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 small 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. No pain at all. I attended one session, and when the pup was awake he was licking me, jumping on me wanting to play with no idea what happened.
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 is back at home in a few hours. He is stitched up
and tapped with a protective cone around it!! The risk of
bleeding or infection is much greater if he stepped on a
piece of broken glass in the backyard.
Sure you probably will find someone who died during a
tooth removal surgery!! but, in real life I never heard of or
knew of a Dane who had a problem having his ears done
by a qualified vet.
The very large and heavy ears hanging on his head - which
is against nature and is a man-made problem, is in my
opinion far more dangerous in the long term.
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, but the ears were kept down. Look at our Cleopatra's mom "Warda"; 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 inhabit 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) The dark, sweating un-aired ear promotes ear infections beyond what most people think.
Such warm, dark, moist condition is a perfect bacteria farm that allows organism to
multiply in just 20 minutes without washing & drying - and, similar to what happens in the
digestive system, bacteria will multiply up to 1000 times in just 2 hours. This makes ear
infections very common and, even when not visible, the Danes suffers irritation in silence.
As well, the side effect of such organism will go beyond ear problems. It will cause several
other health issues, some of which are severe to the point of influencing the Dane's
immunity and life span. Remember, Danes naturally had pointed ears (so do all wild dogs
in nature) and it's us who introduced this problem to several breeds. Simply, it is cruel not
to do it unless you are prepared to provide daily care several times a day.
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.
But, if you refuse to accept that, I am sure you'll find a vet
who will agree with you - likely because he doesn't do the
procedure. The 3 vets I deal with support this report.
4) A case brought to my attention recently. Uncropped ears showing
one ear larger than the other. I looked into it. I also consulted with
a European friend breeder and two vet friends. Apparently, this
is common. These large floppy ears are man-made as I explained,
and the gene representing it is relatively young and - shall I say -
inexperienced. In addition, any minor difference in the flexibility of
point the ear cartilage makes a different support angle, a different height
where the ear falls back. This slight difference, reflects what would
also exaggerate the appearance difference in size. This apparently is
very common in beagles more than Danes.
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!
I just have to re-emphasize a point, the concern abut cruelty. The pup is under the care of an anesthetist, he feels nothing, and when he is up, he wants to play not aware of what happened. I want you watch this video. This is a video of a Dane underwent a serious surgery with a major abdominal cut, yet, 20 minutes later he is up and fine, and the following day leading a normal life.
Remember, you are not exposing the pup to danger
any where near this serious case.The ears cropping is a very simple procedure.
A final point.
We recommend you use a vet who has done ears cropping in the past and has solid experience. The difference will be how easy the ears will be erected. Some breeders do it themselves and that's just wrong. It has to be a vet and an experienced vet in fact. My most recent pup, Ra, was cropped late at about 12 weeks which is late (vets wanted it done at 6 to maximum 8 weeks). The vet placed a cup on his head against which the ears were taped up. The cup was removed after 12 days, this was when the stitches were removed, and the ears were taped for one single week and that was it, there was no further taping after that except for a narrow tape - one ring around the top of the ears for 4 days. That's it, and the ears are perfectly erected. No foam rod, no wrapping, no taping, nothing ... done. It's because how the vet shaped the ear and joined the two ends of the ear at the base. (see pictures in that library section).
I have just had an applicant write me worried about how long and how much work it'll take to have the ears perfectly erect. She said she read up on it and other sites say 5 months!
Well, I have never ever had a pup that took longer than 5 weeks, not 5 months!!! As I said, my last pup, Ra who is now 6 months old, had his ears up and tape free after one week following the removal of stitches, except for a simple narrow tape (something like the 1/2 inch electric tape or Scotch tape) a ring around the middle of the ear kept for another week.
If the ears are done by an experienced vet applying a good technique (the base area is wide and cone-- shaped to build a strong foundation support) and you adopt my simple taping technique explained on this site - (not do it your way) - it could be as little at 2-3 weeks, or even less, before the ears are up. 5 weeks should be the maximum I could ever imagine (and never experienced) - certainly not 5 months!!!! The reason others struggle for so long is a combination of a wrong cut and a wrong taping technique. This is not an opinion, it's a first-hand experience.
Another factor, the pre-birth mother diet during pregnancy and the pups' diet during the first 4 weeks of their life make a major difference in the healthy tissue, bones and cartilage development of our pups. Perhaps this is a factor as why commercial breeders pups take so long for the ears to stand straight up.
We'll recommend a vet to you if you tell us you want it done. We don't ask you to do it. We don't have the right to pressure you to do it; neither should we. It's your Dane, your decision and we don't even discuss it. Only if you want help, we'll help if you don't have a vet in your area that does it. (To my knowledge, there is only one vet on the Island, one in Vancouver and one in Prince George who administer it)..
It is entirely up to you, and as I said, it is just a different look, different form of beauty and if you think it shouldn't be done and you are welling to offer adequate daily care, it's your opinion that counts.
Now, to end it with a light-hearted comment ...
as I say to my son: "you have your opinion, I have my fact"!!!!
All the best & warm regards;
Paul
