Ear Cropping

Cropping is a very heated issue for many people within the dog world. Almost everyone who is involved with dogs has his or her opinion about ear cropping. Some people say that it doesn’t harm the dog at all and the animal feels relatively little pain. Others claim that the surgery is cruel. “A growing number of veterinarians are refusing, for humane reasons, to perform surgery on animals just to meet breed standards” (National Humane Education Society). Also, there is no longer much practical purpose for the painful process of cropping a dog’s ears.

Ear cropping originated many, many years ago when dogs served a much more violent or dangerous purpose in our lives. “…Hunting and guarding breeds, including the Great Dane…and the Boxer, were cropped to prevent injury” (“Ear Cropping: Correct or Cruel?”). “Many flockguarding breeds…had their ears nearly amputated since they lived most of their lives…with the flocks and had to face wolves and bears” (“Ear Cropping: Correct or Cruel?”). The Doberman, used originally by tax collectors as a defense, also had its ears cropped to reduce the number of handholds an aggressor might find on the dog. Now be honest, how many dogs do this sort of work today? Not many, and especially not those animals which are being shown in the ring and are the most likely to undergo ear cropping. The owners of dogs that are still performing their original tasks most likely do not have the money to afford the pain-free modern surgery. If any ear cropping were done it would be the old-fashioned, crude method. Cropping ears is becoming a totally unnecessary surgery for the everyday dog. So why is it still performed?

People who show dogs claim ear cropping is a necessity. They believe breeds (such as the Doberman) cannot win a show without having cropped ears. “…Kennel Clubs tend to be extremely conservative institutions. Wary of change, a few have balked at altering or eliminating the longstanding standards that call for some controversial surgical procedures – namely the docking of tails and cropping of ears – to be performed on certain breeds” (Wild Discovery, p.174). This may be the current situation, it certainly was in the past, but every step forward is looking at a future for dogs with natural ears.

One of the only reasons cropped ears are still required for some breeds is that not enough people are moving to change the standards. If more people lobbied to show their dogs with natural ears, undoubtedly the standards would have to change. Ear cropping is just like so many other fashion trends; it is something that will eventually fade from existence. Compare ear cropping to Chinese foot binding, which now is no longer performed and thought of as cruel. In a sense these two procedures are the same, both are ways to painfully alter the natural form of something for supposed cosmetic reasons.

Activist groups such as Stop the Crop believe this is a mutilating surgery that no longer has any practical purpose whatsoever. This group states “Ear cropping is a painful, mutilating, disfiguring process for any animal…The ASPCA [American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] says they are ‘opposed to this kind of senseless surgery.’ The AVMA [American Veterinary Medical Association] has asked AKC [American Kennel Club] to ‘prohibit the showing of dogs with cropped or trimmed ears’” (Stop the Crop). The ASPCA currently has the following statement pertaining to its position against ear cropping: “The ASPCA is opposed to elective/cosmetic surgery on animals. The breeds on which this surgery is performed in the United States are spared that experience in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Cosmetic surgery is against the law in these other countries” (“Elective/Cosmetic Surgery”). Yes, that’s right. Ear cropping is banned in the UK, Sweden, and a few other countries as well. While dogs in these places are kept safe from having their ears unnaturally forced to stand, groups are still only lobbying to get laws passed in the U.S. banning the ear cropping procedure.

Our society today is focused so much on appearance it never takes a moment to think of what kind of pain it inflicts. People want pets that conform to breed stereotypes. What does this mean for the animal? It means unnecessary cosmetic surgery and pain – ear cropping. Cropping advocates claim that the dog feels no pain when it has its ears cropped. “[The surgery] is done by a veterinarian, while the puppy is asleep” (To Crop or Not to Crop?”). That’s true enough. But what about afterwards when the dog wakes up? That is when the intense pain begins. During a cropping surgery at least half the animal’s ear is removed. The remaining portion of the ear is then splinted and taped erect. After the procedure there are weeks of bandage changes, painful ears, possible messy problems (i.e. infections or bleeding), baby-sitting (to make sure the wraps don’t come off and the stitches don’t come out), and any number of other things that could go wrong. There is also the looming possibility that the ears won’t stand up. And if corrective surgery and/or more wraps don’t help the problem, then all of the animal’s suffering will have been for naught. All this pain can understandably make a dog more aggressive and sensitive to having its ears touched. Veterinarians that I have talked to don’t blame animals for becoming biters after having undergone an ear crop surgery. And yet this procedure is still performed.

Anti-ear cropping activists have been putting forth their best efforts to get restrictions on, or even ban, this cosmetic surgery. The process has been a slow one, but ear cropping isn’t something that should be accepted any longer; the comfort of man’s faithful companion cannot simply be ignored. With the original purpose of ear cropping fading further and further into the past, people need to look forward and realize what they are doing to their pets. Ear cropping is not only painful for the animal, but it is unnecessary. It’s time to let go of old standards and develop new ideas of what breeds should look like. Animals not having undergone this painful experience may even become happier, friendlier companions overall. And isn’t that the ultimate goal? A happy, well-adjusted family dog? This is the purpose that society should be striving towards, not painful cosmetic whims that no longer serve any purpose for the betterment of our canine companions.

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