Many people choose to believe that cropping doesn’t have any purpose other than cosmetics. Despite that belief, after 30 years of owning Great Danes, we believe there are many benefits of cropping a dog especially when it is part of their breed standard.

 

An Individual Approach to Ear Cropping

Although we do choose to crop many of our Great Danes, we do not automatically crop every dog. Each puppy is evaluated individually, taking into consideration overall head shape and structure, ear set, ear length, thickness and weight of the ear leather, and how naturally the ears are carried.

Some Great Danes have relatively light, well-set natural ears that maintain some lift away from the head rather than lying heavily and tightly against it. When the ear has good natural carriage and allows for adequate airflow around the ear canal, we may choose to leave that dog natural.

Conversely, ears that are particularly long, heavy, thick, or closely carried against the head may receive less natural air circulation and may also be more prone to being stepped on, caught, shaken, or traumatized during normal activity. These are factors we consider when deciding whether cropping may be appropriate for an individual dog.

For us, ear cropping is not a one-size-fits-all decision and is never based solely on appearance. After more than 30 years of living with and raising Great Danes, we prefer to evaluate the individual dog—its ears, head structure, lifestyle, and overall conformation—and make the decision we believe is most appropriate for that particular Dane.

Five considerations behind ear cropping

1. Ear infections are extremely common in dogs with floppy ears. Some dogs get them more than others, but either way, they can become very painful for your dog. Cropping allows air to circulate through the ears and helps to keep the growth of bacteria to a minimum. Hematomas are another issue major issue I prefer to avoid.

2. With multiple Danes avoiding damage to the ears is extremely important. Playtime can be very rough and we do have an occasional scuffle. It can be very bloody and severe damage requiring surgery is a very real possibility. This decrease greatly when hanging floppy ears are not an easy target.

3. Nature's way. Take a close look at wild animals, especially in the canine family. They don’t have floppy ears. Floppy ears are unnatural in nature and are very much a development due to captivity.

4. We prefer to have the right to choose to stay true to my dog’s history, and their standard. People should spend the time to learn their breeds history. Many dogs with cropped ears in their standards were mostly bred for working & hunting. The Great Dane was used in the past for guarding and hunting large game especially boar. When guarding or hunting, it would be beneficial for dogs to have cropped ears because it would be less that an enemy could grab onto or that could get torn up.

5. Last but not least, I cropped many of our dogs ears dog’s ears because they are my dogs. Just like a parent of a child, I feel I do what was best for my puppies. After about a day or two the pups don't even care. They have about the same pain and discomfort as a dog that had just been neutered or spayed would have. I know the debate will still go on about ear cropping, but in the end, it all comes down to personal preference and what you feel is best for your dog.