i have a 10 week old male boxer puppy, but my wife says she does not what me to clip his ears. Should I?

Question

I really think a boxer is a boxer when there ears and tails are clipped. Just like a doberman pincher it would not look like one if his ears were not clipped So let me know your thoughts on ear clippings. Thanks

Answer 1

Hi,
Oh boy, a new puppy, what could be more fun and loving?
As to your question regarding ear cropping: PLEASE do NOT crop, I beg you. Dogs ears are designed the way they are to help protect the ear canal (which, of course, leads to the brain) from debris. Look at the different breeds, the ones with naturally pointy ears have a lot of fuzzy hair growing at the base of the ear. This hair acts as a filter to keep dirt and foxtails (nasty, NASTY things, foxtails!) out of their ears. If you look at dogs with droopy ears, 'hound' ears, they do not have that protective bunch of hair guarding the canal. These dogs rely on the long ear itself to cover the canal and thus protect it that way. When you crop the ear, you are taking away the dog's natural defense against nasties getting in their ear. A cropped ear requires much diligence on the owner's part. You will have to check the ears daily to make sure that the ears are clean and free of any and all debris; especially if you take the doggy out walking in canyons or to places where there are weeds. I used to be a dog groomer, and I encountered many dogs who had gotten foxtails in various parts of their bodies, including their ears. The reason foxtails are SO dangerous is that because of their barbed construction, they are designed to burrow, whether they are in dirt or your dog's body; and when in a dog they do not stop burrowing until they hit bone. Dogs have died from foxtails penetrating their brain. Not a good way to go. Cropping a dog's ears is purely cosmetic, done to make the dog look more alert. If you do decide to crop for purely cosmetic reasons, be sure to pay close attention to the health of the ear, even as it is healing from the surgery. An infected ear will require more vetting, possibly even another surgery to remove the necrotic tissue. Did you know that proper cropping can take months of taping so that the ear stands correctly? Once healed (hopefully with no problems) be sure to check your dog's ears daily, this include sniffing closely to detect the smell of the start of an infection. I have included a link to a Google search for "cropping dog ears". These links will give much more info than can be fit into this missive. Please, do your homework on this issue. Your puppy is relying on you to do so.

Answer 2

There is no physical or medical reason to clip dog's ears or tail. I think tail docking originated in some types of herding dogs so that the tails could not get caught under cow's hooves or in fences. Clearly this is not the case now. People who show dogs clip the ears as part of a "breed standard," but unless you are planning on showing there is no reason to do it. How would you like it if I came to you and cut your ears to make them pointy because I think you would look hotter that way? Seriously. Theres is no need and it causes unnecessary pain and it's often done wrong. Why put your dog under anesthetic unnecessarily? Each time you put a dog under you risk complications, and each time he has surgery his wounds expose him to possible infections. How would you feel if you wound up with an earless or one-eared dog because of a bad infection after the surgery. Would that look pretty to you? Or would you again shun your dog because he didn't measure up to your idea of 'normal'? I would also suggest looking at pictures of unclipped boxers. They are mighty cute. :) Just because it is not what you are used to does not mean it is wrong. Please consider saving your money and your dog's pain? Also, perhaps you can compromise, say, only dock the tail and not do the ears? I have been told, though I do not know, that tail docking while very young is not as painful for them as the ears

Answer 3

I think this really is something that we, as a society, have just gotten used to seeing. If you had never seen a dobe with clipped ears, you would not expect it to be. By spending time around dogs with natural ears and tails you can become more familiar with the look and probably won't miss the clipped look. However, if you are going to do it, do it early. The docking and ears must be done at a young age. Also, keep in mind that you can dock one and not the other. A more common look these days is a docked tail but ears kept natural. Keep your mind open and look around. You may find that you don't miss 'the look' as much as you thought.

Answer 4

Actually, some kennel clubs are allowing the dogs to show with un-clipped ears and un-docked tails, because the procedures are inhumane. Personally, I prefer the natural look of the breed. The most prominent feature of the boxer, in my mind, is the shape of their head, and their slim build. I would not question that an un-clipped/un-docked boxer was a boxer. My recommendation, don't put him through the pain of having strips of his ears unnecessarily cut off.

Answer 5

Your dog is about they age when they normally clip the ears. However to clip or not is an important decision. The down ears does give them a softer look, but many people (and I am one) think that this is unneccessary surgery. I try to avoid unneccessary surgery whenever possible. Also more and more it is becoming acceptable in show circles to not clip ears and in many places clipping is banned entirely as cruelty. England for instance has banned the practice for boxers at least.

Once the ears are cut you will need to keep up with keeping them taped so that they stand correctly. To me, that is a pain.

And one last caution if you decide to do it. I once met a boxer who had been allergic to the tape used on his ears. His owners were first time boxer people and didn't recognize the signs of pain from him. They thought it had to do with the clipping, not that the tape was burning his ears. For the rest of his life that dog had ugly black scars on his ears instead of soft fur. I'm sure his owners kicked themselves every time they looked at him for not realizing they were torturing that poor puppy.

