[TracyJo]

I had never seen a B/T Coonhound before my first visit to South Eastern KY to visit my inlaws. I saw quite a few of them down there. In fact, my fil had one named Belle that somebody gave him as payment for fixing something on their trailer.

Chi is uncropped and nobody has ever mistaken her for anything. I did have a neighbor ask me if she was a Min. Pin when she was about 8 weeks old. I choked back laughter and told her no... Then she said something like, Ah, I see, that's what I thought... I used to be a Doberman Breeder... LOL

In the July Dog Fancy, some Doberman judge warned that uncropped/undocked dogs could be confused by the general public with Coonhounds and that mistake could be detrimental since by and large Coonhounds don't mind people rushing up to pet them and Dobermans do.

 

[TracyJo]

Velmadobe,
I completely understand what you are saying. In fact, years ago I saw some silly show where a woman was doing a demonstration of tricks with her uncropped Doberman. She said she wanted her uncropped to make her look more approachable and even went as far as dressing her in silly clothing and hats to make her look less threatening. Now this very well could have been an exceptionally easy going dog that didn't mind everyone and their dog coming up and lavishing her with attention - but we all know, if that was the case, she was certainly an exception to the rule.
My decision to leave Chi uncropped was strictly because I did not see the sense in putting any of us through the pain and hassle of cropping. I don't want people to think they can just rush right up to her and ears or not, she sets them straight real quick if they attempt it.
I also understand the concern of the breed becoming incredibly popular again. How many breeds have been virtually ruined by trends in their popularity? Too many.
But, I wonder if maybe banning cropping would lead to a decline in their popularity. So many people are against the ban and those who get the dogs for the wrong reason want them to look all tough and what not - maybe uncropped would be much less desirable.
I don't say that because I'm in favor of a ban, I'm not - just a thought that came to me when I read your response.
Ears or not, those of us who get these dogs for the love of the breed (for the most part) know what we have and how much we have to work to maintain control and keep our animals and the public safe. And, those who are simply following a popularity trend and are unwilling or unable to educate themselves and their pets are going to have problems.

What bothered/upset me about the dog fancy article was this: "The Doberman is a cropped and docked breed. If you don't like it, get a coonhound" (Judy Doniere) - That is insane imo. I didn't choose a Doberman on looks alone - yes they are striking but many dogs are. I love the look of Border Collies but know that I will never own one, I'm don't have the personality to get along with a herding breed I also love hounds, all hounds, but again, not want I want in a dog. I chose a Doberrman based on their trainability, protection, loyalty and atheticism - looks are just icing on the cake. Doniere's whole argument for cropping is that erect ears aren't as approachable as natural - if that's the only argument for cropping, it's a crappy argument. Now, I realize it isn't - but the general public who subscribe to Dog Fancy may not realize that.