My Uncle wants to know if he should clip his show dog's ears!!?

Question

Judges like when you clip the ears but my uncle thinks it makes them look retarded...what should he do?

Well the dog is a doberman

oh it's crop my bad and the dog is 13 weeks old

Answer 1

If you truly have a dog that is worthy of the ring, I am very surprised that the ears are not already cropped - most responsible breeders have it done by someone that they trust. It is a tricky thing, and takes an amazing amount of care pre and post surgery - add to that the fact that puppies do die from being put under .Due to the improbability of this dog actually being a "show dog" I would not do it. What breed is the dog and why do you think it is a show dog? ******I WOULD NOT crop a 13 week old pups ears. 8-10 weeks is preferred and at 13 weeks you are running the risk of complications, increased pain and increased bleeding. It can be done, but I do not think, from what little info that I have and correct me if I am wrong, that this dog is necessarily headed for the conformation ring. Danes do well cropped of un-cropped if they are quality - Bouviers as well - Dobies and Boxers are still battling a lot of prejudice with cropping preferred, which is why I doubt that a breeder who thought that this pup was conformation ring material did not have it done. It is a painful, messy procedure and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. At this point, I would not do it.********

Answer 2

Are you talking about cropping the ears (cutting the ears themselves) or clipping the hair on the ears. If cropping it depends on the breed if you do it to some breeds it is a disqualification. Even on the breeds where it is allowed and used to be considered normal it is done less and less. Cropping is very painful and if it is done by someone who is inexperienced and turns out poorly it will actual;y harm the dogs chance of winning in the ring.

If you are talking about clipping the hair on the ears it depends on the breed and what is required grooming for the show ring. If you have a breed that requires a specific clip and your dog isn't clipped in that manner than he won't stand a chance in the ring with you show him.

Answer 3

1) it's cropping not clipping
2) cropping needs to be done before a puppy is 16 weeks old
3) dogs do not have to be cropped in order to be shown
4) natural eared dogs can & do show very well and do get pointed/championed

My Dane show boy is natural earred and he also still has his dewclaws. He does an excellant job in the ring and is well liked by judges.

*******Dobermans & Boxers are actually doing very well as being shown natural...Natural Danes aren't without prejudice in the ring by some judges..Judges that really truely judge a dog for the whole dog and for breed standard have no problem with natural ears...they judge the dog on entire merit not just natural or cropped ears*******

Answer 4

I dont know what age ear croppings are done.. I do know that you should seek a very experienced vet to do it, so the dog has a proper cropping. If its done wrong, it can mess up the dog's show career. Other doberman people in the area can probably refer to a vet.

The AKC standard says ears are "normally cropped and carried erect" that doesnt say they HAVE to be. Its just preferred. To me, that means he doesnt have to crop the dog, but it will take him longer to get the dog titled.

In UKC, cropped and uncropped are equally accepted.

Answer 5

It would kinda help to know the dog's breed in this scenario, and by clip, do you mean trim the hair? Usually, it is best to do what the judges like, but like I said, there isnt really enough information here. If you are talking about cropping the ears, and it isnt in the breed standard, I wouldnt worry about it. Especially if you are talking about a dog that is an adult, and has shown before. it is very hard on the dog to crop ears to begin with, but once the dog is done growing, it is much harder because all of the blood vessels and nerve endings are fully developed, and this causes the dog a lot of pain, and possibly a good bit of blood loss.

Answer 6

If your uncle's dog is a breed that the standard requires clipped ears and he is planning on showing the dog (which I assume he is since you said it was a show dog) then he will need to have the ears clipped, unless he doesn't mind waisting money on entrance fees. If your uncle's dog is not a show dog, but a pet dog...then there is no need for him to have the dog's ears clipped if he doesn't like how that looks.

edit: Dobes do not *have* to have cropped ears to get points in show...but it may be harder for the dog to finish in conformation events if his ears are natural.

Answer 7

Please tell your uncle not to crop the ears or do any tail docking for that matter. Cropping is for cosmetic purposes only and nothing more. Cropping is cruel,disfiguring,mutilating,unnecessary, and extremely painful for the dog! It's a totally Senseless Surgery!!! Many vets, have now stopped performing this procedure, for these reasons, so your uncle will have a very hard time, even finding a vet, that even agrees to do this procedure. Please tell your uncle to not put this dog, through that kind of torture! It's not fair!!!

Answer 8

Many vets will not crop their ears after they are older than 5 days. If the dog has matured without his ears being cropped then it's better to leave them alone.

Answer 9

This depends on the age of the dog and the breed. If he's been in shows before and has had no problems, then obviously it's not necessary. If you crop the ears and it doesn't say something about it in the standard, then you'll be causing the dog unnecessary pain and his showing career will be over.

Answer 10

Do you mean clip the hair around his ears, or crop them?

More information, please.