# Ears



## BLUE PIT BULL MAN (May 22, 2009)

What is the benafits of cropping the ears on your pit? How old should your pup be? can you get them done when they are adults? and what type of cuts are they? i have heard of war cut and game cut but have no idea what that means. please any info will help!


----------



## Bully_Boy_Joe (Jul 7, 2008)

Well I myself don't really see any benefits besides the fact that it looks KOOL! Lol but seroiusly there a couple of cropping styles like battle, show, short, long, medium just to name a few. Somebody should be posting a diagram for you pretty soon.


----------



## RUCA.AND.ZION (Jul 7, 2009)

i dont believe there are any benefits...its all cosmetic. i am not really for it..that's just my opinion..but zion is my boyfriends dog and he was going to do it regardless of if I said yea do it or don't. we got his ears done when he was 3 months old. we were both there for everything..and being the big baby i am..i was crying the whole time. haha. but his ears do look nice..and our dr./vet did a great job.


----------



## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

I have owned the breed for over 15 years and I have cropped most of my dogs ears because I hate to see a great looking APBT with goofy ears. But this is all JMO and I have no problem with cropping ears. The only benefit I can think of is cropped dogs will have less ear infections that natural eared dogs. That is only because the ear can breath and natural ears can make an environment that yest loves. It have never been proven medically but ask anyone that has had multiple APBT's with natural and cropped and they will say this.

Puppies should be done at 12-16 weeks ideally but I have done them as late as 19 weeks. I do not like doing adult ears as you have to crop them short because the cartilage is already formed. Many vets will not crop and adult unless medically necessary.

Here is the different types of crops








I do the # 2 or #3 crop on my dogs.


----------



## Brandys_BabyJayda (May 27, 2009)

yeah cropping is completely cosmetic ..these days at least back when they were used for fighting more so than now it was let to grab. Its also a signature. You have a dog thats ohh say solid black with uncropped ears ppl are more likely to call it a lab....now vice verse more likely to call it a pit.

Like i said completely cosmetic can turn a sweet looking dog into a don't f*c* with me looking dog....at least until you throw your hand out for the slobber bath lol


----------



## outlaw josey (Jun 20, 2009)

*Love Josey's ears*

My Josey is probably a mix, but just love her ears. They just go with her goofy personality.


----------



## BLUE PIT BULL MAN (May 22, 2009)

performanceknls said:


> I have owned the breed for over 15 years and I have cropped most of my dogs ears because I hate to see a great looking APBT with goofy ears. But this is all JMO and I have no problem with cropping ears. The only benefit I can think of is cropped dogs will have less ear infections that natural eared dogs. That is only because the ear can breath and natural ears can make an environment that yest loves. It have never been proven medically but ask anyone that has had multiple APBT's with natural and cropped and they will say this.
> 
> Puppies should be done at 12-16 weeks ideally but I have done them as late as 19 weeks. I do not like doing adult ears as you have to crop them short because the cartilage is already formed. Many vets will not crop and adult unless medically necessary.
> 
> ...


So you do it your self is it hard and does it take alot to stop the bleeding?
Do you do it with the dog awake?


----------



## Indigo Bully Connection (Dec 21, 2006)

She takes them to the vet. The dog should be fully anesthesized during the procedure which is why most vets wait until the pups are 3-4 months old so it's safer putting them under. I've seen people get their dogs ears done as an adult... i personally would prefer mine to be done at 3 months of age, but my vet requires them to be at least 4 months old. The way she explains it to me, the pups head shape starts to show as well as the cartilledge in the ears are thicker, but not too thick to train if need be.

Ohhh yeah, the crop requires either stitches or cauterization... the only way for your pup to not bleed would be to have the vet cauterize the ears instead of stitch them. My vet personally does an amazing stitch job. The dogs ears come out wrapped so tight their incisions look like little candy canes. Stitches generally let the ear heal on it's own so there's no room for human error with the cauterizer.


----------



## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

NEVER do it your self I go to a vet. It is illegal to do it yourself and frankly you cannot get the puppy to be still enough to get a perfectly straight crop. You also run the risk of infection and bleeding out.


----------



## BLUE PIT BULL MAN (May 22, 2009)

performanceknls said:


> NEVER do it your self I go to a vet. It is illegal to do it yourself and frankly you cannot get the puppy to be still enough to get a perfectly straight crop. You also run the risk of infection and bleeding out.


thank you... i thought you were saying you did it your self. thats why i asked it sounded risky to me too...:hammer: I tried to give you some rep but it said i need to spread the love.


