The Ten Reasons We Crop All Our Puppies' Ears
Personal Preferences:
- We prefer the alert look of a crop-eared Schnauzer;
- Part of our lines uniqueness is their cropped ears
- you know a Keygolde dog in public before you actually have met the dog and confirmed its lineage;
- With the exception of our "show" prospects…
- Keygolde Schnauzer ear crops require only a minimal amount of posting
- ….the teething period - which lasts from 16 weeks of age until about 25 weeks of age – when the posting will have to be monitored closely.
Health Reasons:
- Cropped ears are less likely to become chronically infected – this is especially true if your Schnauzer is a lover of all things water;
- Cropped ears are less likely to be injured in a fight or while involved in outdoor sports or sporting activities;
- Setting a natural ear properly requires…
- persistent gluing of the ear to the cheek of the dog and
- taping of the ears for the first 6 to 8 months of its life
Cold Hard Facts of Life:
- Schnauzers in the United States have never been bred to maximize the ear leather that supports the proper looking "natural ear" ;
- In the Conformation rings, a natural eared Schnauzer is at a great disadvantage to their cropped competitors (especially in California where there are no natural eared Standard Schnauzers being shown and almost no mini schnauzers);
- If your dog is ever lost or stolen, a natural eared dog is still regarded as a "lesser" quality animal by society as a whole.
- This is especially true of persons employed by SPCA, Humane Societies, and animal rescue organizations.
- Crop eared dogs (of any breed) are still regarded as "something special" if someone took the time to crop the dog’s ears….the dog must be special
- Shelters will still make the extra effort to place the crop-eared dog in rescue or keep it off of death row for as long as possible.
- Crop-eared dogs are more easily recognized as our breed – even when filthy and in long coat – the natural eared Schnauzer who is more likely to be identified as a schnauzer-mix by most Animal Rescue organizations.