How do I cut my dogs ears ?

Question

I have a half pit bull i dont know the other half my close friend gave him to me maybe in july and i've had himi ever since. I wanted to cut his ear to give him that pitbull look and not the floppy eared thing...anyway First i just want to make it clear I have no intentions of fighting dogs, cats, ferrets, people or what ever given the nature of the breed that is usually the most common assumption. I am a nursing student who knows the value of good health I love KIBA i take him for walks everynight just to avoid encountering agressive dogs anyway... yea i don't think i'm walking him right either He is usually in from of me is that BAD ? He is also afraid of water so i am having trouble bathing him any suggestions ? Sorry I am a complete new comer in these situations but am willing to put in the work and love needed to raise him right...Eventually i want to enter him in wieght pullin comps... So... any and all advise is welcomed and greatly appreciated...thank you for taking the time.

Thanks guys I wont cut his ears and NO i would never do it myself I do agree that he is too old thanks for all the help Sorry if this raised some concerns

Answer 1

NEVER NEVER NEVER crop a dog's ears yourself. This procedure must be done by a vet when the pup is very young- yours is far too old.

Answer 2

There is usually an age limit when vets will choose to no longer perform the proceedure. Since the pit crop is very short it probably will range more on the preference of the vet. I have a dobie, a breed in which a crop won't stand after 12-14 weeks but that is also a longer crop. As far as the walking in front of you goes...your dog should walk at your side or behind you. The person in front is in charge and you need to lead your walk. Simple obedience training can aid with this. If your problem is pulling try a gentle leader or halti collar. With the water...it will just involve slowly creating positive experiences with water. Take a wet wash cloth and run it over the dog. Once used to that try a damp sponge and drizzle the water. Keep reinforcing positive behavior and correct the problems.You are in charge!

Answer 3

Kiba walking in front of you isn't completely bad, as long as he's not pulling you then it's fine, but it's better if he's right beside you. you have more control and he can read your movements easier to know if you want to turn a certain direction. as for the water thing, not all dogs like water, but when you give him baths give him lots of treats adn love on him a lot, make the experience enjoyable so that maybe he'll see it's not to bad, and if you're just using a hose, maybe try it inside with the bathtub (water already in the tub so as not to scare him when teh tub fills) and use warm water so it's more relaxing, just like with humans. that's what i did with my old dog and eventually he started jumping into the tub himself! lol.

ok, the ear thing. really, unless you're showing the dog or it's breed standard and you just want thing perfect for that (though he is a mutt so that doesn't qualify him for that standard), cropping ears isn't the best of ideas. it's an expensive procedure, the ears can easily get infected and don't always look natural and it's painful for the dog. if you want to really badly, ask your vet about cropping Kiba's ears and if it should be done or not, what is included in the procedure and if they have done it before. I was a vet tech for 2 years and helped with over 30 ear crops on various breeds. the dogs get pain meds but it doesn't always cover all the pain.

Answer 4

I disagree with what everyone is saying. However your dog is too old to have his ears cropped. Most vets crop ears and tails when puppies are really young. I do not think it is cruel to crop a dogs ears. Yes it is cosmetic, it is for looks, but so is cropping a tail, and no one seems to have a problem with that. If you get it done when they are young enough then they won't even remember.
About walking your dog, if he is walking in front of you then that is a sign of dominance. You need to get a training collar ie a choke chain (so they are called) You put the chain right up under his chin and he can't pull, it also doesn't choke them like it does when they wear it around their neck. Try this and when you are walking keep the leash tight and keep your dog right next to you so you are walking side by side rather than him walking in front of you.
About bath time. Bathing dogs is hard if they didn't get the experience when they were a puppy. Just make sure that you make it fun for him! Slowly introduce him to the tub/ shower. Put him in there for short periods of time and praise him while he is in there. Give him a treat while is in there, not after he gets out, or else he will think that he is getting praised for getting out of the tub. Don't force him into it or he will never like it.

Hope this helped =]

Answer 5

You take him to a vet that does good PB ear crops and pay for it to be done correctly. To consider doing it yourself is inane as well as cruel. How old is he? If he is more than a few months old don't bother cropping him as it is a wasted effort -- heck, you really don't need to crop him anyway - I am not anti-cropping at all and support the benefits of it but even I wouldn't put a dog through it that was already too old for it and for no real decent reason. Maybe instead spend that money on finding a good trainer to help you learn to properly train him. Find a local obedience club or good dog trainer (Not petsmart or petco stuff but real dog trainers that have a wide base of knowledge to draw from) and learn how to properly train him -- most of the training is actually you learning how to do it right. I wouldn't take him for walks until you learn how to do it properly as you are actually training him to behave improperly and setting up bad habits which can be difficult to break later... Good luck..

Answer 6

YOU don't crop your dog's ears. Ear cropping is an art.. Dogs need to be put under to have their ears cropped.. you need to know how to cut them, to get the proper shape what to remove, etc.. Just cause you are a nursing student, doesn't mean you should be cropping ears. People get arrested all the time because they think they can do the job.. The dog ends up mangled, or dies, and the people get arrested.. Practicing veterinarian medicine w/o a license. Would kick the heck out of all you have done in school this far if you got arrested for something so serious. Leave it for the ones who know how to properly crop ears before you mess the poor dog up. It would seem to me that a nursing student would know better than to try something like this.

Answer 7

1. I know you have absolutely no bad intentions, but cutting a dog's ears, or cropping, is very painful to the dog and its like plastic surgery, only has cosmetic reasons, its painful to the animal, and it comes with a lot of risks such as infection.

2. He sounds much too old now to crop his ears anyway and you would want to bring him to a vet because it is never a good idea to cut a dog's ears by yourself, plus the dog does need anesthia and I don't where you would get that. You could attempt to, what they call, bandage the ears to make them stand up, but this process is also uncomfortable for the dog and I don't think your dog would end up with the look you want anyway.

Bottom Line: Cropping or bandaging a dog's ears for a certain look is completely cosmetic and very, very uncomfortable for the dog. My Giant Schnauzer came from the breeder with her tail cropped because the breeder had already done it when I called to request a puppy, so I told the breeder not crop the ears. Although my dog, Stella's, ears come with a little bit of more maintenance I think keeping her ears natural made her look nicer and not so mean and plus she stands out from the rest.

Answer 8

Vets trim ears at 12 weeks, if he's older than that he's too old to have it done. In front of you on walks-most trainers would say the dog should walk at your side otherwise they feel they are in charge. Weight pullin-just search internet and I'm sure you'll find something. You can look for breed, just weight pullin, akc may have something, etc.

Answer 9

PLEASE don't crop your dog's ears! It doesn't matter if you don't plan on fighting him or whatever. It's just cruel and inhumane, no matter what. There's no logical reason to crop ears; there really isn't! It's all cosmetic.

Floppy ears are CUTE!

PS
You should never perform that kind of thing yourself. Vets won't even do it anymore these days, since it's just plain cruel. If you're a nursing student, you should be aware of the risks of cutting off a body part. Would you like your own ear cut off? I don't think so.

Answer 10

1) Many vets will not crop their ears after a certain age.
2) You cropping his ears yourself is considered cruelty and is a criminal offense.
3) Enroll in obedience classes, socialization is key.
4) Associate water/bath time with fun things.

IMHO, You need to re-home him with someone who has a clue about pit/pit mixes. They are not a good breed for beginners. If you are unwilling to do so, you need to do as much research about pits as you can and get involved with professionals who know the breed.