[TracyJo]

I think we've discussed this a couple times actually - in fact, several months ago, I even did a poll on it... From what I remember pretty much everyone agreed that they'd still own/love Doberman's and several acknowledged that they would continue to fight against the ban.
Personally, I like the natural look as much as the cropped/docked, my hang up is dew claws only because I've seen them torn and ripped before - not a pretty site. Plus, they're a pain to cut/dremel - but I woundn't hesitate owning a Dobe with them either

 

[TracyJo]

Quick question since I've always wondered this about cropping...till what age is it okay to do it till? Some people say a year, others don't know and since I'm hanging out with so many wonderful, dobe pros here I thought I'd ask.

Generally ears are cropped between 8-12 weeks. There have been a couple people here that have had their pups successfully cropped as old at 16 weeks. I truly doubt there would be much success in cropping much later than that and certainly not with a pup as old as 1 year.
The older the pup is the less of a chance the ears will stand and the more profound the bleeding.
BiB had her 9 month old pup recropped (his ears look so good now!) but if I remember correctly, his recovery after the second crop at the older age was not nearly as swift and easy as the first time at the younger age.

 

[TracyJo]

I have to agree with CRX here. He makes a great point - using their "opposition" to cropping/docking to inflate their prices is a crock. Sounds more like an excuse to make more money to me...

 

[TracyJo]

What's there to wonder? Flaccid, cute ears remind people of puppies and harmless bunny rabbits.

Personally, I prefer the cropped ears. It makes them look more sophisticated and vicious. When I'm walking in the park at night, I want any would-be mugger to know that I don't have a Weimaraner on the end of that leash, but a bloodthirsty, 80 lbs of relentless man-killing potential. You know, but that's just me talking.

But that's just the point - Any Dobe reguardless if they have ears and a tail or not, will respond to a would be mugger in the same way. I can guarantee, that if a mugger got close enough to notice my dog had her natural ears, he would be too close and Chi would react.

 

[TracyJo]

Okay then, let me rephrase that... Any would be mugger that got close enough to notice a dogs ears (cropped or not) would be too close. These dogs have an amazing sense of people and their character. Last night on a walk, we passed the very crowded Airman's Club - Chi was much more aware of the people around us than I was. She knew people were behind us, approaching us or off in the bushes to the side of us (God only knows what they were doing! LOL) before I did and almost certainly before they realized she was there.
Yes, I agree that a cropped Doberman has a more distinct and even "aggressive" appearance than a natural - but on the same hand, I truly doubt that their "aggressive" stereotype/image would diminish much if any if cropping was banned. It was their actions that earned their stereotype, not their appearance so much. OTOH, maybe it would change. Maybe the idiots out there that want a Dobe for no other reason than bragging that they own a blood thirsty man killer would be so put off by their new, natural appearance they would start lauding another breed. Subsequently, fewer idiots would own Dobes and those of us who know and appreciate the breed for things other than the stereotype they earned in the 70's could go about damage control and present to the public the truly wonderful, deserving, loyal, intelligent and yes, protective, not aggressive dogs that we have

 

[TracyJo]

and, you're assuming the mugler is dog savvy and would recognize the dobe up close for what it is just uncropped .

No, I'm not. I don't care what the mugger thinks is on the other end of my leash - He could think she's a cocker spaniel for all I care. What I care about is how my dog acts/reacts. Let's face it, pretty much any dog and especially the larger breed dogs are a deterrent - It's not often that a would be attacker is going to approach someone walking a dog. If a person is desperate enough to approach and try to harm me while I'm walking an uncropped Dobe, a collie, a st. bernard or whatever, he's going to be stupid enough to approach if I'm walking a cropped Dobe too. If someone started to approach, from the front, back or side and intended to do harm, I can guarantee he would not make it within 10 feet of me before he quickly realized that Chi was not a dog to fool with, ears or not. The only way he would harm me is with a gun and if some nut is out there running around with a gun, pointy ears aren't going to mean a whole lot to him.
I jog almost every single night. When we discussed the different breeds, one of the most important criteria was a jogging buddy for me. I do not feel as though Chi would be any more of a detterent than she already is if she had her ears. I would feel comfortable jogging with her just about anywhere, that said though, I don't try to tempt fate, at night, I stay on base in well lit areas.

Well sorry I dont go to parks that are that dark then. I wouldnt put myself in that postion. The parks I go to still have lighting, dim lighting but lighting none the less. So you would be able to tell a cropped from a nat. Im sorry I should have thought about other places other than my own, to put with what he was saying.

I wasnt saying anything about looking aggressive. Most people(outside of dobe owners) that think they know what dobermans look like,tend to think of the traditional look. (at least here in the USA). Sorry if you took what i said as some sort of smart remark. I dont think anyone would disagree that the guy has not proved himself to be a good dobe owner. I also was not going there either. Again, sorry.

No need to apologize I didn't take it as a smart remark. I was just trying to clarify what I meant in my prior post

 

[TracyJo]

Your point is well taken and I agree with what you said. As long as no one here criticises me for leaving Karma's ears natural, I won't criticise them for cropping. I have my reasons for leaving them natural as I'm sure others have their reasons for cropping them. That being said, I would have a _large_ problem if laws were passed here in the U.S. to prevent docking/cropping.

I second this! I do however wish that all natural dogs were acceptable in the show ring here. I do not think there should be a ban, I think the reprocussions of a ban could be disasterous AND a ban on cropping opens the doors to too many other things.