My answer pure & simple? crop!
I'll revisit this page later with a detailed presentation. I just had to enter this quick report in point format, written to satisfy a couple of inquiries.
1- It's painful & cruel:
No it is NOT. The pup does not feel a thing, he has no idea what happened, he is put under anesthesia - which for a pup, is a small, simple safe dose, the same dose he would get by any vet to treat other problems such as a skin growth removal or a minor tooth surgery .. and when he is awake, he is under pain killer, the same simple Tylenol you would give your kid if he falls off his bike.
2- I prefer the natural look:
Then you should crop the Dane's ears. In nature, all wild dogs have pointed ears. Only breeds developed by men have floppy ears. The Dane's ears naturally have always been fox-like but longer pointed ears as you see in ancient drawings - and it was only a recent medieval development when the current Dane was crossed with such breeds as the hound and mastiff to achieve certain characteristic changes, and only then the over-sized large flopping ears were produced - by man. Cropping is a way back to nature.
3- It's potentially dangerous:
Another myth!
The fact is, this is a simple cosmetic surgery and
the pup can be back at home in a few hours. Sure he
can bleed more than expected, and you probably will find
someone who died during a tooth removal surgery!! but I
never heard of or knew of a Dane that had a problem
having his ears done by a qualified vet; and certainly a
Dane can have a problem if even he just steps on broken
glass and needed stitching.
The argument is not a fair one.
4- I like the looks of a good Dane I saw with non-cropped ears:
If you saw a Dane in a magazine or a famous stud, chances are, his ears are cropped, just the ears were kept down. Look at our Cleopatra's mom "Warda" on our home page; you may think she has uncropped ears, but they were cropped otherwise they would be about 3 times as large, something like a spaniel or a beagle.
5- Why do it?:
a) Health reasons.
b) cosmetic & image reasons.
a) This procedure was compared by a vet to circumcision in men. In most countries (as well as here in
North America), boys are circumcised at a young age. More than a hygiene concern; the extra rolled
skin creates perfect bacteria pockets that inhabits bacteria multiplication in as little as one hour
without washing; a simple scientific fact. In Danes, and I'll address this in details and with medical
reports when I re-visit the page, the large hanging skin over the ears creates three problems for the
Dane:
1) a dark, sweating un-aired ear promoting ear infections.
2) the common and serious problem caused by the action of the ear skin flopping on the
ears when the Dane is running, which causes serious hearing and ear drum damage in
Danes.
3) the harm done un-intentionally to the Dane by other dogs playing with the Dane, and
using the easy target of a large area of loose skin to grab the Dane by the ear.
All three problems or injuries are very common, says the vet.
b) Al-Basha's famous 2000 voters survey reported as follows:
1- Two identical twins, one with ears cropped and the other left hanging over
the head.
2- Five pictures of 5 Danes, each Dane has two pictures, a real picture
showing whether crop-eared or not, and a professionally graphically
altered picture where cropped ears were inserted. People were not told
it's the same Dane and were asked which Dane is seen more graceful,
attractive and has a better head structure.
3- Solicited opinions of all 4 judges at ADE 2005 on which Dane shows
better and which is generally preferred by judges.
The results are surprising! Remember, we are talking about identical - or even
actually the very same Dane! Over 99% were in favour of the cropped ears
Dane. All judges admitted that a crop-eared Dane would show better, appear
more gracefully and attractive and would score better.
Simply, you can take one of our pups with the same head formation and bone structure as our Nifi, Anubis or Cleo and who would look as graceful and as impressive as them if you have the ears cropped and standing and his head is shown; but without cropping the ears, don't expect them to have the same image and no way he would look as good, as impressive as our Danes.
I think I made my opinion clear; but, it's your opinion that counts, and if you prefer large floppy hanging ears; and are willing to take the extra ears care required, that's up to you. I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
