[Kinteet]

Does anybody know how the cropping of ears and docking of tails came about and why it's done?

 

[greenkouki]

The erect ears are believed to stimulate alertness, and the tail docked to remove an extra "handle" for an attacker. Both are cosmetically apealing and certainly play a role in the elegance of the breed--"the look of eagles".

 

[TracyJo]

http://www.dpca-breedered.com/not_cropping_docking.htm

Here is a neat link with the history of cropping/docking dobermans

 

[Kinteet]

Thanks guys,

Great link, answered all my questions and then some!

 

[TracyJo]

Kinteet,
I've found that site to be a wealth of information - at this point, if I have a question, the first place I look for the answer is www.dpca-breedered.com

 

[Kratty]

The hearing cone is greatly increased with having cropped ears, from my understanding. A un-cropped dog can focus on a sound withing a 20% cone to locate the sound. With cropped ears, they can narrow it down to a 5% cone. plus the ears always look like small radar moving around too, which sometimes disturbs others.....

 

[Kinteet]

Wow, that's interesting!