Ear Cropping - Doberman

[achilles]

I just got a 6 month old Doberman. We got along really well from day 1 and she felt at home already. We named her Brandy. I would want to have her ears cropped but do not know if she could still take the pain if we do this.

My questions are:
Will it still be okay to crop her ears at her age?
Is it still necessary to crop a Doberman's ears in general?
Is there a painless way to do this if we do intend to crop her ears?
WIll she become aggressive to me and my family if we do this - being fairly new to our household?

Hope you could help me out. Thanks

[foxi7778]

I really don't see the point in cropping your dogs ears at all, in fact I think a Doberman would look a bit strange with them cropped, but then I've never actually seen one with it done Cropping, as far as I know, was used on fighting dogs to save them getting their ears ripped off or torn....harder for the other dog to get hold of
Not sure where you are in the world, but in the UK show Doberman have full ears and that is the accepted norm here.
Afraid I don't really know the answers to your other question, but best of luck whatever you decide to do

[achilles]

Thanks a bunch for the info. I'm located in Manila, Philippines. I thought that would enhance the dog's hearing . Here I usually see Pinschers with cropped ears which makes me think if that is really the normal thing to do.

Thanks again foxi7778

[brownie55]

We own two dobermans and both of them have their ears cropped. To crop their ears you have to do them before they are 12 weeks old. Both of our dobermans were shown and in Canada that seems to be the norm for a show dog although they are accepted with uncropped ears.

Many countries are now banning the cropping of ears and some provinces in Canada have gone this way. It is getting much harder to find someone who will do this surgery.

At one time there was a reason for the cropping but now it is just for cosmetic reasons.

Personally I like the look of the cropped ears but would not recommend it to someone who is not familiar with the care required after the ears are cropped.

I have seen dobermans with cropped ears that were not taken care of properly after the surgery and it is not a pretty site.

M. Brownell