Ear cropping, why? Controversial

We have a lovely chocolate dobe in at work at the moment. He is really nice but he looks evil . His owners have bought him from abroad and he has his tail docked and ears cropped. They got him from abroad especially as they wanted a docked tail and cropped ears . Ive never seen a dog with cropped ears in my life so was quite a shock. he looks like the nasty dogs you see in films. After she told me about where he came from she asked if i liked his ears so i gave a simple response of "No" as sadly im not allowed to express my opinion at work. The people were lovely and you can tell that this dog is their life and hes very well trained. Hes going back to his breeders soon for a "holiday" to breed. i dont really have a problem with that except the fact that the poor puppies will suffer the same fate.

I dont know anything about ear cropping, why was it ever done?

I hate cropped ears & docked tails, all my Doberman's had floppy ears & full tails.
Not sure why ears were cropped, but tails were docked from working dogs so they were not get damaged in the undergrowth.

I hate the look of cropped ears but have to say I still love the look of a Dobie with a docked tail.
Why would a Dobermann be in the undergrowth? I know mine frequently were but Dobermanns were the tax collectors dog they didn't work like gun dogs. Anyway Milan's tail has never suffered from being intact.

i wish i could post a photo of him. it looks horrid and its a shame as hes lovely dog but people will judge him and his owners because of his ears

I don't really think many people will judge him at all most people don't care one way or the other.

I have to say I love the look of a cropped ear on some breeds...boxers for one, a stunning head with a crop ear can look fabulous . Ant the same goes for a docked tail. Still think boxers rottis and does look better with a docked tail.

That being said , I would not crop an ear. But I would buy a docked dog

Me too Jackie

Though id never dream of having it done I do think it makes some dogs look attractive and yes I still think some breeds looked better with docked tails

should they be a bit floppy though? as his flop at the tip and look wonky which makes me think it wasnt done very well as ive looked online and the ones ive looked at have perfectly erect ears and their straight.

No they should have been taped up into the erect position and would have been taped for months. Maybe they took the tapes off early, no idea really.

I'm with Azz. Totally against any procedure that is for purely cosmetic and selfish reasons.

I personally find the look of a cropped dog ugly. Thin, pointy ears, on a head that looks to big and broad. Very mismatched looking IMO. Not to mention the procedure itself is painful and done much later than the docking of tails.

Also don't support the docking of Dobe's/Boxers/Rotties, etc, because again, in these breeds it's done for cosmetic reasons. With some working gundogs I find it acceptable, but if it's not being done for a valid reason, then I'm not in support.

It is absolutely done for looks and while it may be illegal to dock in this country I would have an imported docked Dobermann in a heartbeat. It may not be PC but it's how I feel.

im not as against docking as i am ear cropping. My brothers drug spaniel is docked as he came from working breeder who breeds them for hunting normally. (and my nephew is fascinated with the waggy stump) But i dont understand ear cropping it makes them look nasty. why would you want your dog to look nasty? he also looks alert all the time like he never chills out. I suppose its also because its something thats new to me, ive never seen it untill today yet ive seen docked dogs all my life and it kind of feels normal

This was Millie's sire, he was a Belgium import, and I think he was stunning, he was a fabulous boy with an amazing head.....


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now this dogs ears dont look like that. there a bit wonky and the tips flop. i still dont think its something i would ever do or that im suddenly going to like it but your dog looks a bit nicer than the one at work. i might photograph him and chop his face out surely i cant in trouble for posting a photo of some ears

There are two Dobes belonging to different people] on this Moshav, both have tails docked to their anus and both have cropped ears. The older one is apparently used as a guard dog and is kept chained up outside - it is quite a way up the road from me and I do not know what it is guarding as it is kept at the back where there are lot of out-buildings.

The younger one which had its ears bandaged upright when it first appeared - they were bandaged for a good couple of months so had probably only recently been cropped when I first saw it - I occasionally see on a Sabbath afternoon dragging its owner around. I have also seen it a couple of times very late at night when Pereg goes out for a final pee, again dragging the man [probably late 20s] along.

One of them - I do not know which - sometimes gets loose and races along the road, which is a cue for me to get Pereg in and close the door as no way do I want it to come near her.

To me they both look terrifying and yet I think uncropped Dobes are beautiful.

I do love the floppy ear dog rather then the cropped ear dog

bandaged cropped ears


nice floppy ears

Being a dobie fan I think their floppy ears are one of their best features, they are so soft and velvety I could stroke them all day.

I am another who loves the look of the cropped ears and docked tail on a Dobe. I think the cropped ears give them a much more "alert/switched on" look - but then I am a fan of pointy eared dogs

I think this dog is stunning!





He is a dog that looks to have power and presence.

Let the poor dogs stay as nature intended them to be.