I think that depends on the breed, example rottweilers, they barely have any tail left after docking as some breeds have 3-4 inches left, it depends on the breed of dog.
That's true, different breeds have different standard lengths for the tail to be docked at. But a lot of people who don't know anything about docking think, and say, "Poor dogs, it's so mean to cut off their tails. How can they tell you they are happy if they can't wag their tails." Which, of course, is false. I just wanted to make sure people knew, docking is shortening, not completely removing, the tail.




Jasper has perminant(sp?) ear infection, always goes away but always comes back, always needs ear dops, which the vet & breeder says he would NOT have if his ears were cropped

Then they obviously don't know much.
It's been proven that cropping has NO affect whatsoever on dogs getting ear infections or not.

But yet a dog with standing ears has less of a chance of getting an ear infection then a dog with floppy ears.
A dog with heavy drop (floppy) does indeed have a far greater risk of ear infections than a dog with prick (standing) ears. Bassets, cockers, springers, etc. are all much more prone to ear infections than a dog with prick ears. The reason being is that the bacteria and/or yeast that cause ear infections grow in an anaerobic (without oxygen) environment. If the ear flaps are heavy and hang close to the dog's face, then oxygen cannot get down the ear canal, and bacteria and/or yeast grow like crazy in there.

So, there is indeed much truth to saying that a dog with prick ears gets less ear infections than one with heavy or hairy floppy ears.

However ... most of the breeds that traditionally have cropped ears (boxers, pit bulls, great Danes, dobermans) etc. do not have excessively heavy drop ears. And they do not have the hairy ears of a cocker or a springer either - hair being another thing that contributes to lack of oxygen in the ear canal.

So to say cropping prevent ear infections is probably not valid, beause the breeds that are cropped are not normally prone to anaerobic ear infections anyway.

Now, if you were to crop a cocker's ears (perish the thought!) it definately WOULD get less ear infections. Many vets recommend tying a cocker's or a basset's ears together on top of its head with a hair tie for several hours per day, to allow the oxygen into the ear canal.