American Bulldog Cropped Ears

Last Updated on March 2, 2022 by Griselda M.

Several dog breeds traditionally have cropped ears, and some American Bulldog owners wonder how common are American Bulldog cropped ears. While it’s aging and more and. more owners are refusing to get, this practice isn’t uncommon. In today’s article, we’ll be looking at ear cropping and how common it is with American Bulldogs.

Ear Cropping

Ear cropping, also known as ear clipping, is a medical procedure of the dog’s ears, a procedure that has to be done by a veterinary. Owners sometimes do this procedure on their own, but this is ill-advised, as many things can go wrong and you could possibly harm the dog.

The goal of the procedure is to keep the ears standing up. Not all breeds have their ears stand up naturally – for example, German Shepherds can keep their ears up without cropping, but Dobermans can’t. However, the AKC standard for Dobermans states that they have to have cropped ears – which is why owners take puppy Dobermans to have their ears cropped.

What must be noted and deeply understood is that ear clipping isn’t normal and the number of vets that are advocating against it is rising by the day!

Ear cropping is detrimental to your dog’s health

Vets are by far the greatest experts on dog health, not the officials of the kennel and canine organizations like the AKC. Unfortunately, the officials of such organizations are the ones determining the standard of the dog (for reasons yet unknown to the general public) and therefore have a massive say in what a dog should look like.

This is very detrimental to general dog health. For example, the AKC is the organization saying that the Doberman has to have their ears clipped. The vets, however, disagree – saying that cropping ears is actually dangerous for dogs and it’s an obsolete practice that should be a thing of the past.

When you’re cropping a dog’s ears, you’re cutting into them while they’re very young. This can be dangerous to the dog’s hearing, which is incredibly important since they rely on their hearing much more than people do. It’s also known that dogs use their ears to communicate.

For these two, very important reasons, most vets won’t recommend ear cropping. There is also a trend amongst vets right now, as more and more veterinarians are refusing to crop ears, saying it’s unethical.

Expert opinion

The most important thing about this question is the opinion of the experts. Experts fully agree that ear clipping should be a thing of the past, as it’s very dangerous and painful for dogs. If the dog’s ears aren’t standing up on their own, then they shouldn’t be forced to stand at all.

Since the governing bodies of dog shows are the ones determining this look, they’re the ones responsible for so many dogs going through so much pain, not to mention the health dangers ear clipping poses. The purpose of ear clipping is exclusively aesthetic, it has absolutely nothing to do with functionality, and it’s terribly detrimental to the dogs that are actually suffering from this.

When it comes to the procedure itself, even though the dog is asleep through it, it’ll be in constant pain for days after the procedure is over with.

Ear Cropping In American Bulldogs

The trend of cropping ears of American Bulldogs is completely unnecessary and it’s even punishable by law in some countries. However, it’s still done on an everyday level. According to the breed standard, their ears don’t have to be cropped. It’s even preferred for the ears to be natural, not cropped.

Many breeders do the exact opposite – they crop their dog’s ears on purpose. This is all done in an attempt to make the dog look more fierce and dangerous. Although this might be appealing to some dog owners, is it worth the pain and the health dangers ear cropping poses?

This, however, isn’t even the worst practice when it comes to ear cropping. There’s also the practice of sharpening the dog’s ears. The details of this are quite gruesome, but some dog breeders take a scalpel and cut excess skin from the dog’s ears to make them pointier for them to look sharper and more dangerous.

This practice is appalling, very dangerous, and extremely painful for the dog. However, it is still done as some dog owners are more than willing to pay good money for the breeder to provide them with a ‘dangerous-looking’ American Bulldog.

To End

To end, remember that ear cropping is a very painful and dangerous process that ultimately serves no purpose to the dog. The only thing you’re achieving is actively causing pain to your dog and a slightly more menacing-looking aesthetic. Ear cropping has become so frowned upon that some countries are even banning it completely (as they should).

Additionally, the cropping of the ears is only traditional with some breeds – it’s not necessary to crop your American Bulldog’s ears, as the breed standard doesn’t require it at all.

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