Last Pictures Before Ear Cropping

[mugsy]

How unfortunate that he has to be mutilated like that....he sure is (was) cute with natural ears.

I hope that soon the U.S. will join the 21st century and make it illegal to crop and dock...it's simply what I stated before...mutilation. Perhaps we could crop their ears....

[Giselle]

Hello again. I know I already posted my support for this to be your decision, but I wanted to add to the "do cropped ears look more intimidating" debate.
I would say YES. When my husky puppy was in obedience classes, another very large breed dog (it was either a mastiff or a pyrenees) kept snarling & snapping & trying to grab her. The trainer explained that some dogs "interpret" perk (upright) ears to be a sign of aggression, so they respond more aggressively to dogs with standing ears. So, at least to another dog, she will look more aggressive. I think that with cropped ears, boxers/dobies look more "alert", you can see those ears swivel and lay back, in my opinion they just convey the dog's stance a little more clearly than flop ears. But, like mentioned, it's her teeth that will be getting the criminal's attention!

I just want to pop in and agree with you. Cropped ears DO make a dog look more intimidating (whether you want to admit it or not) because perked ears show signs of alarm and intent focus. Subliminally, when you see a dog with upright, perked ears and sharp eyefocus, you will think twice before approaching this particular dog. This is one of the reasons why Giselle is intimidated by perk-eared dogs herself. She never approaches GSDs.

Tim, once again, hope your puppy recovers quickly and thanks to you for staying so civil about this.

[Iilo]

I agree that cropped or naturally erect ears make a dog look more intimidating. Though personally I am attracted to dogs with naturally erect ears (Malamutes and GSDs being the two primary breeds in my life), I am also attracted to dogs who are usually cropped (Dobermans and Boxers). I personally think this comes back to the primary reason I have dogs: as a safety net/protection. Nobody messes with you if you've got an 80lb "wolf" walking next to you.

[Alasse]

Personally i'm against cropping or tail docking..it is of no benefit to todays dogs at all. I'm pretty sure its illegal here (i'd have to check)

My fella has floppy ears, but let me say people are scared of him. I take him for a walk and most people will cross to the other side of the road, or as far from him as possible. He makes no move toward them but he stares, i mean very very intently at anyone coming toward him and it is un-nerving obviously. His sheer size (50kg+) too is very offputting.

I don't find dogs with up ears or floppy ears any less intimidating, the thing i look at when approaching a dog is their eyes and hackles *LOL* I treat all strange dogs with respect.

[Danegirl2208]

i always hate seeing threads like this..We all have our on views and opinions, which is great.. but he did NOT ask to be criticized. If you want to debate about cropping why not start another thread? Once again good luck to you Tim, and to your baby girl..keep us updated please

[Danegirl2208]

how did the surgery go??

[Husky15]

Yes. I too am really looking forward to hearing about the results. I really hope everything went great and can't wait to see her with her new ears.

[critter crazy]

Me three!! how did it go Tim?? is that sweet little girl doing good??

[dukedogsmom]

How unfortunate that he has to be mutilated like that....he sure is (was) cute with natural ears.

I hope that soon the U.S. will join the 21st century and make it illegal to crop and dock...it's simply what I stated before...mutilation. Perhaps we could crop their ears....

Add me to the list........biting my tongue not to say more.

[CountryWolf07]

i always hate seeing threads like this..We all have our on views and opinions, which is great.. but he did NOT ask to be criticized. If you want to debate about cropping why not start another thread? Once again good luck to you Tim, and to your baby girl..keep us updated please

Agreed.

That's why I don't post much about my pets, really. Either right way or not, it'll always be something like this topic.