Hello everyone! I am new here! My name is Shana (pronounced like Shayna), I am 28, and I live in Erie, Colorado with my husband and stepdaughter. I have a Bernese Mountain Dog named Murray, and he is my baby! I swear, he's like my son! I don't know what I would do without him. I also have a big kitty and a baby iguana. I look forward to getting to know some people on here and reading and sharing our stories. I do have one question that I would like to start off with. I have been wondering for a long time, and even more lately, so that I just have to know the answer.... what is the point of docking tails and cropping ears in certain breeds of dogs??? I sure would like to know what you all think about this! Well, I am off to explore this site for now.... hopefully make some new friends! Post more later!
~Shana

[wishbone]

Hello Shana, welcome to ILD. I was off knowledge too about docking and cropping of dogs until I saw this article, hope this could also give you few knowledge:
Docking and Cropping

[Yogi]

with my breed this was common place. Miniature Pinschers were in a sense the original feral cat of German Farms. Over the last 300 years farmers generally docked tails on farm and herding dogs to avoid the event of broken tail generally result of being stepped on by live stock. With ear cropping, German farmers were constantly having to clip off and mend torn ears on Miniature Pinschers caused by rat bites when they would chase them into holes and burrows. Over time they started to just cut the loose area off thus cropping. The German Pinscher (no relation to the Miniature Pinscher, until about 50 years ago) was born with natural floppy ears. Bred for 2 purposes, ratting and guard found the ear cropping and docking essential. Karl Frederich Louis Dobermann purportedly liked the appearance of the German Pinscher and the tenacity but wanted a larger version so commenced breeding one to one of his Rot breed stock and to the French herding dog the Beaurceron. He wanted the ears cropped due to the appearance of the German Pinscher. The appearance was one that led people to believe it was fierce and made for a good guard dog appearance. The Miniature Pinscher (zwerpinscher) and German Pinscher (Deutscher Pinscher) required these changes for working purposes. Many of mine that I formerly bred over the years along with the Australian Shepherds I bred have had docking and cropping as sold to farmers and ranchers. Though AKC no longer requires cropping on Miniature Pinschers, most breeders still stick to the old breed standard.

like me i also lack of knowledge about that can you share more.thanks. welcome to the forum.

Hi, welcome to the forum. In my opinion if they are not working dogs it is just a cosmetic issue and should not be done.----Aggy

[lil mutt]

some owners crop their dog's ears to make it cuter or something like that... i never tried it with my pets by the way, welcome to ILD.

Thank you all for your informative responses. I now understand why docking and cropping was done in the past, but do you think it is still necessary today? Do you think it is cruel or inhumane? Just wanted to get some opinions on this subject. Thanks again!

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by sjmaretzky

Thank you all for your informative responses. I now understand why docking and cropping was done in the past, but do you think it is still necessary today? Do you think it is cruel or inhumane? Just wanted to get some opinions on this subject. Thanks again!

Though the AKC no longer requires ear cropping with regards to the Miniature Pinscher tail docking is still required. Though if you wish to show it is still advisable to crop the ears, granted not required but I have not seen any natural ears yet in conformation and show. Tail docking is still recommended and will probably always be done on working breeds when these breeds are used for hunting, herding etc. An adult tail when broken is serious and amputation can lead to serious nerve damage and sometimes death.