[mabarker]

ok-when I get my pup, the ears will already be cropped and ready for posting. I know alot of people are againtst this, people who are not familiar with the Doberman breed dont understand, and some see it as cruelty. What kind of experiences have you experienced owners had with bringing your pup(s) out in public, and what is the best was to deal with people whose opinions differ from your own. Many people dont recognize dobies unless they are cropped and docked. I just want to know what to expect when I take my pup out for socializing, and puppy classes...Even my current vet doesnt believe in cropping-should I find a new vet? Thanx everyone!:write:

 

[bleh60]

Unfortunately I dont have a whole lotta advice, just try to explain your point of view and if they are real jerks just ignore them.

I just wanted to say I think its really wonderful how invested you are in getting ready and researching. You seem really excited and its just so nice to see someone doing all their homework and getting a pup from a good breeder!:biggthump

Oh and I LOVE the name you chose.

 

[Luvbirds]

Just tell them the puppy came this way. For me it was the truth. I got Petey at 10 weeks old. Most people were fine about it. Now everyone just asks....when are the bandages coming off???? He is almost 6 months old and 70 pounds, people can't believe it has taken this long for them to stand...neither can I!!

Carol

 

[Acooper]

I think if you are happy with your vet, and he/she does a good job.......keep the vet unless he/she gives you a reason to switch. He/She isn't going to be doing the crop or posting, so they really shouldn't try to push an oppinion onto you.

As for other people's oppinions, I have never really run into a face to face problem.........online yes, but never in person. When Orson was in posts I got the occasional "awe, poor puppy....what happened?" They thought he was injured and bandaged. I explained that his ears were cropped and already healed, and this is how they are trained to stand. Honestly, most average people on the street do not even realize that dobe ears do not come standing naturaly.

I'd say if you ever run into an obnoxious person who wishes to argue, just tell them the world is full of different views....smile...and keep walking. They probably aren't worth wasting your breath with, and you won't change their minds anyway.

 

[Fitzmar Dobermans]

I agree about the view that most people don't realize that Doberman ears don't come standing - they see the posts and think that they are hurt. If people ask or say that it must bother them and think it is cruel, I just ask them if the puppy looks distraught or upset (they never do), if they push it I just say that it is nice to live in a democracy where freedom of choice is still a right of ours..... I leave it at that.

As far as your vet, I would not worry about it. My vet office does not crop either and I respect them for that. They are great vets and have never said anything to me about cropping. So if you like your vet and they don't give you a hard time then don't worry. My vet is more concerned with the fact that my dogs are very well taken care of - they see many that are not.

 

[Chaz]

Mensa has been out in public since day 1, she's a regular social butterfly. And for the first six and a half months she had her ears in posts. And I only heard anything close to negative comments from one guy. He is a guy I see at the Palm Springs Dog Park, and every time he saw her he would shake his head and say "sad". Now, he tells me how good the ears look, so go figure.

Like LuvBirds, I would tell folks that she came to me like that from the Breeder. And the reason the Breeder crops their ears is in case something happens to me, a cropped Dobie is easier to re-home.

But mostly people were amused by her posts. I heard all kinds of smart-alleck remarks about Jack-a-lope antlers, satelite reception, etc.

 

[MaryAndDobes]

Most people aren't worth arguing with over cropping if it's even an issue. I remember I had a doorknob once told me my dog would be deaf. How do you reason with that? Why bother, IMO.

I'd probably be inclined to say that Dobermans as well as many other breeds are cropped breeds and that it's a perfectly legal procedure and leave it at that.

 

[alwayshadpets]

i did not have any negative feed back. They all thought she looked cute. I did tell one person that she had plastic surgery early in life therefore she would avoid it when she was older like people do. They looked at me kind of funny, than started laughing.

 

[SadesMom]

My simple answer was "because" I didnt feel I needed to justify my decision to someone who was obviously not going to waiver in their opinions.

