# Ear Clipping-- pit bulls why???



## aschm01 (Sep 17, 2009)

I hope I'm not posting in the wrong place, but I need a quick answer.  Why clip a pit bull's ears? Is this like tail docking-- injury prevention?  Is this customary for hunting reasons?  Purely aesthetic reasons?  Dog fighting? All the web searches go right to the ethics and I'm not clear on the true reason why... seems aesthetic, but most pit bulls I see around here have kind of in between ears that don't really stand up. I thought the practice was out of fashion somewhat and that most prefer a natural ears.

I was fed a crazy story by someone today and I really need to verify as much as possible.  This stranger accused one of my neighbors of "dog-napping" and he was going on about how much effort and money he had put into his dog and just paid $500 to have the ears clipped.  That is expensive for aesthetics, don't you think?  Or is this customary? The dog indeed was loose in the neighborhood within the past 2 days and was seen in the neighbor's enclosure sometime last week.  We just don't understand what is going on and some stories aren't matching up.  No one knows the accused neighbors and both parties seem so questionable.  Why would someone randomly steal a pit bull with clipped ears, transport him 50 minutes to our bucolic neighborhood and then let him get loose?...seems dangerous to me. 

Oh and it gets even weirder... the stranger claims to have consulted a psychic to track his dog to my neighborhood and he claims to be a medic/firefighter and insists that after meeting my neighbors they are dangerous "Meth-Heads" and that he can tell because of their eyes... and he contacted me and suggested I call the police and so forth.... Any thoughts on what a supposed "meth-head" would want with a male pit bull who fairly recently had his ears clipped?  Supposedly the stranger did not know the accused thief.


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## lungbuster123 (Sep 17, 2009)

Idk about $500 but getting their ears clipped the right way can cost afew dollars I dont think ive ever seen a price of $500 just for cropping their ears though


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## swamp (Sep 17, 2009)

*Standards*

Huh Im confused, clipping ears should not cost 500 no more than 200!  As far as clipping ears it is personal preference some prefer because it gives them a clean look.  Tail docking is a fault by most dog registry (ADBA, UKC) standards.  





aschm01 said:


> I hope I'm not posting in the wrong place, but I need a quick answer.  Why clip a pit bull's ears? Is this like tail docking-- injury prevention?  Is this customary for hunting reasons?  Purely aesthetic reasons?  Dog fighting? All the web searches go right to the ethics and I'm not clear on the true reason why... seems aesthetic, but most pit bulls I see around here have kind of in between ears that don't really stand up. I thought the practice was out of fashion somewhat and that most prefer a natural ears.
> 
> I was fed a crazy story by someone today and I really need to verify as much as possible.  This stranger accused one of my neighbors of "dog-napping" and he was going on about how much effort and money he had put into his dog and just paid $500 to have the ears clipped.  That is expensive for aesthetics, don't you think?  Or is this customary? The dog indeed was loose in the neighborhood within the past 2 days and was seen in the neighbor's enclosure sometime last week.  We just don't understand what is going on and some stories aren't matching up.  No one knows the accused neighbors and both parties seem so questionable.  Why would someone randomly steal a pit bull with clipped ears, transport him 50 minutes to our bucolic neighborhood and then let him get loose?...seems dangerous to me.
> 
> Oh and it gets even weirder... the stranger claims to have consulted a psychic to track his dog to my neighborhood and he claims to be a medic/firefighter and insists that after meeting my neighbors they are dangerous "Meth-Heads" and that he can tell because of their eyes... and he contacted me and suggested I call the police and so forth.... Any thoughts on what a supposed "meth-head" would want with a male pit bull who fairly recently had his ears clipped?  Supposedly the stranger did not know the accused thief.


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## hoochfisher (Sep 17, 2009)

ear clipping is part of breed standards for pitts. they can be clipped or not acording to the standards. 

as i understand, most hunters have them done as injury prevention. 

folks that dont hunt, nor fight(like me) have them done for illness prevention as they tend to stay cleaner most times. the lesser end of the reason is just for the looks.


