Blu

Hi, I have a 19 week old puppy. I was initially told by a vet that she needed to be at least 20weeks before her ears are cropped, so I've been waiting patiently. I decided to have the cropping done at a another vet who is closer to me, I asked today if she could perform the procedure and she said that my puppy might be too old and doing it now might be risky as the ears might not stand. I hope its not too late...I'd hate for her ears not to be cropped. Has anyone had the procedure done at this age or later and was successful (the ears stood)?
Any advice will be appreciated.

Regards,
Juliet

Sam1491

The latest we have done at work is 16 weeks, i would say it is definitely to late and personally I wouldnt risk it.
She/he will be just as beautiful natural, and unfortunately that first vet was apparently not so well informed....

At most I could only see a very short military style crop standing, because there isn't to much ear that needs help, but again I wouldnt bother..

good luck and we love pictures

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PatchworkRobot

The cutoff is generally 12 weeks, occasionally a vet will do them at 16 weeks. Personally, at this point, I'd leave them natural.

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sam&macksmom

5 months old is too late to crop. The procedure is done around 7-8 weeks and is typically handled by the breeder before pups go to their new homes. This eliminates the burden on the puppy buyer to find a good cropping vet.

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workingk9s

Natural Dobermans rock! Far better for natural ears than a crop that doesn't stand. I haven't heard of 20 weeks for cropping. 7-12 is the norm depending on who you talk to. If the natural ear isn't setting appropriately, there are some threads here that can demonstrate how to tape a natural ear to have them corrected.

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melbrod

I would think about it this way. If your first vet recommended 20 weeks, he doesn't know very much at all about the proper cropping of a doberman and in all likelihood, would have done a HORRIBLE job of cropping your puppy's ears.

You've gone past the time to crop your puppy's ears, I'm afraid, but at least you aren't stuck with a terrible crop job--and I've seen pictures of some real doozys. Floppy ears have a charm of their own and are getting to be more and more common.

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Magnum'skeeper

Ear cropping can occur as young as 7 weeks. Ideally no older than 12 weeks for an easier process of standing. Much after than the chances become slim. I'm sorry to hear you were miss informed by this Vet. Not all vets have solid information when it comes to cropping so always be aware of that. Alot of the great ones who crop are reccommended on cropping sites, by breeders, word of mouth, and the ones not mentioned be cautious when approaching them. At 20 weeks I wouldn't risk it, because the chances of them standing are very slim. I've had a natural dobie before they still are adorable.

Patches Mom

Another thing cropped ears you have to worry about the ear tips freezing if you live in a very cold climate.Natural ears are best at that age.

EmilyB

It is too late to crop. A beautiful crop is amazing.

Natural ears are just as amazing, I wouldn't personally bother taping natural ears to lay flat, that would make them "labby" in my opinion. Natural dobie ears are everywhere, and so expressive.

o0 sHaDoWoLf 0o

I would not risk it, chances are REALLY slim that they will stand. I would rather see natural floppy ears than cropped floppy ears

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KissNme

I think everyone has given really good advice.

Phoenix321

I have a Doberman friend that cropped at 16 weeks and they had world of troubles trying to get to stand. They still have floppy crop. Natural ears are beautiful!

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dobebug

For any of the large cropped breeds 20 weeks is much too late to crop. 16 weeks is a push and more often than not the ear leather has hardened sufficiently that you may not end up with a standing crop. There is a reason that vets who crop and actually know how to crop and when to crop want to do it in the 8 to 12 week window--within that time frame the puppy has ears sufficiently grown to be able to tailor them to that puppy but young enough that the ear leather is still very pliable and has not yet hardened sufficiently to "set" creases or pockets.

Many small breed puppies are not routinely cropped until much later. 16 to 20 weeks is fairly common for min pins and standard Manchesters for instance.

But at 20 weeks you are really way late to be cropping a Doberman. Natural ears are better than cropped and flopped.

StarlightDobe

As much as I love the look of a cropped dobe, I surely would not risk doing it this late. The latest I have ever heard of doing it is 16 weeks, and then you are pushing the window of success. While you might get them to stand, from all I have read and heard it is marginal, and if they do not stand then you put the pup through the crop and taping for nothing.