To those that were genuinely interested/concerned I gave them honest answers and information. The bottom line is, it's a personal decision to have a cropped breed cropped/natural.

If someone cant deal with that, then my philosophy is that which regards to all points in my life. If they cant see my views then they can just point their camera elsewhere and deal with it I love my puppy regardless of how "cruel and unusual" someone on the street may think I am XD

 

[Luvbirds]

I don't know how the pups feel about the original surgery....but I can honestly say Petey did not give a s**t about me posting him! He doesn't seem to care if his ears are in the Posts or out! He lets me post him, take them off....I really don't think it bothers them at all!

On a good note.....WE MAY BE DONE! Petey is in breathe right strips as I write....he had a little problem with one of his ears,he got a cut that got infected, so I couldn't repost....we shall see!!!! I am sooo excited to hopefully be DONE! All his adult teeth are in, we just have two upper puppy canines sharing space with the adult teeth.

Carol ox

 

[DobeMom616]

Once a young couple approached Cole and me when he was young, but his ears were standing. The young woman was crouching and petting Cole and said, "I'm so glad you didn't get his ears cut." I just had to burst her bubble. I told her they were cropped and if they weren't they would look like hound dog ears. She was genuinely surprised.

 

[sundobe]

It has been my experience (in this area anyway), that most people do not know about cropping at all, so if they see the bandages I don't even mention the surgical part, I just tell them that this is the way the ears are trained to stand. If they are genuinely interested and open to learning I will take the time out to explain further, but mostly this simple explanation is the easiest.

 

[Kratty]

I agree that most people do not understand cropping. At first, I got alot of folks thinking the Nikki was injured. The folks that were willing to listen, I explained and they willingly understood. I only had a few folks that thought it was awful to do that. I was very surprised that I got alot more comments from people that said,"Wow, thats a big min pin you have."

 

[Dobesanddragons]

It has been my experience (in this area anyway), that most people do not know about cropping at all, so if they see the bandages I don't even mention the surgical part, I just tell them that this is the way the ears are trained to stand. If they are genuinely interested and open to learning I will take the time out to explain further, but mostly this simple explanation is the easiest.

Yeah. The general public never notices until the puppies have that cup or are in posts. That is the only time I get comments, and mine are out with me all the time.
Depending upon my time or mood, I just say does it look like it is bothering them and smile and let the puppy speak for themselves.
Depending upon the person, I will go into detail and say how it is done with a vet, they are supervised and given drugs, it is very humane, the ears are expertly and quickly cut, and the puppies are eating/playing/drinking normally within hours. Nothing can convince them as quickly as the happy sweet puppies bumping into them and jumping around - very obviously NOT in any pain.
Some don't even know that posts are different than ear cropping. Posts mean the ears are healed and just being trained and they find that interesting. It just depends on the person very much so and my time if I want to do public education. More often than not, I am happy to talk about it. And it usually turns out pretty good.

 

[Dobesanddragons]

Even my current vet doesnt believe in cropping-should I find a new vet? Thanx everyone!:write:

I don't think you should get a different vet. One of my vet's (my very favorite for years) is aganist cropping. But he is still a great vet and I trust him completely with my babies. None of the vets I have went to do ear cropping.
In fact, you will find the majority of vets in the US don't do cropping, that is why it is so important to buy from a reputable breeder who crops their Dobermans before placement.

 

[Acooper]

.................I was very surprised that I got alot more comments from people that said,"Wow, thats a big min pin you have."

Wow, that IS a big min pin you have!! LMAO!! (even as a pup I am sure!)

Do they understand that the MIN stands for miniature?? and the very act of putting BIG with it sort of defeats the purpose!! hahahahahahahaha

 

[JavasMom]

As I've stated before, I am grateful that Java's breeder took her pups to a vet who does show cropping and who follows their progress until the stitches come out. The hardest part was done for me - I didn't have to find a vet who was willing/knew how to do a proper cropping. I didn't get too many comments, most were along the 'what happened to your puppy' line of questioning.