----------



## underdog (Aug 18, 2009)

THANKS FOR THE INFO ON EAR CROPING!!!!!! im a frist time pit owner and LOVE IT!! love this site


----------



## Jaz's dad (Aug 12, 2009)

Aren't the dogs with cropped ears more prone to ear infection due to the ear canals exposed to the open with no protection ?

I can't get ears cropped here unless it's medically necesary.


----------



## BLUE PIT BULL MAN (May 22, 2009)

I think its the oposite but im not sure.


----------



## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Lou Rob said:


> Aren't the dogs with cropped ears more prone to ear infection due to the ear canals exposed to the open with no protection ?
> 
> I can't get ears cropped here unless it's medically necessary.


Just the opposite. A natural ear keeps moisture in and be a perfect environment for yeast and then you have an ear infection.
A cropped ear allows the ear canal to breathe and you will see less ear infections on cropped dogs.
Now I do have a dog with cropped ears that gets ear infections all the time. The vet that copped her ear made her ear canal too small and just like a natural ear it traps moisture.

It is not medically necessary but rather the owners preference in the look of the dog.


----------



## Jaz's dad (Aug 12, 2009)

I stand corrected. Thanks for explaining.


----------



## Mcleod15 (Jul 17, 2009)

performanceknls said:


> I do the # 2 or #3 crop on my dogs.


I took this exact same diagram to my vet when I got Red's ears done, My pup was 10 weeks when his were ears done. That particular vet wouldn't do the battle crop, that was the first thing he said after looking at the diagram.


----------



## PIT_MOMMA (Oct 24, 2009)

They also have the crop that is like #3 on the diagram but is curved in slightly; they call it the Devil crop here in my area and I like it alot. If I ever got me a 3rd pup I would get the devil crop it looks wicked! Personally I love my babies natural ears, they look so adorable!


----------



## BLUE PIT BULL MAN (May 22, 2009)

PIT_MOMMA said:


> They also have the crop that is like #3 on the diagram but is curved in slightly; they call it the Devil crop here in my area and I like it alot. If I ever got me a 3rd pup I would get the devil crop it looks wicked! Personally I love my babies natural ears, they look so adorable!


kinda like this but a little more curve meaning less bell?


----------



## Leon (Apr 28, 2009)

Its a cosmetic procedure, its something you do for yourself not the dog. I did it on my first dog, and man did i feel like a selfish bastard afterwards. I mean i am not saying its bad for the dog, because he never even seemed to notice it, but just looking at him, the fad of getting it done immediately just wore off.


----------



## PIT_MOMMA (Oct 24, 2009)

BLUE PIT BULL MAN said:


> kinda like this but a little more curve meaning less bell?


Ya sorta; It make them look like they have devil horns!

I seen a dog just the other day that had a Battle Crop, i personally think that crop is too short but JMO!


----------



## JFlowersLA (Oct 14, 2009)

Grr! I can't decide if I want to take Jonezie in for hers. I have till she's 8 months with my vet, but I'd rather do it at 4 months. I just can't decide!! I just got done gluing her ears to a Rose Prick that's perfect now. But I'm still debating...:hammer:


----------



## PIT_MOMMA (Oct 24, 2009)

LMAO, I know the feeling! Here is the devil crop, I copied and pasted it from google  Just a tad too curved in for my taste though... but it gives you an idea of what im shooting for!


----------



## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

That's interesting I never have seen that called a devil cut, the ears lay down on top of the head because they were not properly taped not that they were cut like that.


----------



## American_Pit13 (Apr 23, 2007)

performanceknls said:


> That's interesting I never have seen that called a devil cut, the ears lay down on top of the head because they were not properly taped not that they were cut like that.


Lol thats what I was gonna say... Its just a bad crop.


----------



## PIT_MOMMA (Oct 24, 2009)

performanceknls said:


> That's interesting I never have seen that called a devil cut, the ears lay down on top of the head because they were not properly taped not that they were cut like that.


The picture is not the best of example, like I said its not so laid down on the dogs head, they are just slightly tiped in at the top of the ears. Its how they wrap it I guess... When I took Gauge into the vet right after I got him a gentlman was sitting next to me with his wife and his dogs ears was all done and I ask him what he called that sorta crop and he told me. He told me the vet clinic that did it and rattled off some other croppings I've never herd of. I can't remember the name of the clinic he menchioned but maybe he was just pulling my leg? I don't know but I like how his dogs ears came out, weather it was an accident or not.


----------

