Home: Breed Specific: Utility Group:
MS ear cropping



edser
Member


Mar 30, 2003, 10:09 AM


Views: 2190
MS ear cropping

Hi,

first we would like to thanks the gang for sharing everything about their babies.Smile

We just send our enzo(MS) for grooming today and we noticed that the ears are standing upright(about 40% higher than the picture) all the time or most of the time (depends on his moodWink)

We really love him very very much and treat him like our son. At first, we decided not to crop his ears because it is barbaric and painful for him. But now he look like a half bat. no....the looks wont turn us off but just wonder what are the benefit of cropping?? to crop or not to crop?

Our Enzo baby is 5 months old. Help appreciatedSly



Smile
Serina
owns Enzo, then Zeno, now Zoe'n.....later Nezo,Ozne, Noze, Zone, Ezno, Onze, Zeon etc. anymore?


arthur
ALPHA


Apr 1, 2003, 6:35 AM


Views: 2179
Re: [edser] MS ear cropping

Hi Edser..

Interesting topic you have posed..especially for MS owners.. To crop or not to crop..that is the questionUnsure..

The origins of ear cropping for dogs stems from the cruel spectacle of dog fighting. Having a large floppy ear only give your opponent more skin to bite and hang onto. So cropping the ear reduces the amount of ear that one can bite and hang onto. Incidentally the erect ears also visually stretch the dog's head to make it long longer. Overall, the effect is a more intimidating look besides being visually appealing to us humans.The dog looks more alert! Especailly for Dobermanns and Boxers..

Zooming fwd to modern times, this practise of ear cropping is now purely cosmetic. For our MS breed standard, for natural ears, they are required to be small, V-shaped and fold close to the skull and be symmetrical as well. Too large, and with the tip dropping below the eye level results in what is termed "hound ears". Too erect and we have the famous Bat ears. A fly ear is one that is semi-erect. Since having natural ears are mainly genetically based..and it varies from dog to dog even in the same litter..most MS owners who show their dogs end up cropping them as this in effect almost garantee a good set of ears that is erect and symmetrical (especially if done by a good vet!)

Since Enzo is a pet..you are right not to subject him to the rigors of ear cropping. Most ear cropping are carried out between 8-10 weeks. The ears are cropped, and bandaged tightly with paper cones to ensure they heal and set up straight. There are approx 6 dressings to be c/out before it is healed completely. Every 3-4 days, you'll be required to bring the dog back to the vet for cleaning as some stichtes have to be removed as well. This is the most important part to ensure a good set of ears..timely and clean dressings. By the 5th dressings, most ears would already be standing straight and tall. All in all, approx 1 month will elapse from cropping to healing.

Most schnauzers can tolerate pain very well. In fact the larger breeds (Boxers) have to be sedated when they come in for dressing. This practise will slowly be phased out eventually..Already several countries like Singapore, UK, Australia have already banned ear cropping.

There are several nice websites that gives good instructions on how to tape the ears down. However at 5 months, I'm not sure if this will still work. Let me know if you would to visit these sites and I'll try to post the links up here.

Hope this helps.

Rdgs Arthur


beast
Novice

Apr 1, 2003, 12:09 PM


Views: 2169
Re: [arthur] MS ear cropping

Hi Art,

Is cropping legal in M'sia? I love crop ears on a MS. They look smarter and alert. hehe

Saddly S'pore don't allow cropping. Haiz, the only places are to import them in from Overseas like USA, UK or other European countries.

Cheers, eileen


beast
Novice

Apr 1, 2003, 12:17 PM


Views: 2169
Re: [edser] MS ear cropping


In Reply To
Hi,

first we would like to thanks the gang for sharing everything about their babies.Smile

We just send our enzo(MS) for grooming today and we noticed that the ears are standing upright(about 40% higher than the picture) all the time or most of the time (depends on his moodWink)

We really love him very very much and treat him like our son. At first, we decided not to crop his ears because it is barbaric and painful for him. But now he look like a half bat. no....the looks wont turn us off but just wonder what are the benefit of cropping?? to crop or not to crop?

Our Enzo baby is 5 months old. Help appreciatedSly


Hi edser,

You have a lovely boy!!

5 months old is teething stage and due to that his ears will prick up.

Regarding on the ears. If you find cropping too cruel. You can still correct his flying ears by taping it with surgical tape with a 10 cent coins or another method I am taught is to use chewing gum and tape it near its temple. Also you can opt for not trimming his ears, let his furs weigh it down. Also everyday try to massage his folded ear's cartilege.

Hope it helps.


(This post was edited by beast on Apr 1, 2003, 12:18 PM)


edser
Member


Apr 1, 2003, 6:23 PM


Views: 2162
Re: [arthur] MS ear cropping

Thank you arthur,

Our baby thank you so much for your advice. As it is now, i am taping his ear but like you said 5 months old , we are not so sure it will help..but we will try as we do not want him to be put thru a trauma.

We guess to every dog lover, subjecting your furboys to any surgical cosmetic is something that is very stressful and demand many thoughts(logical). We would appreciate if you could forward the link to the website mentioned, for our knowledge.

At the very moment, we are trying out the idea of taping his ear with a 1 cent coin but it will fall out whenever he scratches it. We think that maybe he is only 5 months old and the ear may not set yet???????any chances??? well, we have to learn more about his abdominal growth as this is the first time we own a puppy.

Arthur, we like to thank you again for the sharing, and we would like to ask, if we do decide to crop Enzo's ear, will it be too late? We definitely appreciate when you brief us on the after surgical do and don't. We are ready but we just want it to be the last resort if anything else do not work.

Thank you and to you too(Beast)



Smile
Serina
owns Enzo, then Zeno, now Zoe'n.....later Nezo,Ozne, Noze, Zone, Ezno, Onze, Zeon etc. anymore?


arthur
ALPHA


Apr 1, 2003, 8:40 PM


Views: 2158
Re: [edser] MS ear cropping

Hi Edser,

Thks for the note of appreciation. You are most welcome as I believe that it will be a win-win situation when we MS owners share our knowledge Smile.

I find these websites very useful and informative. Do check it out.

For ear cropping - http://members.aol.com/ktbrit/ears.html

For ear tapping - http://www.cymro-welsh.com/ears.html

Now back to Enzo..at 5 months to crop his ears..IMHO it may not be advisable. If you are not going to show him, why subject him to the stress of ear cropping? Also, the task of ear cropping should by right, be carried out by the breeder NOT by people like you and me.

Gotta to go now. Will post again later. Rdgs Arthur


edser
Member


Apr 14, 2003, 9:21 AM


Views: 2129
Re: [arthur] MS ear cropping

Thank you arthur and nice to know that you are save in GuangDong!

Well, our Enzo is doing fine, we are still trying with the coin method but not so often as we think it is unhygienic too. He is getting used to it and its ears are slightly lowered. We hope that this method works but after all, we have decided not to crop it even if i is strutted.Unsureto barbaric... but he have one upright ear and the other not..hahahaha weird he is but we will alway love this funny dog....

Oh yes we have decided to get him a playmate too...so will need many advices on it. We attempting to get a ACS. Do you think they will get along?

Edvard & Serina with Enzo

p/s...take care in China



Smile
Serina
owns Enzo, then Zeno, now Zoe'n.....later Nezo,Ozne, Noze, Zone, Ezno, Onze, Zeon etc. anymore?