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## southern_pride (Sep 17, 2009)

We do it mainly for the looks.
We show our dogs(and do quite well) and in the show ring, you'll see very few dogs with natural ears win or even place.
As far as the cost. It can very widely. I've seen it priced from 95.00 to over 1200.00. Alot of vets are begining to shy away from it because it's not taught in vet school. I asked one of our vets(a recent UGA grad) where/how he learned,  he said at his office by messing up a bunch!!


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## K9SAR (Sep 17, 2009)

A quality ear cropping from a reputable Veterinarian will cost somewhere between $250 - $400 generally.  I know that there is a Veterinarian in Stone Mountain that charges about $350 for a proper ear cropping: the whole works, bloodwork prior to to ensure the proper anesthesia amounts, anesthesia, surgery, pain medication, etc.  

We will be getting our Staffie's ears cropped as we plan on showing and titling him.

Back to the very confusing "dog-nap" story:

1) What are the leash/at-large laws for the county/city in which you live?
2) Can the supposed owner provide proof that the dog is his? Photographs? Veterinary records? Registration papers?
3) Has the supposed dog owner bothered to contact Animal Control? The local Law Enforcement agency? 

If the medic, or whatever he is, claims the persons are "meth-heads," why is he asking YOU to call the Police? It would sound pretty darn stupid, "Hello, I think these people are Meth addicts.....how do I know?  well a guy that consulted a psychic about a missing dog went over there and told me they were.......yeah....he then told me to call the Police and report them."


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## aschm01 (Sep 17, 2009)

Hey guys thanks for the input: 
We decided that calling the police was premature because as you pointed out the psychic + hearsay **** was unconvincing. We tracked down the landlord and found a neighbor who knew the landlord personally and had that neighbor discuss matters with him. Today he conducted a spot check of the residents and was unhappy with the way the house was being kept and late rent etc., however he found no evidence of meth use or manufacture, so he did not contact police but he's not renewing their lease and making them move out this month.  

He did verify in part the dog story.  They claim the dog would get out and come and stay with them for days at a time when they used to live near the medic-accuser, so on a lark when up that way they took him from his enclosure and brought him back and put him in their (really ratty looking) enclosure... basically chicken wire surrounding an old vegetable garden with no dog house or shelter.  This the dog was able to escape from and wander around in our lovely little neighborhood of good citizens with many toddlers. So it seems we are dealing with trash vs. trash.  As for why this medic is so attached to a dog that he is accused of neglecting... we will never know.  I called him and found out that he did get his dog back from the Homewood pound.  At this point it is unclear who is telling the truth.  Both told stories that did not completely make sense.  I hope this is the end of it.  If the dog reappears we will take him to a local rehoming organization that can handle situations like this and will not turn a dog back over to an owner who shows signs of neglect.  I checked up on the lost animal registry and it was never reported stolen.  Thanks again guys... we have to just hope the dog will be OK.


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## K9SAR (Sep 18, 2009)

aschm01 said:


> so on a lark when up that way they took him from his enclosure and brought him back and put him in their (really ratty looking) enclosure...



Why would they go and get the dog out of its existing enclosure and bring it to theirs?  Kinda called trespassing, theft by taking...


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## BSC Libertarian (Sep 19, 2009)

And I thought my neighborhood was weird


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## aschm01 (Sep 19, 2009)

(sigh) I know... It really is a good neighborhood... it's just these rental properties... I'm monitoring the situation to make sure that landlord makes good on his promise to get rid of the "dognappers."  In the meantime mine are staying inside (its raining anyway) and I put locks on all three of my gates this weekend--- just in case.  Probably overkill, but I feel better taking the extra precautions.


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## K9SAR (Sep 20, 2009)

BSC Libertarian said:


> And I thought my neighborhood was weird




LOL no joke!


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## ghill4 (Sep 20, 2009)

ear clippings are only round 200 or less dependin on the vet. 

Its personal feelings on ear clippings but there isnt any real reason other than it just looks good on them. Plus I always found out no too long ago that as soon as the show case for dogs says that clippings of the ears are not necessary, ear clippings are going to be made illegal in georgia. Its just a matter of time. Some internet argusents show that the arguement is at a stand still only because some show cases for dogs prefer clipped ears or something. As soon as they arguement has passed, bye-bye ear clippings in the state of georgia. Which is going to suck because boxers, doberman, pits, great danes.... they look real good with clipped ears!!!