Personally, I wouldn't do it and in fact talked my parents out of doing it to their boxer pup. You'll get used to the different look and you'll love your pup either way.

Whatever you decide, just think it over carefully and consult your vet on proper care if you do clip.

Answer 6

To me saying a boxer is not a boxer without being clipped is like saying a woman is not a woman unless she has a nose job and a tummy-tuck. Both are slight body modifications but do not define the essence of the being. So many dogs are clipped just because it has been done so long that people are used to seeing boxers look like that. The dog is still going to be the same dog. It just depends on whether you think its worth spending extra money and putting the dog through a body modification just so your boxer can look like the commonly socially accepted standard. Me personally, I would not clip because I am going to love the dog no matter what it looks like.

Answer 7

I'm used to the "traditional" look of Dobermanns and Bozers as well, but there are now many countries in Europe that ban docking the tail and cropping the ears because they believe it's cruel. If you look at European dog shows, such as Germany where both the Boxer and the Dobermann originate, you'll see many dogs with natural ears and tails.

If you really want to crop the ears and have the tail docked, address it with your vet. A vet can make sure the procedure is done quickly and prescribe pain medications to make the dog comfortable after. You should be aware that on most dogs, these procedures are done between 6 and 9 weeks of age!

Answer 8

No.
Here's the reasons why, and I won't give the usual "don't be cruel" answers.

AKC does not require cropping anymore to still be considered breed standard quality.

Your dog is a bit old for it now, and would risk infection.

If your dog's ears are always erect he cannot communicate his true feelings towards other dogs. To another dog, cropped ears make the dog look alert and assertive.
If he can't tuck his tail in, or hang his ears back in submission to a larger, more dominant or aggressive dog, he may get attacked and hurt without your dog actually provoking anything.
This could create fear based behaviors in your dog.

Answer 9

I definitely agree with your wife. There is no reason for clipping the ears other than cosmetic. I saw this beautiful Great Dane with his ears all bandaged up and he looked miserable. I felt so sorry for him. I've actually seen more boxers with long ears so I really believe (and hope) that cropping them will be a thing of the past.

Answer 10

Clipping a dog's ears is an owner personal choice. Personally, for me, unless there were an actual benefit to doing it (such as meeting the breed standard for showing) I would not do it. I see no reason to alter a dog strictly for cosmetic purposes. But again, it's a personal choice. If you do decide to do it, make sure you have a qualified person performing the procedure.

Answer 11

A dog is a dog, no matter what the breed, and no matter what you do to it!! Who gives a rats @SS if the dog looks like it's breed or not?! Do you have any idea how much ear clipping hurts the dog?! It's a cosmetic surgery, and a retarded thing to do to a dog. If you're going to have a surgery performed on your dog, get it fixed, or get it's wound sewn shut!

Just because a dog doesn't have it's ears clipped, doesn't mean that it will change the way the dog behaves. If anything, it can cause more problems then it's worth! A dogs ears tell other dogs "hi wanna play? or i'm ready to fight!", and by you cutting the dogs ears so they stay up, can cause confusion between dogs. Causing the other dog to think yours wants to fight, and creating a huge dog fight in the dog park. Or a kid could say that your dog tried to attack, just because it's ears were up, and it looked like it was going to attack.

Take a look in the mirror, and pick out a few things that you don't like about your appearence. Or have someone else do it. Someone you don't know. Then ask yourself this "would it be worth changing all these things about me, just because someone thought I would look better without them/if I changed them?", then ask yourself, if you would like to have a nose job, or a lip job, without drugs and feel every bit of it. They don't give the dog drugs. So the dog feels everything. People will say it doesn't hurt the dog, but don't you think it would hurt if you were having something cut off???

It isn't fair to the dog to have it's ears cut off, just because you want it to look a certain way. It's because of stupid ideas like this, that caused the Breed ban laws. It's not natural either. God made dogs a certain way, to look that way, not to have them look another. If these dogs were meant to have cropped ears, they would have been made like that!
Fixing a dog isn't natural either, but it's better for the dog, and the world. It's healthier, and safer. It prevents aggression, unwanted puppies, and cancer! But at least they knock the dog out for that!

Tail docking is jsut retarded! Dogs need their tail for many things. Balance, communication. If a dogs tail isn't moving, do you go up to it? No, why? Because the tail isnt' moving. How can youtell if a dog isnt' friendly if the tail is gone? How can other dogs tell if the dog is friendly if there's no tail? Ear and tail cutting is stupid, painful, and very dangerous for the dog! A dogs communication mainly come from their ears and tail. If both are gone, then how will it keep itself out of trouble?? How will it let other dogs know, not to bother it, or that it doesn't mean harm, or it just wants to play?? It isn't fair to do that to a dog, because it's painful, dangerous, and not something that you would do to yourself. If you love your animal, do to it, what you would yourself.