Ear Cropping and your Dobe
A Dobermans ears are NATURALLY long and floppy and will NOT stand without being surgically cropped. It is totally your preference on whether you want them cropped or if you leave them natural. There is NO right or wrong. Do what you like! :-)
(Photo courtesy of PRENTICE PINSCHERS) (www.prenticepinscher.com)
Ear cropping of the Doberman Pinscher is usually done at approximately 7 to 8 weeks of age. The operation requires anesthesia and the puppy must be kept from eating for approximately 12 hours prior to surgery. Although the procedure does require the puppy to be anesthetized, it may lessen your fears about cropping to know that the operation takes only 30 min. and the puppy is under anesthesia for only that time. The very first thing your puppy will want to do after being cropped is eat ---- which shows you how much the whole procedure actually bothers a young puppy!!
For the first 7 days after ear cropping, your pup will remain in his rack (or cup), with sutures holding the edges closed. Between 7 and 10 days after cropping, the sutures will be removed, the cup changed. Again, for 7 to 10 days the pup will remain in his cup with the ears taped erect until all the cut edges are healed. Having the puppy’s ears up in a cup makes it very easy for you to keep the edges clean. Use peroxide to clean the edges of the ears and then apply Bag Balm (or a healing ointment) to help heal the edges..
There is no set amount of time it takes before a puppy’s ears will stand; the average time for taping is approximately 4-5 months. Most pups have their ears up by the age of 6 - 7 months. That said, it isn't unusual for some ears not to stand until the pup is a year old. And some puppies have poor ear leather, which means that the ears won't ever stand perfectly or the tips will curl inward. These problems can also be the result of a poor ear crop.
There are many methods of aftercare. Doberman ear crops should only be done under the guidance of an experienced Doberman vet/breeder/handler. Achieving ears that stand properly requires time and commitment on the part of the owner. Most agree that the ears should be taped for a week, then untapped long enough to allow the ears to breathe and dry out, then taped back up again. The longer the ears are left untapped, the longer it will take for them to stand on their own.
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