Crop or Flop?
November 15, 2014
A while ago I made a comment on Facebook on a post by a vet who no longer crops ears on dogs. After the vet commented on it, Facebook members were asked what they thought. Did they agree or disagree and of course, why. After I posted my comment that dogs should be left as they were born, with their natural ear condition and then I added that it was human vanity that made it so, I was given a reply to my comment. I was told that our pets aren’t born spayed or neutered either. Well that is true. But as pet owners we make the choice hopefully for what is best for our pets or companions. Ever had a male horse that was not gelded? Well some horses are great as stallions and some are not. My sister had an Arab stud that bit her on the chest, a love bite no doubt, but after that she quickly called in the vet and had him gelded. You see she couldn’t trust him to keep her safe while he was a stud. So yes, he was born intact but she made the decision to help herself and him at the same time. He’d already sired two foals and that was the end to his time as a father. As a witness I saw that skittish lively horse turn into a horse that was used as a horse for trail rides. It was a welcome change in my sister's herd. As for dogs and cats, not all of them want to breed. One of the feral cats that I inherited at our new acreage was tired of constantly breeding. She told me that she wanted it to be over!
Back to ear cropping, in the late 80s I bought my first dog. She was a Boxer and we named her Solomon Grundy. When I bought her her tail was already docked so that was something I couldn’t change. I did not have her ears done because I couldn’t bear the thought of cutting out part of her beautiful floppy ears nor did I want her to have her ears taped and so on. She was my first child. She filled out my family in a way that a child could not. She was my constant companion. I took her everywhere and the one time I placed her in a boarding kennel I cried all the way to the ski trip. I never boarded her again.
Some people argue that it is easier to keep their ears clean and trouble free if dogs have their ears cropped and it keeps them safer if they do get in a fight. Whether you choose to crop or keep your dogs ears floppy, these ears can be kept clean regardless of the condition. I would have Grundy sit by my on the couch and we would do our weekly ear cleaning. She loved it. When I would put in her ear ointment and rub her ear on the outside to work it in, she would lean into it. She was putty in my hands.
As an animal communicator I can tell you that some dogs do not care if their ears are cropped or not. They told me. Like people though, not all dogs are the same. If you are at the point where you have to make the decision to have your dogs ears cropped, take a minute or two to listen to your intuition. It will let you know which way you are meant to go with this issue and you will be grateful that you listened.
A while ago I made a comment on Facebook on a post by a vet who no longer crops ears on dogs. After the vet commented on it, Facebook members were asked what they thought. Did they agree or disagree and of course, why. After I posted my comment that dogs should be left as they were born, with their natural ear condition and then I added that it was human vanity that made it so, I was given a reply to my comment. I was told that our pets aren’t born spayed or neutered either. Well that is true. But as pet owners we make the choice hopefully for what is best for our pets or companions. Ever had a male horse that was not gelded? Well some horses are great as stallions and some are not. My sister had an Arab stud that bit her on the chest, a love bite no doubt, but after that she quickly called in the vet and had him gelded. You see she couldn’t trust him to keep her safe while he was a stud. So yes, he was born intact but she made the decision to help herself and him at the same time. He’d already sired two foals and that was the end to his time as a father. As a witness I saw that skittish lively horse turn into a horse that was used as a horse for trail rides. It was a welcome change in my sister's herd. As for dogs and cats, not all of them want to breed. One of the feral cats that I inherited at our new acreage was tired of constantly breeding. She told me that she wanted it to be over!
Back to ear cropping, in the late 80s I bought my first dog. She was a Boxer and we named her Solomon Grundy. When I bought her her tail was already docked so that was something I couldn’t change. I did not have her ears done because I couldn’t bear the thought of cutting out part of her beautiful floppy ears nor did I want her to have her ears taped and so on. She was my first child. She filled out my family in a way that a child could not. She was my constant companion. I took her everywhere and the one time I placed her in a boarding kennel I cried all the way to the ski trip. I never boarded her again.
Some people argue that it is easier to keep their ears clean and trouble free if dogs have their ears cropped and it keeps them safer if they do get in a fight. Whether you choose to crop or keep your dogs ears floppy, these ears can be kept clean regardless of the condition. I would have Grundy sit by my on the couch and we would do our weekly ear cleaning. She loved it. When I would put in her ear ointment and rub her ear on the outside to work it in, she would lean into it. She was putty in my hands.
As an animal communicator I can tell you that some dogs do not care if their ears are cropped or not. They told me. Like people though, not all dogs are the same. If you are at the point where you have to make the decision to have your dogs ears cropped, take a minute or two to listen to your intuition. It will let you know which way you are meant to go with this issue and you will be grateful that you listened.