Doberman: Clipping the ears vs not?

Question

Are there any benifits to clipping? We have not yet decied whether or not to clip them. Doberman already have a bad rep and clipping makes them look mean and I'm not sure what to do yet. Thanks for your opinions in advance!

Answer 1

Assuming you live in the US, the AKC requires it for breed standard. But if you are not planning on showing your
Dobie then it is not necessary. If you are planning on breeding -it is not necessary. If planning on breeding you must have him/her
OFA certified-which means that you take her to a vet have his/ her hips xrayed and the xrays are then certified as good.

If you decide to clip the ears talk to other Dobie owners that you asking where they went. If you see a bad clip talk to them too-asking where so you know where to avoid!!!

If you do decide to do this do it while the dog is young.

Answer 2

Actually, dobermans were originally cropped so that there was less ear for someone to grab hold of. They were bred for personal protection, and that is why the tails were docked and the ears were cropped. Cropped ears lie back and flat against the head so they cannot be grabbed. If you aren't going to show the dog, it can be a hassle to go through finding a vet that does it and does it well, getting the stitches out, changing the bandages and then waiting for the ears to stand. It can take several months to get the ears to stand depending on the crop you get. If you aren't going to show or do personal protection work, I'd leave them floppy. I don't think the crop makes them look mean, but I do think it makes them look more alert, and over here in the states a lot of people don't even know it's a doberman if the ears aren't done.

Answer 3

I do not think it makes them look mean. I do not think they have a bad rep. except for the poorly bred ones who are also used by some freak to put fear into others. I find many vets suggest them as good family dogs. I have owned this breed now since I was 19 and am now 47. Right now I have three and none of tehm have their ears done.And they did not originally have their ears done necessarily to look mean. Louis Doberman, who was a tax collector bred this dog and cropped ears and docked tails to give the dog a square appearance and to leave nothing that could be easily grabbed.He wanted to breed a dog who was not aggressive but would indeed stand up to the devil himself if need be. A properly bred Dobe is never aggressive by nature. They will protect their family. They are one of the few dogs I have ever observed to actually think. They surely do.When a dog will look at two more on the couch and want a spot herself, then run to the window and bark just to get them to move and then run over and take a spot is thinking as far as I'm concerned. They are a very special breed. I've had over 45. I am very careful where I buy though and only buy from two places and I pay in excess of $2500.00.I would never buy a dobe from somewhere not careful about what they're breeding and why. I do find they get a lot of yeast infections when their ears are not cropped and yes I do keep them nice and clean. Many vets will not do the procedure. I think it should be up to you. I personally don't crop but when I get a new one both the places I buy from will not sell uncropped dogs as they deal with shows and encourage their buyers to as well, even giving back part of purchase price once the dog starts earning titles. Two of the ones I have I rescued and they were not cropped. The other one is from the last litter I raised 5 years ago and cropped none. I have cropped whole litters before and as far as pain goes I never noticed any pain after the first couple days. They'd all run through all our farm fields jumping on and biting each others bandaged ears playing and even then heard no wimpers of pain.Keeping them up is easy once you've taped them up a few times. You do haev to be persistent with the taping or you will end up with ears that don't stand andd will look worse than if you never cropped them by far.And I'm not talking a few days here, I've had to tape until 7 or 8 months before and then have them fall back down at their 13 month teething. I have never given up and have never had them not stand.It is a lot of work. The procedure is not long, I have assisted many times. My vet taught me to do the tails 25 years ago and I do believe in that. If you have ever seen an uncropped tail you would likely agree although some don't. It is like a long hard stick which easily swipes everything from your coffee tables and such. Enjoy your new friend and let it be your decision whether to crop or not.After reading the one above I had to add this. Tails they are not put to sleep for if they are done in the first week, preferably 3 days, but they are ALL put out for cropping.

Answer 4

First of all how old is your pup? Your supposed to have your dogs ears clipped when they are only a couple of days old. If he is 8 or 9 weeks old then you can't do it at all.

Second I would never clipped my dogs ears. I find it to be cruel and un-natural. I have a 2yr old pit and she looks a lot less intimidating without her ears clipped. Dobermans can already have a intimidating appears and you don't wan to make it any more so. Go with the natural look.

Answer 5

It really is a individuals choice. I currently have three Dobies, two with the ears cropped and one with the ears natural. Really no benefits, just the look and style. Truthfully they look nice both ways,but I myself prefer the cropped look. Kept the male's ears natural only because I wanted one uncropped. I did have a bad experience once. My daughter had a brother to my male dog and he too had uncropped ears. The two of them had gotten into a fight and my male tore the other dog's ear and it needed a couple of stitches to stop the bleeding.

Answer 6

If it is simply a family pet, and you do not intend to show your dog, then there really is no reason to crop the ears. It is merely a personal choice of the owner.

Answer 7

I have two miniature pinchers and neither have their ears clipped but the male has his tail bobbed and both have dew claws removed. Having the ears clipped looks good but it takes away from their limited range of expressing themselves. Her ears can tell me if SHE thinks she's in trouble (accident or whatever) she holds them back along her face, if she is listening to me, she holds her ears up, if she's pouting she holds them down etc. I can tell by the way my female is holding her tail if she has to go out but I can't with the male.
It's personal choice. You didn't give your dogs age. If its not a newborn puppy it will need to be put to sleep to have the procedure done which will cost more.

Answer 8

There is no benefit to clip thier ears. They were orginially clipped (as you said) to make them look mean. They are used as guard dogs and protection dogs so it was needed for initimidation.

Having floppy ears however may cause ear infection due to poor air circulation. If you keep them clean you won't have any problems.

Good Luck

Answer 9

General consensus here - cropping a dog's ears is cruel. Keep them natural and take a dog training class so that you and your dog can help to change people's minds about the breed!

Answer 10

it is actually quite painfull to crop a dogs ears if it is not done by about 2 months of age. if you are not showing your dog, leave the ears alone i personally think that ears left natural look better anyway :)