Are you in favor of cosmetic ear cropping?

The AVMA has taken an official stance on ear cropping and tail docking for cosmetic services. Read the story here.

What is your stance on cosmetic procedures like ear cropping, and would you be in favor of ap rofession-wide ban on these kinds of services? What effect will a statement like the one made by the American Veterinary Medical Association have on your practice procedures?

Seems as if this thread has scared people away!   Oh well...I am never afraid to voice my opinion, so here goes...

Until the breed clubs start moving towards a similar stance, ear cropping and tail docking will remain part of owning certain breeds of purebred dogs.

Although I applaud the steps in the right direction (AVMA's statement), we are still far from a time when floppy eared Danes, Boxers, and Dobies are the norm in our practices.  A good majority of owners of these breeds like the appearance of trimmed ears versus floppy ears.   And, as everyone has already thought, if the dog's ears aren't trimmed by a veterinarian, someone somewhere will do it for the owner.

In our emergency practice, from spring until fall we dealt with a rash of pit bull puppies coming into us for various reasons (mainly bloody stool, i.e. parvo) and most of them had ears that were quite obviously trimmed by someone other than a veterinarian.   In addition, several pups each summer were brought in with ear problems (bleeding, etc) from botched owner assisted ear trim.

I firmly believe that unless we get cooperation with breed clubs the only result of the veterinary profession banning cosmetic surgeries will be the development of an underground network of breeder surgeons providing this service.  For those of you who counter that current laws against unlicensed persons providing veterinary services will stop this movement, I give you the case of the NJ man posing as a female veterinarian for more than 2 years before he was caught.   It will be very difficult to enforce this type of action!

I agree with DRJSP for the most part. I am a LVT and when we do ear crops the puppies are certainly not tortured! I feel the animal rights people are totally out of control. I have owned 4 Dobermans over the past 30 years and have yet to see an ear infection or hematoma. I am sure it can happen but I believe the incidents are low. Dobermans are such loyal dogs and very Regal looking. I can not imagine mine without cropped ears.

My husband and I are both veterinarians. We are also the owners of a Doberman, and I have owned a Doberman before.  I am a huge fan of the breed.  They are really solid citizens, and if you do your genetic homework, they can be a very healthy breed.  We chose a puppy three years ago from a reputable breeder in California.  We reviewed the genetics and testing on both parents and were impressed.  We also took our children to meet both dogs.  Their temperaments and confirmations were wonderful.  We are probably the only perspective puppy buyers who examined both parents, and eventually the puppies we were interested in.   We were very clear that our intent for the dog was strictly as a family pet.  That it would be spayed or neutered and not used as a breeding or show animal. We even offered to sign something to that effect and pay the amount that would go to the veterinary services.  However, even with that assurance, the breeder was absolutely unwilling to sell any puppy that had not had its tail docked and ears cropped.  We are not fans of these procedures and while they are done for cosmetic reasons only, they are not without a considerable amount of post-procedural pain and discomfort.  We thought long and hard as to whether we would still get a dog from this breeder.  We decided that of all people, we were able to treat the ears and pain associated at home and that these dogs would be altered whether we purchased one or not.  

If you look at the show Doberman's of Europe, they have the beautiful floppy ears.  The AKC is to blame here as they require the changes for the breed standards.  Our personal protest was to not register our dog with the AKC.  I applaud Ill. for the effort, and I hope that if more states follow suit, the AKC will reconsider the breed standards for the benefit of the breed and their own reputation.  It has to start somewhere.  

Anyone who equates tail docking and ear cropping to a human cosmetic procedure is off their rocker.  A person seeking a rhinoplasty or breast augmentation is choosing the procedure voluntarily and able to discuss the post-operative care and management before deciding to undergo the procedure.  I assure you, that neither the puppies nor the bitch and dog gave informed consent.  This is not a life saving or quality of life issue.  

We may be working in Europe in a few years and I am thinking that I may need to get a sandwich board for my dog that says "my owners did not do this to me", since these alterations are truly frowned upon overseas.  

