Doberman Ear Cropping
Doberman ear cropping is the procedure to shape the ears and have them stand erect. It is customary to identify the doberman dog with having cropped ears and the crop contributes to the breeds identity and character. A doberman with natural ears takes on a much different appearance and is prefered by some people who object to cosmetic surgical practices. Historically although, ear cropping was done for functional reasons. As a guard dog, having the ears cropped to stand upright allowed for increased sound localization, an important feature for a successful personal protector or watch dog. Nowadays ear cropping is usually performed to comply with show standards or for purely aesthetic reasons.
Cropping is usually done at the age of 7-9 weeks. It is not recommended that the ears be cropped after 9 weeks as the ears cartilage has formed to a flat shape. The procedure should be completed by someone with experience in ear cropping to ensure a proper, good looking, standing ear. After the surgical procedure, aftercare of the ears and ear taping is essential and will take a few months. A commitment from the owner to proper ear care is vital.
There is some controversy with ear cropping and it is outlawed in some countries. Where it is allowed by law, few veterinarians now offer this procedure and it is not taught in many vet schools. It is important that the vet have experience in ear cropping as this procedure involves more skill or artistry than technical surgical skill. You’ll want to see previous patients as adult dogs to assess how well the ears developed. The shape or length of the crop varies from a short (military) crop, medium crop, to the longer, standard show crop.
The surgery is done under anesthesia and takes about thirty minutes. The ears are trimmed and then a rack, post or cup and tape holds the ears in place. The ears will stand upright after taping for about 5-6 months. The timing will vary with some dobermans nearing one year until the ears will stand.This is more common with the longer ear crop. It is the lengthy healing period which is more discomforting to the doberman than the surgery itself. Again proper after-care is essential to prevent infection and allow for a successful standing ear crop.
Have you had your pup’s ears cropped? Tell us about your experience. Were you happy with the results? How difficult was the aftercare for you? Would you have the procedure done again on your doberman?
Here you can see a short doberman crop, long doberman crop and a doberman with natural ears.
December 15th, 2008 at 4:02 am
hi My name is sam , I have a 5 month old dobe taht had ears cropped at 12 weeks old , I ve posted themn about 3 weeks and when i took em out they were standing very good but the one ear (left) is not standing right now what can i do pls help me
January 8th, 2009 at 3:59 am
keep posting them until both ears are standing, 3 weeks isnt long enough, it can take months for them to stand alone. When you change the postings every week check to see how they are standing, if its weak, post them for another week until they are standing strong. Hope this helps, good luck!
January 17th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I raise and train Dobe’s and my closest friend raises Pit Bulls and the best thing I have found to use when cropping ears is called H2Ocean. it is an all natural healing spray, I found it at a tattoo and piercing shop. It helped the ears heal exceptionally quick and also the ears were standing perfectly in a much shorter amount of time. I highly recommend it to anyone for both human and canine use. It works great on minor abrasions and cuts as well. A little expensive but well worth it.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:18 am
Hey Scott can you e-mail me about the trai inge that you do for dogs I’m interested thanks..
February 16th, 2009 at 12:58 am
i have a 8 year old doberman called bruno
his ears are not cropped but he is the best dog in the world
. he is blind.. is it common for dobermans to be blind ?
February 26th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Hi my name is Donna, my sister and i bought 2 doberman puppies from the same litter. I had there ears cropped about 16 days ago and both of the puppies ears are standing great not flopping over or showing signs of it. It doesnt seem like they should be so soon. What should I do just watch them for droopy ears or put them back up.
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:50 am
When the ears are left natural, the following happens. The dog is calmer because it can cover the ear opening and recieve less sound. The dog can turn the ear to recieve sound from in front or in back without turning it’s head. The dog shows a lot of expression with the ears. Don’t worry, the dog will not miss a sound and will be just as protective. You will just have a happier Dog!
April 9th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I have an 11 week old doberman puppy who just had his ears cropped 6 days ago. im concerned that the doctor dont know what he is doing and that my puppys ears wont stand.
The doctor told us to leave his cup on for 5-6 days.Then remove his cup and leave them alone until his stitches are removed in 11 days from the surgery. When the stitches are removed he said to make posts and retape them back up.
I removed his cup last night and his ears are not standing at all, and i dont believe that i should leave them just hanging until his stitches are removed. Please help me i dont know what else to do.
