Ear Cropping
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Samson's ears were cropped when I got him, and my other 2 i left natural, but if I remember right from what I read, ear cropping can be done between 6-12 weeks, really it's the vet's preference. So you can go ahead and get Chato's done if you like. Good luck & keep us posted on his progress.
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We had both of ours done at 8 wks. You don't want to wait too much longer than that or the cartlidge will begin to set itself in the floppy position. Good luck and keep us posted!
It depends on the vet; ours does them at 10-12 weeks. Be sure you find a vet who has a lot of experience in cropping, and does the style of crop you want. Generally there will be 1-2 vets in the area that the majority of breeders use - check with your local Boxer club for a referral.
Well, I finally found the vet to do it. Pricey but well worth it. He did the "show style crop", and really did it to the exact proportion of Chato's face. I'm really content. One question, do you all use anything to make the healing process faster? Vet told me I can use a triple antibiotic. But the skin is so tender I don't even want to mess with him right now. Plus, his taping is the "crown". So he is having a "fun" time adjusting to it. Last night I freaked out cuz he ended up scratching himself and there was some blood spots on the floor. I rushed to petsmart to buy one of those plastic cones. Well, the thing is too big for him. I was thinking of making my own. I know several breeders have told me to use "poster board" and make a few of them. Of course these only lasts for a few hours per day. Chato has been good so far, no scratching as of yesterday. Keeping a close eye on him 24/7.
We use NeoPredef powder on the cut edges of the ear, it helps with the itching as they're healing. I've never used a cone-collar after a crop, they tend to increase anxiety too much IME. (If your dog doesn't mind the collar, that's a different matter, of course.) We just keep the nails trimmed and smooth (we use a Dremel, but a file for acrylic nails works well, too) to minimize catching of stitches, try to distract the puppy whenever we see them scratching, and are liberal with the powder. (We also have a 'granny-dog' who cleans all the ears for us, and I'm a firm believer in the healing power of dog saliva. :wink: )
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I read in one of the boxer books out there that some people were using tampons to hold the ear up and tapingit in place. They had great success doing the ears this way just a thought and as far as stopping bleeding you can try septic powder it works great if you cut the quick when trimming nails
Yes. The very latest I've heard of it being done is 16 weeks, and that is at least a month past what most vets will do. By five months the cartilage has started hardening, and even if you'd find a vet who will do the crop, it will be more painful to the dog, and the chances of the ears standing are slim.
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Post some pics of Chato when you get a chance. I would like to see the cut.
I sure will post pics as soon as I get home. Question, cuz I'm worried. Chato ended up taking off his crown, it was about 7:00pm yesterday. The vet told me to leave it off so there can be a faster chance of healing. His ears were up for about 2hrs, then this morning they were both folded in. I told the vet if I can tape them myself, he recommended I didn't to air them out even better. He said today at 7pm he will do a diff. type of taping. I'm so worried that his cartilidge is going to harden, is there a possibility? It will be a total of 24hrs that his ears have no support. What do you all think? Thanx...
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It's very unlikely that the cartilage will harden this quick. Usually ears stand for a little bit and then they tend to flop for a while. They especially go wonky during the teething stages. Best to get them healed up right now - the taping fun can begin later. 
If it makes you feel any better, my girl, Mia was out of posts for about two weeks right after her ears healed. She had had an ear infection (from the posts), and I had to wait until it cleared up prior to putting her ears back up. Her ears stood fine and her crop turned out great.
If you're really worried, I'm sure you could also take him back to the vet to have the vet reset the cup, but I'm sure he'll be fine without it as well.
If it makes you feel any better, my girl, Mia was out of posts for about two weeks right after her ears healed. She had had an ear infection (from the posts), and I had to wait until it cleared up prior to putting her ears back up. Her ears stood fine and her crop turned out great.
If you're really worried, I'm sure you could also take him back to the vet to have the vet reset the cup, but I'm sure he'll be fine without it as well.
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Gunner's taping came undone because of Scout. He constantly bit and pawed at his crown until it came off. Good news is his ears turned out fine. The healing process doesn't take too long either. Gunners took about a week to heal and Scout's just a little longer. We ended up taping one of Gunners ears a little longer since one of them flipped backwards and laid against his head that way. (Boy he looked silly :lol: ) We had to retape it but only for 1 more week. We were lucky with Scout's; his stood up from the moment we took the crown off.
Also, don't worry too much if just the tips flip backwards a little. Both of ours did until the healing process finished. They both had scabs just at the tips and that seemed to throw them out of wack for another week or so.
Good luck and we will keep fingers and paws crossed that you don't have to keep them taped for too long.
Also, don't worry too much if just the tips flip backwards a little. Both of ours did until the healing process finished. They both had scabs just at the tips and that seemed to throw them out of wack for another week or so.
Good luck and we will keep fingers and paws crossed that you don't have to keep them taped for too long.
Thanx again for the info. I just did not feel good leaving him w/out any support, so I went against what the vet told me and made sure I retapped but carefully not going on top of the "scabs". Both of his ears were lying flat on top of his head. I just don't want any mistakes to cause them to stay like that. He is 10wks old, well, 11wks next monday. I was 50/50 on cropping his ears, until I decided to go for it. Just scares me that if they don't stay up, that I will regret it and make me feel guilty that I made a mistake. Thanx again.....
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