# First bully, first crop, WORRIED!



## ETlopez (Nov 19, 2017)

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum and I apologize if I'm posting in the wrong area. I recently got my first bully and she had her ears cropped on 11/9. This is also my first ear crop, and while I tried to go into this prepared, I'm realizing after the fact that I simply have a lot to learn - many things I wish I'd known prior to the crop. So here I come with ear crop questions... please excuse my ignorance as I'm here to learn.

Back story on how I got to this point: I chose this vet to do the ear crop based off the recommendations of several bully owners whose dogs had nice crops. The vet is an hour and a half from me; I didn't just drive down to the nearest/cheapest vet who would crop. When I called to schedule the crop she was 7 weeks old, and the soonest they could get me in was at 13.5 weeks. I was assured by the vet and by other bully owners that this would be okay, so I made the appointment although it was outside the 8-12 week window I was shooting for. When we went to get the crop done, the pre-op bloodwork showed elevated kidney values so we did not crop. It turned out to be a bad UTI, and it took a week and a half to flush her kidneys, administer antibiotics, change her diet, and recheck blood. The vet still tells me I can proceed to have the crop done - assures me she's not too old and that the crop will go well. She said I "had plenty of time". So, the crop happens on 11/9, and she was almost 15 weeks.

My main concern at this point is the rate of healing and the stitching. I'm worried that she may have been too old, the ear too thick, and the stitching inadequate to allow for smooth healing. Like I said, however, this is my first crop and I just don't know. When I picked her up, all I was told was "watch for redness and swelling, give these meds (carprofen and cephalexin) and come back in 10 days for stitch removal". We're supposed to return Monday to get the stitches out, but the ears don't seem to be healing in time for that. I've noticed that they're "closed up"/healed at the tips, where the stitching had pulled together the inside and outside skin. But along the sides of the ear, there's a wide gap of open, exposed wound. Is this because the ear was too thick at the time of the crop? Incorrect stitching? Am I worried for no reason?

At first I left them alone. I was told at the vet's office that they'd scab and the scabs would fall off; they didn't say anything about cleaning. After several days, I started cleaning them with Bactine and applying Neosporin, because I realized that there was no real scab forming, just a thick dried crust harboring puss underneath. This makes them sound infected, and though they may have been headed in that direction, they were not infected. But the crust that was forming was certainly NOT a scab. Since I've begun cleaning them, they seem to be healing better. At this point, my pup let's me clean them without any problem or assistance; she seems to actually like it.

Here's a picture of her today, 9 days after the crop. Black color on eat tips is normal scab, about to fall off. Her ears look "moist" or a little slimy because I applied Neosporin not long ago. I just want to know from people with experience how it seems to be healing. Also... One ear looks larger to me (folded in further). What do you guys think of the crop itself? All I knew was 4 crop styles - battle, short, show, and long. I'm only now learning about this "bell" deal and that there's much more specificity to crops than I knew about before. I think she's great no matter what, and to me the crop looks good (aside from this one ear possibly bigger business). But, opinions? 

















Thanks in advance! Sorry for such a long first post.

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## Indie (Sep 29, 2010)

Looks fine. You can't leave the stitches in too long, or there will be marks on the edges. They aren't half bad as far as standing straight up, but they definitely need some posting to stretch her left ear out. Make sure your vet walks you through that process. I would classify her crop as a short crop, but it has a nice amount of bell left.


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## ETlopez (Nov 19, 2017)

Indie said:


> Looks fine. You can't leave the stitches in too long, or there will be marks on the edges. They aren't half bad as far as standing straight up, but they definitely need some posting to stretch her left ear out. Make sure your vet walks you through that process. I would classify her crop as a short crop, but it has a nice amount of bell left.


Thanks Indie for your input. I'm not really sure what you mean by posting to stretch the ear... Can you explain? At this point I do not trust the vet that did the surgery to walk me through anything. I would not even have seen the vet, but I insisted when I dropped her off what I would wait as long as needed to talk to the vet. Apparently, most people only ever see the tech, and even then nothing is explained. The lady that answers phones is the one who told me about aftercare at pickup. The tech just handed her to me and walked away, and I never saw the vet post-op. To me, this is a bad sign and I would not use this vet again in the future.

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## EckoMac (Aug 25, 2010)

This thread has a lot of good info on how to post ears with mole skin.

http://www.gopitbull.com/health-nutrition/25340-mole-skin-ear-cropping-post.html


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