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Orlando area crop-my puppy story :)

2126 Views 17 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  Patches Mom
Hi everyone!
I am new to this site but I just wanted to share my good experience with my Dr and my new pups ears. He got his ears done at 11 weeks I believe and is now 5 1/2 months so we have another two ear tape changes then hopefully finished!! yay! I live in Orlando but I travel a hour to wildwood to Dr. Mc Bride at sumter county animal hospital. She breeds, shows and loves all dobermans. My brother travels three hours from south fl to bring his doberman to her every 10 days for ear changes. If your going to do their ears then make sure they are done right! People that have seen my dogs(phoenix) stitches have said it is the cleanest they have ever seen. She is not expensive at all. I wanted to post some pictures of the pups ears because I feel like it is important for people that have never been through the ear cropping process to see. The first 10 days while there is still stitches and the "cup" period is only bad because the pups wanna play and they do not understand why they have to relax. Either phoenix or zeus(his half brother) cried or wined or anything because of being in pain from the ears. It really bothered me that the people that were uneducated about ear cropping because they thougth I was a horrible person when really my dog was in no pain at all.

When I brought phoenix in for his surgery I brought a picture but really you do not need a picture you basically tell her short(military) medium or show. On both Phoenix and Zeus we asked for Medium/Long. She will use her vet school years to predict how big your puppy will be and what will look best for them.

During the cup period when he still had stitches couple days before taking stitches out phoenix did slide into a wall while he was running around a corner in the house. He had some blood and because the stitches are like looped down the ear he had a loop handing but it was fine. Vet said leave it and we were there for an appt shortly after. During this time you will get cream to rub on their ears to get off any dried blood or scabs. They also tell you to get vit e and mix it with cream to make it last longer. I took this process to heart and twice a day when I was suppose to clean the stitches I made sure to get all the crusty parts off. This did not turn out well because over the 10-14 days(vet was out town to instead 10 days I had to wait 14 :/ ) I put so much cream that was like oil on his ears yes they were clean as can be but I got tape soggy and the night before getting cup off the cup flipped over and was hanging off his head. I simply took paper towel and wrapped it on top and around his whole cup and ears and taped it so the cup would stay on. So dont get your tape wet!! :) I was complimented on how clean his ears looked so that made it better.

After the cup came off they posted the ears up and then the pups were back to normal and able to play and do what ever they wanted. I take my dog to the dog park every night( before his 3 mile walk) because I feel its important for him to run with other dogs and be socialized but so many times people ask if its ok if he can play...... Would I take my dog to the park with bunch of dogs if he couldnt? I just wish people knew more about this because it was not a big deal at all and we have not had any problems(knock on wood)

We would take the tape off two hours prior to vet appt to see how they were holding up and phoenix had standing ears everytime but zeus(brothers pup) was not so lucky. It took him a couple week for him to catch up but it was because of his diet so she put them both on pro plan and the next visit zeus ears were looking good. I will post pictures of zeus ears (red collar).

She says to wait until about 6 months because in 5th month all the teeth grow in and it causes stress on them. The teeth also are using calcium and they need calcium for their ears to stand correctly and get strong. They also gave us a pill that goes in their food twice a day its just a vitamin pill. Along with that we feed them yogert with their dinner to help with the calcium(vet told us we can do this I didnt think of it) ......but that is what I get from the whole calcium deal lol

We have two more appts and we take tape off 4-6 hours prior to appt to see how well they are doing then we are finished!!

I am very happy with the boys progress and for the Fl people if you were able to come to her then do it! She is so sweet and I am so happy with her work.

Dr. Leigh Mc Bride
Sumter county animal hospital
352-748-5454
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more pictures of them
This is Zeus with the red collar. He just flopped the first couple times but now they stand up nicely. They are able to cross at the top if he wants them to but it is only when he is really interested in something then the other times they are up.

the first picture shows that the tips are very red and almost hot to the touch. This is because after taking tape off he shook his head alot and caused blood to rush.

Pictures are no in order sorry the second picture of zeus is when his ears started to stand up and then you can see them crossing in the third picture. (they do not cross like that anymore at all...much better now as he grew up little) the fourth picture is when they were little less than 5 months old and the last is about month or two old.
Welcome to DT. Many people use Dr. McBride, including show breeders :)

Do you have 2 males?
Welcome to DT, i'm about an hour or so away from you in tampa. If you need any help, just hit me up. With that being said...my breeder doesnt use Dr McBride anymore, but she did for a very long time..as well as i have seen a lot of her ear crops. She's excellent, as well as great person. I probably didnt see it in your post, but if you dont mind me asking..who did you get ur pup from?
Welcome to DT. Many people use Dr. McBride, including show breeders :)

Do you have 2 males?