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stryker2

I would say too late to crop. 7-12 weeks. I also think that Vet doesn't know too much about cropping Dobermanns.

Hullaballoo

I get so tired of hearing "It's hopeless beyond 12 weeks."

The vets around here won't crop UNTIL the dog is 12 weeks old, and one waits until 14 weeks. They have an excellent success rate.

There seems to be an attitude on this board that everyone knows better than the vet because "vets don't learn this in vet school, so the breeders know more about it". My vet has been doing this for 30 years. He knows more about the dog's anatomy, blood flow, etc....he knows more about the health of a doberman than a group of breed enthusiasts on a web board. And yes, he does know more about cropping, too. MUCH MORE. Sorry, but that needed to be said.

If you are worried about whether or not you can crop your dobie at 12, 13, 14 weeks, and you feel you MUST look it up on the internet, Google "Successful cropping 12 weeks", or "why vet says it's better to wait until 12 weeks to crop", etc. You'll get a slew of results saying why it's ok.

But better yet: ASK YOUR VET. Step away from the computer and ask a real life veterinarian who crops about cropping. He/she will know more about it than anyone here, I promise.

By the way, my dog was cropped at 11 weeks and not posted until 12 weeks, after the stitches were removed. After 3 days her ears were almost standing completely on their own. They are doing fantastic.

greenkouki

An expert DOBERMAN ear cropping vet is not going to do them this late, period. Some crummy vet who pretends to know what they are doing, maybe. Doing ears at 11 weeks and doing them at 20 weeks is comparing apples to oranges.

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RottenVonSpotten

Would you mind sharing a picture of your dog's crop? Only 3 days of posting, I'm guessing her ears are either very short or have a lot of bell.

PatchworkRobot

What a load of hullaballoo!



The enthusiasts here include breeders, vets, vet techs, long time rescuers, etc, etc, etc. There are people here who have been in the breed for longer than your vet has been working. While a vet is a vet and a vet should be consulted I think that a poster would benefit from at least considering the responses received on here. Plus, I've seen some absolutely HORRIBLE crops come from vets who have been cropping for 30+ years and absolutely know what they're doing. Just because someone has been doing something for a while (cropping, breeding, teaching, etc. I can think of so many examples) doesn't mean that they excel in or nor that they should be doing it.

So... you revive an old thread and go on a rant about people saying that cropping is "hopeless beyond 12 weeks" and one of the examples you use is your dog who was cropped at 11 weeks? As in... younger than "beyond 12 weeks"

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Julie W

19 weeks is much too late to crop a doberman.

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Brandy&Melanie

Sorry, but it would be way too late. I love the look of a good crop, but natural ears are just as lovely and silky! On the plus side, you don't have to worry about the tips freezing and posting!

It is better to have no crop then a bad crop!!!!

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NINKOjIN

I almost wonder if the vet you originally spoke to was against cropping and told you it was 20 weeks just to make it impossible for you. I mean, that's just insane. My breeder was nervous of having Riley's ears done any later than 10 weeks, and preferred it to be done sooner (schedules were kinda shitty this summer, which is why we had to wait).

The only way I see a crop working at this point is if they had implants. But I wouldn't recommend it as that's usually for reconstructive surgery for a bad crop.

I would keep the natural ears. If you aren't a fan of natural ears yet... just wait... I wasn't either, but now I love them, and if I get another dobe I'm going all natural with her!

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vivienne00

I taped Lana's ears to lay flat to stop the independent flyaway. It doesn't make them sit flat like a lab's, just brings them down next to the face - the base of the ear retains the strength it had before the taping.

Before:


After:

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zorianak

Threads like this inspire my signature

That being said, I'd personally leave them natural. Had Jaina not come from a reputable breeder who crops, I would've probably left them natural given that I don't plan on showing her in conformation and I like the natural-eared look. However, by the time I brought her home at 17 weeks, her ears were nearly standing on their own - she'd already been posting for (I think) 6 weeks at that point in time with a medium-long crop. I personally wouldn't cut them at that point in time.

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RedFawnRising

Pffft. There you go, using logic again, Patchwork.

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