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Cropping you new baby?
Not sure if you want to crop your new babies ears or not? It is a procedure that we prefer on all of our danes as well as our pups. Myself and a fellow breeder, Steph Dixon (breeds danes and doberman pinschers) put together the pros to having their ears cropped.
The procedure generally takes place when a puppy is between eight and twelve weeks old, while the cartilage and muscles of the ears are not yet fully developed and will allow the cropped ears to be trained to stand upright.
We take our puppies to get cropped between 7 - 8 weeks of age, and keep them until the stitches are out and the ears are starting to heal. That is usually 7- 10 days after the procedure is done.
The full healing process takes up to two months (usually), and during this time the puppy’s ears should be kept upright, to help train them to stand on their own.
The ears have to be posted once completely healed to train them to stand. There are several different methods that people use to post their puppies ears.
We use the zip tie and backer rod method which we will show you and allow you to do yourself to one of our dogs that are already cropped and healed so you feel compfortable with this process for your new baby.
PROS TO CROPPING
* lowered risk of getting ear infection
- When a dog’s ear hangs down over the ear canal, moisture can be trapped inside, promoting the growth of bacteria and infection
* reduces the chances of hematomas
- if a dog gets water or any type of moisture in the ears, they can shake their head causing painful hematomas. ( pictures supplied further down)
* no ripped or torn ears ( pictures supplied further down)
* improves hearing
- floppy ear folds over the ear canal which muffles hearing
* provides a more regal and alert look to the dog (more a preference, but pro for us)
AFTERCARE TIPS
* Keep them clean: Be sure to keep your dog’s ears as clean as possible. Clean them 2 -3 times daily with dawn dish soap diluted in water.
* Remove any scabs: any loose scabs you see remove them carefully. You want the ears to heal naturally and smoothly. We do not peal any scabs off of the ears rather soak in warm water and rub gently to help loosen them to fall on their own. (With us taking the stitches out for you, you wont have to deal with much of the scabbing and crucial healing process.)
* Helping them heal: we use gold bond medicated powder (gold bottle) on the ears (whole ear not just suture sight). It helps keep the ears dry and promote healing. (Steph is the one who introduced me to using gold bond on their ears and I couldn't thank her enough for it!)
* Heal before posting: let the ears heal 100% before posting. If you post and they are not healed completely it can do more damage then good. You dont want to tape over scabs and rip them off when you change the post.
GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW
Below are images of hematomas and what they have to do to treat them. Also are pictures of split ears. We personally have dealt with both. As well as our danes we have a bluetick coonhound, who gets constant ear infections no matter how well you keep his ears cleam, as well as has had a few hematomas. Thankfully we have not had to go throught the treatment in some of these pictures for him. Our one dane has natural ears, and she has split her ear open several times with just simple play. It takes months to heal and part of her ear is still very tender and the second she plays and it gets bumped it breaks back open.
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