Like everyone else has said, if you have the option, choose a good breeder who crops the pups before they go to their homes. I am not saying that you have chosen a Back Yard Breeder because I don't know...but just in case you have, please take it from me (I own a backyard bred dog) that once you start really researching the breed, you will wish you had gotten a well bred puppy.
When I was looking for a puppy, I looked on the internet, found some of the commercial puppy mills, saw the prices and said "No way Jose" looked in the newspaper and found a litter that would be ready in a few weeks. The money I "saved" buying him this way, turned out to not be a discount at all.
Between the cost of the first vet who first cropped his ears, the taping supplies, the re-crop (The 2-3 hour drive to that vet about 4 times) the cost of the re-crop, the time involved, the medicines, and the worries I went through....I surely did not save any money.
Because I don’t know his health history, there is no telling the amount of money I will have to fork out in the future to make sure he is taken care of to the best of my ability. I understand this can happen with well bred dogs as well, but good breeders work to keep certain preventable problems from effecting their puppies (for example VonWillibrands) which we believe my dog has. They also will offer guidance throughout the life of the dog, which will prove to be VERY useful. I wish I had it! I wouldn’t trade him for any puppy in the world, but if I had the choice to do it over, I would have done alot more homework before deciding on a puppy.
If you do decide to get the ears done yourself, please, please, please find a vet who knows Dobermans, can help you with follow-up care, and knows how to do good ear crops. You don’t want to go through it twice, trust me.
Here is a picture of my puppy at 5 months old after getting his ears cropped for the second time....
If that isn't enough to make you do your homework, please visit the album:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2107133864
I really am not trying to be a bummer, I just hope that you can learn from my mistakes. Good Luck