April 12th, 2009 at 1:22 am
Hi Veronica, That is crazy. You never let the ears hang for more than a few minutes. I just had my dobes ears done on marh 26 and my vet said not to remove the cup until the ears are healed . It took 3 weeks for the ears to heal and I started tapping them. Good luck.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
This question is for Scott from earlier in the forum. Which H2Ocean spray exactly do you use? I will be getting my new Dobie’s ears done in 2 weeks and I would like to try the product as I have had many Dobies and I am always looking for new stuff that helps the ears to heal faster. Thanks!!
May 5th, 2009 at 1:08 am
I have a 6 month old Doberman whose ears are show cropped. I’ve been posting them every week since she was 8 weeks old. They tend to droop after about a week and I post them again. Just keep at it everyone!!! It’s a long process but the end product is well worth it!!!
May 8th, 2009 at 12:19 am
My pup is 9 weeks old and we r going to the vet tomorrow to get her ears looked at to set up an appt for her ear cropping! What is the best way to go as far as cropping? What style is the best to use??!!
May 9th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
our dobie’s ears were done at 8 weeks and we have been posting now for 3 months. his left ear is perfect, but the right tends to fall after a few hours. is there anything we can give him nutrition-wise to help? also, i’ve heard that when they are teething their ears will tend to droop. anyone know?
May 9th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
mary jane, i would go with either a short or medium crop, they will stand quicker than with a long crop. it really depends on your taste. you will have to be very patient, i never knew how much work this really was. i am glad that we had it done though.
May 17th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
It is sad and wrong to cause discomfort to an animal just to serve a human’s ideal of an aesthetically pleasing ear. Please, if nature didn’t create it that way, leave it alone and learn to love the look of natural ears.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
we have a 14 week old dobe. his ears were done three weeks ago. our breeder told us to take out the stents the vet put in and let the ears dangle and flop until the ears had completely healed. on our other puppy it was almost two weeks after surgery before we started taping. on this pup it didnt take as long. This dog is very destructive to his ears, so i am retaping every 3 or so days. our other dog lasted a full week or two before we had to redo. anyway , they both have great looking ears.
also give your dog a daily dose of plain gelatin (like jello, but just the gelatin, same ailse in the grocery store) i mix mine with a low sodium chickenstock. he loves it. there is no forcing him to eat it. he just licks it right out of the bowl. the gelaton is just calcium and helps their ears to harden quicker. hope this helps.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
First off, to anyone who is about to have your dobermans ears cropped, research pictures on the internet and take in the examples of the kind you like to your vet. I didn’t do this, but luckily my vet, who is very experienced in ear cropping, whipped out a dobe picture book and the two of us went through it together. We decided to do a straight cut on my male rather than a rounded cut which we both agreed looked more feminine. However, not realizing it at the time, this resulted in a very long ear crop, like the show style above- which granted, wasn’t what i wanted. Especially now that it has been almost 4 months and I am still taping. Generally, the shorter the crop, the less time it takes to stand. I was glad to read a previous post from a person who’s dobe had the long crop. I will just keep at taping.
I am also having a problem with one being ready, or so I think and the other not. Jackson’s left ear stands strong when I take the posts out, however the right one you can just tell is not nearly as strong, so there are times when I just retape only the right one and leave the left one standing. However, I keep a watch on it because it stands strong, then one day, it just falls over. If you have this problem… just keep retaping. Currently, both Jackson’s ears are taped again. I have a feeling because they are so long, and also because I had them done so late in his “puppy-hood” (13 weeks old), it’s going to take many more months. I was informed that a pup’s ears will always stand. If they don’t, it’s a result from the pet owner’s after care, not the dog. Just keep taping people.
In regards to nutrition… The posting above mine is correct in that calcium is what develops in the ear to support the standing. Gelatin may be a good way to go, I don’t know, however I was informed to absolutely NOT give my dog a calcium supplement. This can really throw them off. What I’ve done is researched dog food at PetCo. I looked for the dog food with the highest calcium content which is done by looking at the nutrition facts on the back. The dog food is expensive at $35 for the medium sized bag, however, the calcium content is the highest, his coat is absolutely gorgeous and he is growing into a strong, beautiful healthy boy.
May 28th, 2009 at 2:29 am
I would be careful to not give too much Ca+ Calcium to a Doberman puppy…They grow fast and too much Ca+ can cause abnormal growth in the legs and feet. In fact many agree a low Ca+ puppy food is recommended.