Thanks! I am not sure if I Quoted correctly? First time :) I have one of the males that lives with me (Phoenix). Phoenix has two little sibblings that boss him around like anything...little dog thing. Then my brother owns Phoenix's half brother Zeus( just from same breeder). Yes they are two males and yes they are getting fixed as soon as Dr says ok.. Zeus spends about a week with us every month and we have had some small disagreements but they are exercised and so active I believe it plays a part in them not getting that wound up. They do love eachother and thankfully I have an extremely mellow dobie pup so lets hope stays that way :) Dr. said I was crazy for having two males but said getting them fixed will be help. At least I dont have two full time :p
ok. Gotcha. Dobermans are a breed prone to same sex aggression. Neutering may/may not help. It's their genetic hardwire. Be very aware of their body language. I'd watch the rough play as well. Not trying to scare you but make you aware that is real :)

More info: http://www.dobermantalk.com/dt-educational-archive/10315-male-male-aggression.html




Thanks! I am not sure if I Quoted correctly? First time :) I have one of the males that lives with me (Phoenix). Phoenix has two little sibblings that boss him around like anything...little dog thing. Then my brother owns Phoenix's half brother Zeus( just from same breeder). Yes they are two males and yes they are getting fixed as soon as Dr says ok.. Zeus spends about a week with us every month and we have had some small disagreements but they are exercised and so active I believe it plays a part in them not getting that wound up. They do love eachother and thankfully I have an extremely mellow dobie pup so lets hope stays that way :) Dr. said I was crazy for having two males but said getting them fixed will be help. At least I dont have two full time :p
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Welcome to DT, i'm about an hour or so away from you in tampa. If you need any help, just hit me up. With that being said...my breeder doesnt use Dr McBride anymore, but she did for a very long time..as well as i have seen a lot of her ear crops. She's excellent, as well as great person. I probably didnt see it in your post, but if you dont mind me asking..who did you get ur pup from?
Hey!
Did your breeder have a bad experience? :/ As a child growing up my parents owned a red dobie and I loved her to death so that is what made me want the breed so much again. Amazing animals. Home was in south Fl and I had a very hard time finding doberman breeders that were not in miami..(had bad visions of going to miami to get a doberman for some reason lol) anyways was looking literally as far as texas and almost flew there to see dobermans but then I found a breeder in tampa."Happy Dobermans" and she had some good looking pups on website so we made a trip to go and see them and fell in love...now I realize that there are many breeders around but it wasnt that easy for me to find them. Everytime I go to vet I feel like there is another breeder. I am very happy with the dogs that we got they were very happy,fat and healthy pups. I was able to see the parents and they were also loving and sweet. She was a very nice lady and spent alot of time messing around with the pups so they were so loving but it seems like many breeders will get ears done while they still have the pups..
I got my puppy around 9 weeks and then only had short time slot to get them cropped...but everything worked out.
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Hey!
Did your breeder have a bad experience? :/ As a child growing up my parents owned a red dobie and I loved her to death so that is what made me want the breed so much again. Amazing animals. Home was in south Fl and I had a very hard time finding doberman breeders that were not in miami..(had bad visions of going to miami to get a doberman for some reason lol) anyways was looking literally as far as texas and almost flew there to see dobermans but then I found a breeder in tampa."Happy Dobermans" and she had some good looking pups on website so we made a trip to go and see them and fell in love...now I realize that there are many breeders around but it wasnt that easy for me to find them. Everytime I go to vet I feel like there is another breeder. I am very happy with the dogs that we got they were very happy,fat and healthy pups. I was able to see the parents and they were also loving and sweet. She was a very nice lady and spent alot of time messing around with the pups so they were so loving but it seems like many breeders will get ears done while they still have the pups..
I got my puppy around 9 weeks and then only had short time slot to get them cropped...but everything worked out.
She didnt have a bad exp at all, she is still very close with Dr McBride...she just likes the longer crop that Patty Edwards does.

If you looking for another breeder close to you at some point, check out JoAnn James with Brykris...she is just south of Ocala. Lennox (my red) is one of hers....its been an amazing exp.