I can see why people think it inhumane but I am real curious on how long it will take for the ear-clip-rebellion to win or lose their arguement. But so far, odds are on their side.


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## K9SAR (Sep 20, 2009)

In my opinion, Georgia has a lot more serious rules and regulations needing to be passed that are a lot more detrimental to the well-being of animals than ear cropping and tail docking.


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## coltday (Sep 23, 2009)

I paid $150 for mine in my avatar. I think they turned out pretty good!


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## K9SAR (Sep 23, 2009)

coltday said:


> I paid $150 for mine in my avatar. I think they turned out pretty good!



I found that when I was looking for a reputable Veterinarian that did a great job on ears, I was catching a lot of static from the Vet's office's receptionists/Vet Techs.  (And that was even after I explained that we would be showing the dog)


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## coltday (Sep 23, 2009)

Some people really doesn't understand. Where I am from in south georgia almost all vet's crop ears. It is just a matter of picking one who you think does the best job!


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## ghill4 (Sep 23, 2009)

coltday your pit is GORGEOUS!! If I ever get another pit, i want one like urs.


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## coltday (Sep 23, 2009)

Thank you very much! He is my baby. Raised him up from 5 weeks old. He is 11 months old in this picture but is a year and 4 months old now.


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## Mackey (Sep 23, 2009)

MY dogs aren't show dogs, three of the five are AKC registered but will never see a show ring. They will never have puppies either. They don't do tricks. All I have these dogs for is the love and companionship they offer. It doesn't matter how much I mess up, they still love me, in return, I just love them back. We play a lot and in general have a great time. I take super care of them because that is what they expect me to do. I have seen some pretty impressive dogs on here, I hope all of you love your dogs like I love mine. They deserve it.


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## COUNTRY MIKE (Sep 23, 2009)

i dont do it personally but i think cropped ears look good people used to dock tails to keep the lowlife dog fighters from stilling them and dog fighters used to clip ears for less for othere dog to grab so ive heard


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## K9SAR (Sep 24, 2009)

Mackey said:


> MY dogs aren't show dogs, three of the five are AKC registered but will never see a show ring. They will never have puppies either. They don't do tricks. All I have these dogs for is the love and companionship they offer. It doesn't matter how much I mess up, they still love me, in return, I just love them back. We play a lot and in general have a great time. I take super care of them because that is what they expect me to do. I have seen some pretty impressive dogs on here, I hope all of you love your dogs like I love mine. They deserve it.



Mine show, do tricks, and are four-legged family members.  You can have all three


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## CFGD (Oct 13, 2009)

K9SAR said:


> I found that when I was looking for a reputable Veterinarian that did a great job on ears, I was catching a lot of static from the Vet's office's receptionists/Vet Techs.  (And that was even after I explained that we would be showing the dog)



those receptionists are a big pain.they think cuz they work for a vet they know everything.i took a pup to the vet once and filled out the form they give you when you bring a dog for the first time,it asked for breed and i wrote "american pit bull terrier"the girl says"oh,i thought that dog was a pit bull."i was like "its the same thing,pit bull is is just the common everyday thing people call them, she was like "no you're wrong". i was literally speechless.lol


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## K9SAR (Oct 13, 2009)

Yeah, I've run into a lot of Vet Techs that think "DVM" follows their name.  

When we moved, we were looking for a quality Vet, popped into one by the house, and they...

1) Spelled both dogs' names wrong...as in different names (when they have documentation in front of them that they were copying from our former Vet)

2) Got their birthdates wrong (again....even though they were looking at documentation)

3) Spelled "German Shepherd" as "German Shepard" (you'd think working in a Vet office, you'd know how to spell dog breeds)

4) Then had the VET lecture on the dangers of owning a German Shepherd, etc.  Did I mention Grimm was 10 weeks old at the time?!


