Should I have my puppy's ears cropped?
We do not have the puppy's ears cropped before going home. It will be the new owner's responsibility to find a vet and set up an appointment to have it done once the pup is with them.
Natural ears are becoming more and more popular in the United States, especially for pets. There have even been a few natural eared Danes to finish their AKC Championships. We love the look of both and feel that cropping should be a personal, educated decision.
There are many draw backs to cropping your Great Dane's ears, such as:
* The risk of death due to putting the pup to sleep at such an incredibly young age for the procedure.
* Cropped ears can be very difficult to make stand correctly.
* Many vets are unfamiliar with Great Dane cropping, and an ugly crop is there for life.
* It is also very expensive to have a vet who is notable for doing a good job on Dane ears perform the procedure, and you will often times have to travel long distances for the surgery and weekly check-ups for 6-8 weeks! For example: We have to travel 3 1/2 hours to the closest notable Vet and the procedure costs about $450.
On the flip side, a good show crop looks great!!! There is also the point of breed recognition; most people think of a Great Dane as being cropped!