As for the posting of ears…there is a great youtube vid on posting from a Doberman kennel out of Argentina. It’s call DOBERMANN - EAR DRESSING - http://www.dobermanbrasil.com.br
They show the taping procedure and I like this taping because the air to the ear canal is still open yet the posting is solid and secure. Be careful to not tape to tight and lay out the tape as shown in the vid. I use athletic tape with the small holes in the tape. There is another tape method 100.00 which is called the earhalo.com. which I have not used yet but will try…
May 29th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
My pup got her ears cropped last wed! We took the bandages off last night b/c today she goes to the vet to get the stitches out! When we took the bandges off her ears looked really good. We went w/ the med crop and they were just a little floppy! They go back up this afternoon but i am really excited for the final outcome!!
June 1st, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Before I had my Doberman puppy’s ears cropped, I spent quite a bit of time online researching this. Unfortunately, I found little facts about the procedure and follow-up care, but the back-and-forth exchange and heated opinions between the anti ear croppers and the pro ear croppers was never ending. So I am writing this post for all of those who want to hear about the ear cropping experience from someone who is not a breeder, just an average dog owner. (NOTE: anti and pro ear croppers, please do not respond with your opinions either way because I don’t care. This post is about my experience not your opinions)
First, I have to say that I was totally unprepared for the state my puppy was in when she was given back to me post crop. Her ears looked so raw and painful that I literally wanted to throw up over the guilt of what I had put my sweet little puppy through. She was out of it from the anastesia, but for those people who say that it doesn’t hurt the puppy and “all they want to do is eat”, I am not calling you a liar, but my puppy DID NOT want to eat, and I am certain that she was in pain because she whined pitifully for hours. The vet did give me healing ointment which had a numbing anaesthetic in it. That did seem to give her some relief from her discomfort, although she dispised having the ointment applied and we had to physically pin her down in order to put it on her ears. How did her ears look after surgery? They were red and “meaty” like any other open wound, and they were stitched along the outer edge. Her ears were taped up into a cup. Her cup stayed on for a little over a week during which time we continued to apply the ointment. The entire time the cup was on, it drove her absolutely crazy. She constantly shook her head and wouldn’t even walk normally because she was in a constant state of preoccupation with the discomfort and was always trying to paw at them. There was little sleep all around in our household during that week. One night I gave her a small dosage of tranquilizer (meant for my older dog’s fear of thunderstorms) just to give her and us a break and let everyone get some rest. In fact, she shook her head so hard and often that the cup rubbed the top of her head raw. Make no mistake about it, for that week, she was uncomfortable and unhappy. Once the cup and stitches were removed, we began posting. She Has handled the posting much better than the cup. The posts do bother her sometimes and she’ll paw at them, but I believe that’s from itching, not discomfort. We’ve been posting for about a month now, and her medium crop just stood by itself for about a week, but now one side is starting to flop again so we’ll need to re-post.
Would I do this again to another puppy? I don’t know. I do like the way her ears look standing, but I have to ask myself whether or not it is worth putting my puppy through this painful experience purely for aestetics -please do not give me your platitudes about less ear infections with the ears up. I have a 15 year old dog with floppy ears who has never had even one ear infection. Let’s all be honest, we’ve done this cropping because it’s the “breed standard” and we want our Dobermans to look like we all expect them to.
I hope this post is able to help people who may be wondering what this experience is about make the decision whether to crop the ears or not.
June 4th, 2009 at 12:16 am
I have had Dobermans for 20 years as pets and always have cropped their ears. My personal experience has been that my pups are in much less discomfort than being spayed. Which is to say they were back to normal in one day. the taping did not bother them after one day also. It is key to find a very good vet and to take proper care of the ears to avoid any issues or pain. I love the breed and animals in general and would not crop if I saw it casued my pups pain. I have had other dogs that have long ears that have been ripped by other playing dogs and they just keep going with no thought to it, pretty much the same if you ask me. It is not for everyone that is for sure but mine uses their cropped ears to localize sound better and seem to have better expressions than those of Dobes without their ears cropped. My Dobermans are working dogs as well as pets, they are used for personal protection as well as for family pets and the cropped ear helps them hear things quicker and easier than if not cropped. The breed was developed with this characteristic long before they became house pets and I find it serves them well as a family protector as well. If I ever decide not to crop my Dobermans ears then I would get a weimeraner who does not have cropped ears and a breed the Doberman was breed from. Just my experience. My Dobies ears always stand within one month and never have required taping after that, I always get a med crop.
Either way the Doberman is for me the finest breed out there.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Hi……Im planning t buy a doberman and anyone plz tell me how much it costs to crp its ears?