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## CFGD (Oct 13, 2009)

o yes the vets will lecture you like ur a 1st time dog owner.one asked me what i did with my dogs i told him hog hunt,he said i better watch it cause that will make them bloodthirsty,and they were already aggresive dogs.i told him straight up that i had probly been breedin dogs longer than hes been a vet. needless 2 say i dont deal with vets unless absolutely nessecary


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## boothy (Oct 13, 2009)

I got my dogs ears clipped because I like the look of one with cropped ears.  I believe the total cost for the clipping and follow up appointments was around $300


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## Murphy (Oct 13, 2009)

My old pit had his done at the Vet for 85 bucks including the Docking of his tail Which I prefer the look of


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## depthsoftheC (Oct 20, 2009)

best ear cropping job i have ever seen done cost me $65. i think he now does them for 80 or 85 though


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## southern_pride (Oct 21, 2009)

I know alot of ol' "dog men" that have cropped hundreds our thousands more than any vet. I was talking to one of our vets and asked him how many he had cropped, he said less then 20(now keep in mind, this vet has had his practice more than 10 years. He even said he wasn't taught how to in school. Said he learned at his office by"messing up a few". lol


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## K9SAR (Oct 21, 2009)

southernpridepitbulls said:


> I know alot of ol' "dog men" that have cropped hundreds our thousands more than any vet. I was talking to one of our vets and asked him how many he had cropped, he said less then 20(now keep in mind, this vet has had his practice more than 10 years. He even said he wasn't taught how to in school. Said he learned at his office by"messing up a few". lol



I don't know any Veterinary schools off the top of my head that teach ear cropping.  However, I'd rather have ear cropping done by a Vet that has done a few (Dr. Patricia Edwards at River Cliff Veterinary Hospital is one I'd recommend) than just your regular guy.  

I'd also rather have the ears cropped by a Vet JUST in case something should go wrong (infection, etc.).  I don't know too many Vets that wouldn't look down upon someone who brings a dog in with ear cropping complications that were the result of a homemade job.


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## southern_pride (Oct 21, 2009)

K9SAR said:


> I don't know any Veterinary schools off the top of my head that teach ear cropping.  However, I'd rather have ear cropping done by a Vet that has done a few (Dr. Patricia Edwards at River Cliff Veterinary Hospital is one I'd recommend) than just your regular guy.
> 
> I'd also rather have the ears cropped by a Vet JUST in case something should go wrong (infection, etc.).  I don't know too many Vets that wouldn't look down upon someone who brings a dog in with ear cropping complications that were the result of a homemade job.



Oh, I wasn't endorsing anyone, or suggesting anyone use anyone. Just saying.

Yes, I have seen some absolutely horrible crop jobs(by both vets and others).


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## K9SAR (Oct 21, 2009)

southernpridepitbulls said:


> Oh, I wasn't endorsing anyone, or suggesting anyone use anyone. Just saying.
> 
> Yes, I have seen some absolutely horrible crop jobs(by both vets and others).



I understood what you meant


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## CFGD (Oct 21, 2009)

aint home cropping illegal?


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## K9SAR (Oct 21, 2009)

Yup, but so are a lot of things people do and don't get caught for.


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## sharon (Oct 23, 2009)

I've raised Boxers for over 20 years now...not a kennel, just 2-3females and a male.  While living in GA, a woman called in response to an ad in the AJC for my pups.  She seemed very interested, asking lots of questions...then after several minutes into the call, she asked if I cropped my dogs ears.  I said yes (no longer though, due to expense and not being close to Dr. Orr in Cumming).  At that time, she started ranting about her husband being a past president of the Boxer Club of Atlanta and how inhumane the procedure was, how much pain the dog went through, how abusive cropping was to the animal...she also berated me for having mine done.  I tried to explain that each dog that I'd EVER had cropped, came home with NO bandages or horns...plenty of antibiotics for applying to the stitches and no apparent pain unless they caught a stitch, scratching.  Never any infection or problem and beautiful ears EVERY time!  None of that helped the conversation.  After listening to her rant for another minute or 2, I asked her if her husband was circumsized...she gasped and said "That's none of your business!!".  I finished the call by telling her that if he was, he suffered more pain than my dogs did and that AT LEAST they were put to sleep to have their ears done, unlike baby boys.  Also, my choice was none of her business, either.  That shut her up.


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## hogdawg (Oct 23, 2009)




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## albaraptor (Oct 27, 2009)

anybody know a good ear clipper in north east Georgia?


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## TPK (Oct 28, 2009)

dr. dennard in gordon does the best iv ever seen . i personally doont do it if they were ment to be cropped they would be born with it . but dennard is the best my friend and ever one he knows goes to him 75 dollars and 15 min later ya got clipped


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