is it too late to crop his ears?

**DoberDukes** · 04-08-2008, 11:34 PM

he guys right now zeus has natural ears and he is 11 1/2 weeks old. i have been completely on the fence about cropping his ears. and now i feel that is might be too late. would it take alot longer now? would it work? world it work well? and also does anyone know a good vet to crop his ears in the ct/mass/rhode island/lower new york area?

04-09-2008, 12:36 AM

I got Reagan's ears cropped late. she was almost 14 weeks which was the cut off age for my vet. If you find a good vet and are willing to post as long as necessary I personally don't think it is too late. Reagan's turned out fine as far as standing goes. She didn't get a very pretty crop, but that was the vet's fault; not realted to her age. Go for it! They look so pretty with their ears done!

Andrea · 04-09-2008, 01:11 AM

Without words.....

To cut the ears on a puppy with almost 12 weeks is mutilation. Do you know how painful it is!!?

**Colorado Dobes** · 04-09-2008, 09:52 AM

I don't think it's too late, but get him in ASAP!!! Most vets won't crop after 12 weeks.

DobeGirl07 · 04-09-2008, 09:55 AM

I don't think it's too late, but I personally would take him within a week to get him cropped. Due remember ALL the aftercare that is involved with cropped ears and it's a pretty big commitment. But I do think it's worth it.

**DoberDukes** · 04-09-2008, 10:43 AM

yeah, i dunno. ahh. i'm just gonna leave him floppy. he's too cute. but i have been just wondering it if was too late or not. but i belive i'm gonna leave him el-natual.

aquaholic · 04-09-2008, 11:35 AM

au natural is probably the best way to go

he's so cute!! post more pictures!

alan93 · 04-09-2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea

Without words.....

To cut the ears on a puppy with almost 12 weeks is mutilation. Do you know how painful it is!!?

I have this penchant in looking for logic sometimes, so I'll try it here...
So with that statement in mind, Why is it not painful before that point? And at what point does it start becoming painful and why? And why isn't it mutilation before that time? Is spaying mutilation? If not why? Just wondering.

As far as 11.5 weeks goes, there are some vets at animal hospitals that won't touch them before 12 weeks due to the fact they like them to have all their shots first but not much after that age.

Murreydobe · 04-09-2008, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alan93

I have this penchant in looking for logic sometimes, so I'll try it here...
So with that statement in mind, Why is it not painful before that point? And at what point does it start becoming painful and why? And why isn't it mutilation before that time? Is spaying mutilation? If not why? Just wondering.

As far as 11.5 weeks goes, there are some vets at animal hospitals that won't touch them before 12 weeks due to the fact they like them to have all their shots first but not much after that age.

I don't consider it mutilation to crop a puppy at 12 weeks (or older)..but I will say there's a big difference in the thickness of the ear leather between an 8 week old puppy and a 12 week old puppy. At 8 weeks that ear is paper thin..so I think it's much easier on the puppy doing them younger rather than older, the ears heal faster, etc.

I really don't know of any vet i consider an expert on ear cropping that would crop at 12 weeks by choice. Not saying there are none out there, but the "standard" is 8 weeks among most of the vets known to do beautiful crops from coast to coast. Doing them later definitely can influence how fast the ears stand and sometimes whether they ever stand at all.

Quig · 04-09-2008, 01:14 PM

Looks like the orignal poster has made a decision but I'm going to add my $.02 to the discussion.

We had Kyah's ears cropped at about 11.5 weeks. I too was worried it was too late (we got her at 11 weeks...) but the Cropper that my breeder and Vet suggested prefers to wait till 11-12 weeks so the puppy has all it shots. The first couple of days after the crop are pretty miserable but other than that it's been totally fine. She's so used to being posted now it's not a problem at all to change her posts or clean her ears. Hell, her ears stood pretty nicely after just a week of posting but I've continued to post and will have her posted till she's done teething per many recomendations here. We let her run around untaped for a day or two every week or so and her ears look outstanding. I've done all my own aftercare too... we had our local vet remove the sutures but that was it.