Dog obedience and training > Information > Dog ear cropping

Dog ear cropping

By laura anderson | Published 04/21/2006

Ear cropping is done on several different common breeds. The Boxer, Great Dane, all varieties of Schnauzer, Doberman Pincher, American Staffordshire Terriers, Pit Bull Terriers, Miniature Pinchers, Manchester Terrier, Bouvier des Flanders, and Affenpinschers, are the breeds of dogs that you would likely consider having the ears cropped on.

You may find that your pure bred dog is unrecognizable as such unless the crop is done to give him that breed standard look. You may also find the natural beauty of the dog pleasing enough on its own. It is a personal decision unless you plan to show the dog and even then, most breeds are acceptable in the ring with either form of ear.

You may have to shop around and get a referral to a veterinarian who does this procedure. Not many do as it is artistic and the follow-up can be frustrating for all. Many choose not to attempt it because of these things.

If you are considering having your puppys ears cropped here are a few important things to know. First, your puppy will have to undergo this procedure sometime between nine and twelve weeks of age. He will probably be required to stay a minimum of one night in the hospital following the procedure.

Often it is advisable to leave him for several days to be treated for any pain and allow him to get used to the aluminum apparatus that will keep his ears standing for now. Ears can bleed easily as well as they are quite vascular and can be messy for a few days after the procedure. Your veterinarian is better equipped to address all of these concerns better than you can at home.

Your puppy will need to fast for about twelve hours before the surgery. Food and water can cause vomiting and aspiration (inhaling of vomit) once the puppy is sedated. This can be fatal. Be sure to withhold food after dinner the night before his surgery. It is for his own good.

Once he is sedated the ear is marked where the incisions will be made and once they are even the ears will be cut. The incision begins at the top of the ear and finishes close to the head. The ear is sutured and disinfected. An aluminum rack or even an inverted paper cup, will be glued and taped in a harness pattern over and around the puppys head.

The ears will tend to bleed for a few days, they will be painful, and the puppy will knock her head around trying to get the brace off. Now the challenge begins! This rack, whatever type she comes home with, will need to stay on for about 21 days. While they are healing, you should use betadine to disinfect the ear edges twice a day. If they have heavy scabs you might use a very small amount of antibiotic ointment but be very careful not to get it on the tape.

The longer you can keep from re-wrapping the ears the better. The puppy will return to the vet for suture removal at 7 days post surgery. Even a couple days later may cause permanent scarring to the ears.

The outcome of this procedure really lies in the commitment of the owner to the follow-up care. A perfect crop can be a perfect flop if all precautions are not taken in the next few weeks, and months. Genetics as much as anything will determine how fast the ears will stand. Short eared breeds such as Pit Bulls and Schnauzers will have ears that stand much sooner than breeds like Dobies, Boxers, and Danes.

Be ready to be very involved for awhile or dont commit at all. Corrective surgeries for lazy ears are not nearly as pretty as if it is done well the first time.

The cartilage in the ear will change quite a bit while the puppy is still teething. This takes a lot of patience.

If the ears come out of the rack or tape at any point until they are done several weeks or months from now take her in immediately and have them fixed! The longer they are left down the longer they will take to get to stand up. If they are left too long, they may never stand correctly. One day is much too long. An hour or two at most is all you can wait. Have your vet show you how to do a lightweight, temporary fix in case of a problem over the weekend or in the night.

If you have managed to get her ear edges healed, had the sutures removed, and not had to replace the tape, more power to you. You are in elite company. More likely you have made three or four trips to the vet by now have her ears re-taped. NEVER try to re-tape her ears unless you have been shown EXACTLY how to do it! You can cause irreversible damage to the ear. Tape should never go around the edge of the ear while it is healing.

Tape should be tight enough to hold but not too tight or you could easily cut off the circulation in the ear causing the tissue to die and the ear to drop off. There is NO way to fix this. It is best to let the professionals do this part unless you can get them to teach you how to do it correctly.

Once the rack or cup comes off, the pups ears will be wrapped in cotton and taped until they stand. They should stay up this way for 10-14 days at a time. When you schedule your appointment for a status check, be sure to plan to remove the wraps two hours before the appointment, or plan to leave the puppy for a few hours. This allows the ears to relax just a bit and show the vet how to compensate for how the ears want to fall.

You may make this same trip for the same reason many, many times. Most ears will be done within six to eight weeks. Some may take six months. Dharma (our Boxer) took 10 months, by far the longest I know of, but they are perfect.

This is a huge commitment, now doubt about it, but the beauty is well worth it if it is something you and your puppy can manage.

For more information on this subject and many others involving your puppy visit http://www.puppys-place.com