Clipping dogs ears.

[IHateCoronavirus]

Hello doggy folk. So I was just out and saw two lovely little chunks of puppies. I asked what they were and the couple said American Bulldogs. Their ears looked pointy and raw along the sides.
So I came home and googled them and learned that people clip their ears.
It also said that it was illegal to do it but n the U.K, but then I saw loads of articles saying people are still doing it.
Is it still illegal? Why are they doing it? I read something about preventing injury but do ears get injured often?
If it is illegal how are they getting it done and does that mean that these dogs will never visit the vet etc because surely the vet would notice?

It is illegal.

Please please report the breeder to trading standards and the RSPCA.

It's a barbaric procedure done with no pain relief simply to make dogs look more aggressive

Thought it was illegal, as you say, like tail docking is now, except for certain working breeds where there is a chance the tail will get trapped in farm machinery.

I don’t know who the breeder or indeed the owners were. I just saw them by chance when out and the puppies bounded up to me. poor little things. If it is illegal does that mean no pain relief?

It is a barbaric process !
Unless it is done by a vet for medical reasons.
People chop off ( clip is a very censored way of putting it ) dogs ears often without any pain killers or proper after care .
Either because they think it makes the dog look tougher or because they intend to put the poor dog into fights , in which case yes the ears do get badly injured , but then so does the nose , neck , shoulders

It is illegal in the uk and I suspect many other countries too.

I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole of trying to look for local breeders to see if I can find who did it.
People are selling 10+puppies!
I’m seeing adult dogs with the pointy ears but puppies all seem to have the adorable floppy ears they were born with.

The adult dogs with pointy ears are usually imported as cropping (cutting floppy ears to make them pointy) is legal is many other countries but banned here.

Puppies in the uk with cropped ears will have been done illegally

If it is illegal does that mean no pain relief?

It means that breeder pinned down those puppies whilst conscious and sliced off the flap of their ears with a knife.

There would be no veterinary attention as it's an illegal procedure.

@Veterinari

If it is illegal does that mean no pain relief?

It means that breeder pinned down those puppies whilst conscious and sliced off the flap of their ears with a knife.

There would be no veterinary attention as it's an illegal procedure.

poor little things. You’d think people would think twice before buying a pup from someone who does that.

I hope they get found out. Those pups have been on my mind all day.

Unfortunately it's an increasing problem for bull breeds as unscrupulous owners use them as status dogs and dog fighting is increasingly common.

Cunts

That’ll explain some of the descriptions on the selling sites! Pups being described as “absolute tanks!”

Unfortunately it's an increasing problem for bull breeds as unscrupulous owners use them as status dogs and dog fighting is increasingly common

Hm, there is a breeder near me that breeds the dogs being referred to here.

Like Staffies on steroids with massive muscles and bow legs and yes, some of the breeding adults are cropped (imported dogs) but I have to say, I see the breeder out exercising them all the time, the dogs I’ve met have appeared to have lovely calm, stable temperaments, they are in great condition, the breeder has young children.
From reading the website they are health tested and the breeder is choosy about where they go.
Only the imported adult dogs are cropped, it’s not something he has done himself.

The dogs are not to my taste but they seem perfectly alright breeders.

Yes people will buy them as ‘status’ dogs I suppose, as in to look cool and even a bit intimidating but if the dog is well cared for is that really so wrong?

Lots of very good owners buy Akita’s, GSDs, Rottweilers etc to feel a bit safer as they have a ‘macho’ reputation, many people have colour preferences or body type preferences.

Appearance does play a part when most people are choosing a dog.
It’s a rare person who doesn’t pay any attention whatsoever to looks.

poor little things. You’d think people would think twice before buying a pup from someone who does that
Maybe they don’t realise?
I only discovered at the beginning of this year that Sheltie and rough collie ears are not usually naturally tipped but usually glued/taped and are naturally prick

@frostedviolets
That sounds like a good example. And obviously from a legal point of view cropped ears on imported dogs are a different matter and the breeder has now made different choices for the puppies he breeds in the UK.

That's not what we're talking about on this thread though.

There's a lot of cropped dogs coming in from eastern Europe, both legally and smuggled. So they may be imported and therefore not illegal to own.

To be honest, with some of those dogs, having their ears cropped isn't the worst of their problems. The 'pocket bullies' often move like they have the middle joint missing from their legs, they don't have proper necks, they don't have great airways and they seem to overheat terribly in even just mild weather.

Today at training I met a Romanian pocket bully (one of the strains of American Bulldog) with cropped ears, brought in legally through Rescue. He's six months old but until yesterday was too petrified to even walk on a lead. His eyes are haunted and haunting, bless him.

People are also importing traditionally working breeds like German Shepherds and Dobermans from eastern Europe because they are physically healthier than we have here nowadays. Lots of the Dobes are cropped and docked, Rotties from the same area are often docked too.

@frostedviolets

poor little things. You’d think people would think twice before buying a pup from someone who does that Maybe they don’t realise? I only discovered at the beginning of this year that Sheltie and rough collie ears are not usually naturally tipped but usually glued/taped and are naturally prick

Well you learn something new everyday! I never knew that either.

Sometimes imported dogs come with clipped ears . of course they could have had it done here too.

Sometimes imported dogs come with clipped ears . of course they could have had it done here too.

Very likely as the OP describes the ears as raw and I suspect importation of dogs has reduced through lockdown