what are the cons of cropping my puppy pits ears.?

Question

he is 12 weeks old - i dont want him to be traumitized from it, but it looks really nice on a grown pit.

Answer 1

Well, lets just say there are no "pros" to doing it, other than liking the way it looks. It is very painful to the dog. There is no guarantee they'll heal correctly. It is not a nice thing to put an innocent puppy through. It does not benefit their health in any way (like spaying or neutering does). I used to work for a vet who did crops, and I hated it. I would never do that again.

Answer 2

As someone who has had ears cropped, been there for the surgery and in the recovery room w/ puppies. I can tell you that There is ALOT of blood loss. And it is very hard on the puppies. Some wake up screaming like you would not believe.. They come home and seem fine, but you can see when you have natural eared puppies at the same time, that it was definately very hard on the puppies that got their ears cropped.

You have to keep the ears very clean to make sure that they don't get infected. Once the stitches are out you have to start taping them. I don't think it would take too long with a pit.. But if you think they like it, you are kidding yourself. And hopefully they both stand.. If not you end up with cropped ears that flop, or one up one down, which drives me crazy..

I don't really see a benefit to cropping the ears myself other than ' the look ' If you think cropped ears make a pit a pit.. Then I guess you have to do it.. But for a pet.. I would leave them myself. Unless you are showing, or have a reason to have the ears cropped.. Why put them thru that??

The thing I like about the natural ears . . it makes your dog far more approachable by people.. Making it alot easier to socialize puppies.. Otherwise.. People are scared to death of an 8 week old puppy even.. as soon as they see those ears.. It's better to keep them guessing what kind of dog they are.. Then you can get them socialized to different people easier..

Answer 3

I agree with DP (I seem to do a lot of that). Cropped ears on pitbulls give them the "fighting dog" look - even if your dog is simply a pet. Fighting dogs ears are cropped in order to prevent them from being bitten/torn off and therefore preventing that blood loss in the ring that DP was talking about. We have two pit mixes and their ears are natural. Both are able to stick both of their ears straight up or just one up when he is listening and there is nothing cuter than a dog who sticks one ear up and leaves the other one floppy. When both are up, he looks like batman.

I wouldn't do it. The negative stigma associated with pitbulls may make people wary of your dog for the simple reason that he looks "mean". I know, it is stupid, but first impressions are the same with dogs as with humans.

Answer 4

Cons:
- It's expensive and you could better use that money on supplies for your puppy.
- There's no good reason you need to crop
- It'll be painful for him
- You're going to put him through pain just because you think he'd look better with cropped ears
- Risk of infection
- Ears may not get cropped correctly or heal correctly
- May not turn out the way you want them to look

You really shouldn't crop your puppy's ears if you really don't want to traumatize him. There's no reason for you to crop, and it'll be painful for him. Imagine someone cutting up your ears because they thought it'd look better.

Answer 5

The pros are: the look, if that's what you want.
The cons are: Expensive surgery with chance of complications, possible infection, months of ear posting, risk that they don't stand properly even if posting is done to perfection, looking more intimidating and giving neighbors more reason to hate your innocent dog, the pain the dog endures, etc.
I am not against ear cropping when done properly and the dog is cared for properly, but just don't go into it blindly. There are risks, and it is a lot of work.
All in all, it;s your choice.

Answer 6

If you don't want him to be traumatized, THEN DON'T DO IT. Get used to how nature intended pits to look.

We have a JRT that we rescued at the age of 18 months. He has a cropped tail. I can't look at that tail without feeling like crying -- and he often gnaws at the tip of it. I suspect he has "phantom limb" syndrome.

Just love your dog as he is. He's not about impressing other people. He's about being your buddy.

Answer 7

Leave the dog the way nature intended him to be. There is a reason for everything. Why do humans always want to test Mother Nature?