Ear cropping for dogs is a surgical operation to correct the shape, which is carried out for decorative or therapeutic purposes. Although the debate about the need for cropping continues all the time, many owners take this step to ensure that the appearance of the dog meets breed standards.
Ear cropping was common for hunting and fighting dogs. It was made so that the appearance of a dog with cautiously protruding ears was more formidable, and it was impossible to bite for them, and also so that tree branches, thorns and thorns did not cling to the ears during the hunt. Many of these breeds have ear and tail docking standards. Correction of the auricle is made for some other breeds, for example, for schnauzers or decorative Yorkshire terriers.
Ears are cropped for puppies at different ages. For Central Asian and Caucasian Shepherd Dogs, the auricle is almost completely cut off at 2-3 days from birth, and sometimes during childbirth. This operation can be performed even without anesthesia. When it is carried out at 1, 5-2 months, anesthesia is already done without fail. For breeds with a more complex auricle shape, surgery is done 40-45 days before vaccinations are given. After the operation, the puppy needs special care, he will need to purchase a special collar that will protect his ears from scratching.
Before the operation, the dog needs to be fed no later than 10-12 hours before you go to the clinic. The postoperative dressing, if applied by the veterinarian, can be removed after 3-4 hours, in some cases it is not applied at all. The stitches are removed after 2 weeks. Postoperative complications include inflammation, bleeding, scarring, and suture thickening, which are common in dogs with late ear cropped.
No change in diet or walking is required for a dog that has undergone ear cropping surgery. The main task of the owner is to control the condition of the ears and the postoperative suture. A special collar should be put on it immediately after the operation and removed only after the wounds have completely healed. Sutures and wounds should be treated with bath tampons soaked in 1% alcohol solution of brilliant green, 3% hydrogen peroxide solution or a weak solution of calendula tincture. Periodically, they should be treated with streptocide powder - for this, simply crush the tablet. Veterinarians do not recommend the use of corticosteroids to treat wounds so as not to increase their healing time.
For setting the ears, in some cases, horns are used, which are made by gluing each ear of the dog in a spiral with an adhesive plaster and fixing them together. The dog must wear such "horns" for at least 2 weeks. If the ears tilt forward or backward at first, do not worry, after a while the muscles supporting them will get stronger and the ears will stand up straight.
