Fashionable Docking

[Guest Anonymous]

*Deleted*

[gooeydog]

The bit about cropping preventing ear infections is a myth, there is no real evidence to back it up, and plenty against it. Most groomers and vets can tell you that they get in just as many cropped or "up" earred dogs with ear infections as they do flop earred dogs. Cropping may raise the ear up and allow air to get in, but it also takes away a lot of the fur around the edges and inside of the ears, opening them up to dirt, debri, rain/water and other foreign substances that can cause problems, which those hairs would catch or the flap of ear would keep out. Our Dachshund has ears just like a Dobie, yet she has never once in the 5 yrs we've had her needed her ears cleaned. Most other Dachshunds I know also have relatively clean ears, though maybe that's just the breed. In a matter of opposites, our cropped APBT has had recurring ear infections all her life, though not as often now that we've narrowed down the causes and avoid them. Ear infections are caused by a lot of things, genetic predispositions towards narrow inner ear cavities, allergies, weak immune system, food, environment... all of these have far more bearing on whether a dog will have ear infections than ear set does.

[courtnek]

My Lab mix has floppy ears, although they "perk" up a little in the front, and you can see partially inside. My foxhound's ears are long, flat and lay flat against her head. The lab has never had an ear infection, Foxhounds get them all the time I am told....Is the fact that Freebee's ear are a little "open" (allowing air to get inside) why she doesnt get ear infections?
Maybe I'll pin Laurel's ears up til they heal...


:D :D

[DogPaddle]

Dogs ears should be cleaned out weekly as routine and have hairs trimmed from the inside flap of the ear to keep the weight of the ear minimal.

Really? I do Kavik's once every two months max and no problems. Zaphod's I have to attend to more often or he starts shaking his head (he is paticularly sensitive to getting water in his ears too) but usually once every 10 days does excellently unless we have been to the beach. Maybe its just a dog specific thing?