These comments can obviously be applied to the other breeds which require such alterations to the beauty that is a dog.  And lest you think that I am some PETA weirdo, I am an F350 driving, meat eating, leather seat sitting, occasional firearm shooting, equine veterinarian, and the mother of two children and adoptive mom to Omar our Doberman Pincher.

ear cropping does not seem to give the dog any benefit, and it puts the dog through numerous risks and a great deal of pain and discomfort.  This occurs at a time in its behavioral development when the adverse experiences have negative effects on attitudes toward veterinary hospitals.  This could make the dog more difficult to treat when it later needs veterinary care.

I am against preventing veterinarians from performing ear crops unless there is also a criminal penalty for non-veterinarians performing them, and strong enforcement.  It would be a further disservice to our patients to have them mutilated by non-veterinarians.

While I am not "in favor of" cosmetic ear cropping, I am not deadset against this surgery when performed by a veterinarian, where there is guided appropriate aftercare, provision (we hope) for postoperative analgesic medication, etc.   This surgery, assuming anesthesia and analgesia, is not torture.  And, if tail docking is torture... so is circumcision of human male infants.  Will there be an anti-circumcision law?  I doubt it. 

I am astounded that there are members of the veterinary profession who no longer dock tails or remove dewclaws in puppies because of the pain.  Do we not have appropriate analgesics and anesthetics available to us?  Why not use appropriate pain prevention and relief?  There ARE veterinarians who use anesthetics and analgesics for these procedures, even in neonatal puppies.  

If cosmetic ear cropping is going to be banned, what other procedures will be banned?  What about kidney transplants in cats, where a healthy cat undergoes surgery to become a donor?  That is certainly an elective surgery and potentially harmful (and absolutely unnecessary) to the healthy donor.  Or what about amputating a limb on a large breed dog that has osteosarcoma?  Who is to say what is and isn't necessary or "torture"?  Will the upcoming "pet hospice" programs and clinics be banned because this might be considered torture, prolonging suffering?  I'll bet not, because these clinics are considered progress, much to my dismay. 

I own and show docked (but not cropped) breeds.  Is there a purpose?  So people say.  Docking certainly does prevent the tails from curling over the dog's back. 

Like most veterinarians, I never learned to crop ears, and I have no interest in doing so.  Leave that surgery to those who have the eye for it, a love for the cropped look, and the desire to provide the aftercare and instructions. 

Few veterinarians know breed standards, and few veterinarians are dog fanciers.  You can bet that those who are behind the AVMA policy and the IL bill are not dog fanciers. 

Let me add, the veterinarian with the cropped dobe who may be going to Europe should not walk in shame- unless she did the crop surgery without use of anesthesia and analgesia. 

I find no reason for this being done in this day and age!!!   It is purely cosmetic!!

My answer to clients, when they ask about cropping their puppies ears, is: What sense does it make to intentionally breed dogs so that their ears lay down and then cut them so that they can be caused to stand up?  Dogs would not have droopy ears if it were not for human intervention and selective breeding to develope and perpetuate the characteristic.  Why then should we subject dogs to a surgical procedure that does indeed affect them adversely even when initial pain is "managed".  I speak from personal experience having had an ear injury that was less traumatic than any dog ear cropping.  and though it was more than 25 years ago that it occurred I still feel discomfort if not outright pain on a regular basis; especially if my ear is subjected to cold extremes.  I don't buy the argument that an experienced surgeon can prevent such pain from occurring in all or even in most cases.

As for tail docking, I have to believe that there is similar risk of long term discomfort.  But, I believe, just as imprtant is the negatve effect that tail docking has on a dogs ability to communicate with people and with other dogs.  We have five dogs, all of which were rescues or "given" to us.  One of these has a docked tail and though she does quite well. I suspect that the other dogs don't respond as well to her in part because she is nearly tailess.

I look forward to the day that tail docking and ear cropping no longer occur.  I have, by the way, done both before I realized how the dogs were truely impacted.

Why are we always calling it "cosmetic?"  Of the hundreds of dogs that pass by my way, it is very obvious to me that the drop-earred dogs have a lot more trouble with their ears in the long run.  A few minutes of pain vs a life-time of itchy ears?  I'd take the few minutes of pain.

The other thing that slays me is that these are the same people who are for mandatory spay-neuter.  I gotta tell you -- I'm guessing a hysterectomy causes a lot more pain and sequelae than an ear crop or a tail dock!