History of Cropped Ears and Docked Tails

     Dobermans from the days of the breed creation had their tails docked and their ear cropped. In Germany 100 years ago dog owners had to pay taxes on their dog, unless the dogs were "working dogs". One can distinguish a working dog by its docked tail.

     Louis Dobermann was trying to create a working dog and since the early days of the breed, Dobermans had their tails docked. Many of the dogs of that time were born without a tail. During WWII a lot of Dobermans were lost and the bob-tailed gene has disappeared from the modern bloodlines.

     Louis Dobermann wanted to create a dog that looked very alert. So he decided to crop the ears to achieve that look.

     Nowadays some countries in Europe do not allowed cropped ears and docked tails. But Poland, Serbia, Austria, France, Greece, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Russia, Moldavia, Ukraine & the Baltic do show cropped/docked Dobermans. Here in America we do show Dobermans with their ears cropped, tailed docked and dewclaws removed.

   Here is where we stand on ear cropping. Most of my dogs are cropped, and I prefer that look myself, though I love my floppy dogs just as much. There are a lot of good reasons to crop ears, and a lot of good reasons for floppy ears, you need to decide what you think is best. Dobermans with floppy ears look less like Dobermans and therefore less intimidating. Dogs that will be used as therapy dogs or SAR dogs, generally are more accepted by people with floppy ears. Cropped ears have the Doberman deterrent look to them. I have some of each. Cropped ears need less cleaning, stay dryer and have fewer infections. Floppy ears are cheaper, and you don't have to worry that your investment will be lost if they fall. Whatever you decide, your puppy will come to you with natural ears. Many breeders have vets that will crop ears at 5 weeks old to help make the pups more marketable. At five weeks of age, the ears are not much bigger than a silver dollar, and the head is as small as an apple. It is very hard to do a good crop that way. At 10 weeks of age the ears and head are balanced in their growth and a very successful crop can be achieved by a good Vet. We recommend cropping at 10-12 weeks and since your pup will be placed with you before that, we cannot have the ears done for you. In the past when we have violated this rule, we found the puppy didn't get proper follow-up care and ended up with cropped ears that flopped which is a heartbreak to think of what the pup had to go through only to have floppy ears in the end still. Ear cropping though is an art not a science, and you have to trust the artist to some extent. I always ask to see pictures of previous crops the vet has done. Any artist that is proud of their work will keep a scrapbook or have dogs available to be seen. If you like how they turned out, then trust the artist if they want to do the ears early. We have a link on our site that recommends several vets for ear cropping. http://www.familydobes.com/ear_cropping.htm

The method below was shown to me by veterinarian Dr. Soltero of Scottsdale Arizona and it really did help me to correct the ear-position, when one of Feliss ears was falling inwards. I highly recommend it. Just make sure to intervene in a timely matter if you have a problem, as if you wait too long the ear(s) may never stand right.

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Picture 11

     Ear Taping (posting) method

     Post the ears and leave them up to six days, then take down but never leave them un-taped overnight. Re-tape the ears for another 6 days.

     You need (See picture 1):
Peroxide or Rubbing Alcohol.
Backer Rod 5/8� wide (ask in any HomeDepot)
Tape
Scissors

     Start by cutting the piece of Backer rod, a little larger than the length of the ear.

     Take tape and start taping firmly around the rod to achieve the flexible but tight ear-stick. (See picture 2).

     When you have taped it to the end, reverse and start taping in the opposite direction, making sure that the sticky surface is now outside of the ear-stick (See pictures 3 and 4). Continue taping until all of the surface of the rod is taped with the sticky surface facing outwards.

     Now tape the second rod in the same manner. Cut 2 pieces of tape 6-7� and 2 shorter pieces of 3�.

     Clean the ears with the tampons and the rubbing alcohol if you have not already done this, if the ears are not quite healed use peroxide instead. Dry the ears thoroughly with a dry paper towel.

     Press the sticky rod to the inside of the ear. (Picture 5) Stretch the ear along the rod.

     Take one of the 6� strips and press one end into a sticky surface of the rod (under an angle) (See red line on the picture 7). Leave the blue area (sticky surface) to be able to secure a good grip for the other end of the tape strip. Start taping around the base in the direction of ear fold (See Picture 6) (towards the inside), making sure that the fold is not twisted or squeezed. Be careful do not tape too tightly, as it may stop the circulation of blood into the ear. Go around the ear one time and press the tape against the blue area (sticky area) of the rod.

Cut the end of the strip. (Picture 8)

     Cut the rod at the top of the ear. (Picture 9)

     Tape around the very top of the ear lightly, you can cut off circulation by putting too much pressure. (Picture 10) The sticky surface of the rod and the sticky surface of the tape will keep the rod in a secure position.

     Do the same procedure with the second ear. Using this method, you do not need to tape in-between the ears. The rods will keep the ears in the vertical position. (Picture 11). The dog will be able to move the ears freely and you will avoid wrong posting that sometimes happens when one ear is taped to the other ear in a figure 8-manner - then one ear might be pulling the other into the wrong position and creating a crincle. It offten happens during sleep, when the dog may accidently lay on one of the ear and pull the other one in an awkward position.