as a nurse. One of the most horrible surgeries I have ever assisted in was ear cropping. The dog's ear is very vascular and makes for extremely bloody surgery. Once you have seen and smelled all of that blood ------

The next worse part is when the poor puppy wakes up from anesthetic. He has no idea why his ears HURT, why they have something on them that he can't shake off and then when he shakes his head it hurts again. And with the shaking of his head there are spatters of blood all over the cage he is in. There is usually several weeks of aftercare involved and you are not guaranteed that the ears will stand after they have been cropped.

Tail docking, done at the proper time, does not seem to be as traumatic. On dogs which traditionally have their tails docked it is done when they are about 4 days old (along with dew claws), usually requires one suture which will disolve then they are back with Mom. Of course, you always run into someone who wants their dogs tail done when it is the same age as the ears are done and by then the bone has hardened and it is a much more involved surgery. Or the people who get tired or their dog's tail knocking things off the coffee table and just want it cut off and there are also situations that are just plain accidents or just plain stupidity ("I wrapped fishing line around its tail thinking it would just fall off.")

My opinions only, of course, and I know that we all have them. I won't lie and say that I haven't admired the look of a big beautiful Great Dane with his ears perfectly straight but personally speaking I couldn't put him through what it takes to get them that way.

Critter

One Vet I worked with got good results in getting the ears stand by putting tampons into the ears then wrapping them. Whatever it takes, huh?

[Crittercall]

Quote: Shall we replace good animal husbandry with political correctness? Walt Disney’s Goofy has hound ears. Do you want a pretty dog or a goofy dog?

Pluto has long ears, too.

Critter (but leave my ears alone!)


Okay, I messed up the Quote business but at least I tried! For any who don't know it is from Christi's original post.