I take Lennox to Ft Desoto Beach every sunday...there are probably 2-3 of Dr McBride's dobies out there...they all look great, and ears are nice. Good luck with your pup, and congrats.
ok. Gotcha. Dobermans are a breed prone to same sex aggression. Neutering may/may not help. It's their genetic hardwire. Be very aware of their body language. I'd watch the rough play as well. Not trying to scare you but make you aware that is real :)

More info: http://www.dobermantalk.com/dt-educational-archive/10315-male-male-aggression.html
Yeah I can see that and my brother shows signs alot more. I work with dogs so I had to be aware and watch their body language with big packs so its nice with just two to manage lol They are only allowed to play on four feet and as soon as I say hey or chill out they calm down. I do no put up with anything and if a fight does happen from getting carried away from playing then they both are put on their sides until I tell them it is ok for them to get up. Thanks for the heads up :)
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Hello from Ft. Myers, I also went to Dr. Mcbride to have my pups ears done. Dr. Mcbride is a true cropping artist and I couldn't be happier. If there's one thing I didn't agree with, it was that she was very old school in her ways and posting technique, I didn't like the elastikon tape she recommends and the wd-40 to remove the tape. I feel this method http://www.dobermantalk.com/puppy-corner/47747-ear-posting-directions-photo-tutorial-my-method.html (minus the vet wrap) is less stressful on the pup and much easier for me, other than that Dr. Mcbride is truly a master at what she does.
Hello from Ft. Myers, I also went to Dr. Mcbride to have my pups ears done. Dr. Mcbride is a true cropping artist and I couldn't be happier. If there's one thing I didn't agree with, it was that she was very old school in her ways and posting technique, I didn't like the elastikon tape she recommends and the wd-40 to remove the tape. I feel this method http://www.dobermantalk.com/puppy-corner/47747-ear-posting-directions-photo-tutorial-my-method.html (minus the vet wrap) is less stressful on the pup and much easier for me, other than that Dr. Mcbride is truly a master at what she does.
Yes, I would have to agree. I was just so iffy on trying to do it myself and wasnt sure when he would be done so I didnt try to post myself. I thought they were kidding when they told me wd-40. I tried it once in beginning but didnt feel it helped that much and rather just go slow than get that around my dog.
Welcome to the forum.

Nice crops on your pups.

There has been some discussion on DT before, about "Happy Dobermans," not a breeder I'd consider ethical or ever support, but I'm glad you love your pups and are giving them a good home.

Do take to heart the warnings you're getting about same-sex aggression in this breed--I wish it weren't so common, but it is, and with the type of breeder these two came from you're unlikely to get a clear picture or history from them, of how much the trait runs in their "family" of bloodlines.

Do stick around and post more pics--we love puppy pics here.
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Yeah I can see that and my brother shows signs alot more. I work with dogs so I had to be aware and watch their body language with big packs so its nice with just two to manage lol They are only allowed to play on four feet and as soon as I say hey or chill out they calm down. I do no put up with anything and if a fight does happen from getting carried away from playing then they both are put on their sides until I tell them it is ok for them to get up. Thanks for the heads up :)
Why are you putting them on their sides?
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Why are you putting them on their sides?
It basically lay down and chill out because you're getting to rough...once they chill out and relax they are allowed to play. They only see each other for visits so when they do I like to break up their play time because when they do not get breaks I noticed that they get irritated quickly.

Should I be doing something different when they do get into their mini fights?

Love the feedback from everyone and getting new tips!
Thanks guys :)
Dr. McBride does the cropping for the breeder that I got Roxy from. I also have a Brykis dog. Great temperment. I live in Winter Park. So PM me and we can set up a play date.
Dr. McBride does the cropping for the breeder that I got Roxy from. I also have a Brykis dog. Great temperment. I live in Winter Park. So PM me and we can set up a play date.
Yeah I went to the wrong breeder! Most good breeders have dogs ears done :/ all learning process...I am happy we found out about Mc Bride though.. but thats awesome! Do you ever go to the parks around? I take Phoenix to baldwin park with the lake before we take him to vet for ear wrap changes. He is able to swim and its during the day so there are not too many crazy dogs with their irresponsible owners... It is always nice when Phoenix is able to play with another dobie
Sorry laying a dog on its side is very old school it is not recommended Yes their is one person on TV that does it but it is highly recommended even by him not to do what he does on the show. It can cause aggression problems down the road when you have a mature full size Doberman you may be bitten. The only time I ever did it was back in 1974, Good Luck
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