June 8th, 2009 at 4:45 am
I recently called a highly recommended vet for doing ears and I was told that he did not do it before 14 wks. Yet I read varying times from 7 wks up. I am planning to do a medium crop on her. The lady that answered the phone said that he waits til this age because it allows the ears more time to grow so you can get a better (more accurate) look. He does a consult/physical exam and asks that you bring in a pic of the crop you want. She also said that he will tell you how likely it is that the ears will stand based off the leather, etc. Can anyone give me any insight on this, as in opinions, potential warnings or problems, etc. Thank you in advance for any input.
June 16th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I think it will depend on where (which part of the country) you’re having the cropping done, but my puppy’s crop cost $125.
My vet wanted to do the crop no earlier than 11 weeks. He prefers to do it between 11 and 12 weeks, but no later than 14 weeks. According to him, after 14 weeks the cartiledge starts to thicken and it makes it a long difficult process to get the ears to stand, and there’s no guarantee they’ll ever stand. Before 11 weeks the ears are not developed well enough so it makes it more difficult to make them look right at maturity.
Keep in mind, this is all my vet’s opinion. I don’t have any solid answers from personal knowledge. We posted our puppy’s ears for about a month and a half, and now they’ve been standing for over a week. Here’s hoping they stay that way.
To Jill - I wasn’t suggesting that people that crop don’t love their dogs. Remember I chose to crop as well, although I am a bit bitter over the lack of real honest information out there and feel that I was not honestly informed about the downside of the procedure because both sides are more worried about defending their opinions than giving unbiased, accurate information. I don’t agree about the hearing. My other dog with floppy ears has excellent hearing.
June 19th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
I had my dobie’s ears cropped at between 11 weeks. We took him in for a consult at 8 weeks, and the vet said he would need more time for the cartilage to strengthen. We had a medium crop done. Our vet also had us leave his ears in a cup for 7 days while the stitches were in. Part of his stitches were taken out at day 7, and his ears were left down for a weekend before the remainder were removed at day 10. His ears were immediately taped as the edges were healed. Our vet taped for us on a schedule of 7 days up and 2 days down. We repeated this a couple of times. His ears stand on their own now. However, he’s teething now, so I’ve been re-posting them when they start to look a little droopy.
The worst part of the crop procedure for my puppy was just having to stay confined for the 7 days. He had prescription tranqulizers though that kept him knocked out for the most part though. He never seemed to be in pain, but he was pretty doped up. All in all, I don’t think it was anymore traumatizing or painful that spaying or neutering.
My advice is to find a vet that will tape and post the ears for you if you’re a novice like I was. Once your puppy is used to the process, it’s easier to attempt posting yourself.
I’ve found using regular sized cardboard app tampons wrapped in bandage tape to be a good post. Plus the cotton on the end provides a cushion for the ear. It’s cheap and easy and sturdy.
June 24th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
I have a doberman. He is 8 months now and I never cropped his ears.
Of course that is how a dobe is “supposed” to look, but I couldn’t go through with it.
As for him not being able to hear as well because his ears are floppy…I think that’s bull. My dog is also used as a working dog and he has NO problems hearing whatsoever. Most working dogs and retrieving dogs for that matter, who depend on their hearing have floppy ears.
Dogs were born with an incredible gift of accute hearing, and most dogs are floppy eared. I think that’s a myth. Also, I have heard nonsense about the dog’s ears ripping because of their weight and infections and what not…again, pure bull. I assume the people that came up with these rumours are the same that think a doberman’s brain becomes to large for its skull and then goes crazy! lol. What can be proved, is a lot of complications from ear cropping going bad because of vets that don’t really know what they’re doing. So I would suggest to contact a registered breeder (even over the internet) and ask them for a contact - you will pay more, but for the health of your pup, it’s worth it!
Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way anti-cropping. I still love the look, I just personally couldn’t put my dog through it myself. If I got him that way I would have been happy, but I didn’t want to physically take him.
Any-hoo…that’s my opinion.
June 28th, 2009 at 12:39 am
I just got my dobes ears done last week (he will be 10 wkd Monday), the top stitches and styrafoam cup came off today and the ears are healing without support (which is fine since we aren’t posting yet and I trust my vet) his bottom stitches come out in 5 more days, and if all scabs are gone we will start posting.
I was wondering if anyone supplements with anything? He is currently on Orijen large breed puppy food (2009-2010 dog food of the year) but I read on a clinics web page to blend up a hardboiled egg, shell and all once a day.
I see someone said plain gelatin, any others reccommendations?
Thanks guys!