The Ten Reasons We Crop All Our Puppies' Ears

Personal Preferences:
  1. We prefer the alert look of a crop-eared Schnauzer;
  2. Part of our lines uniqueness is their cropped ears
    1. you know a Keygolde dog in public before you actually have met the dog and confirmed its lineage;
  3. With the exception of our "show" prospects…
    1. Keygolde Schnauzer ear crops require only a minimal amount of posting
    2. ….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:
  1. Cropped ears are less likely to become chronically infected – this is especially true if your Schnauzer is a lover of all things water;
  2. Cropped ears are less likely to be injured in a fight or while involved in outdoor sports or sporting activities;
  3. Setting a natural ear properly requires…
    1. persistent gluing of the ear to the cheek of the dog and
    2. taping of the ears for the first 6 to 8 months of its life
Cold Hard Facts of Life:
  1. Schnauzers in the United States have never been bred to maximize the ear leather that supports the proper looking "natural ear" ;
  2. 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);
  3. 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.
    1. This is especially true of persons employed by SPCA, Humane Societies, and animal rescue organizations.
    2. 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
    3. 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.
  4. 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.