Many of our readers have reached out to us to discuss a very controversial topic in the dog world: cropping a dog’s ears.

While cropping a dog’s ears has been happening for hundreds of years, there have also been opposition groups advocating against the practice since the early 1900s. The crux of the argument is whether cropping a dog’s ears helps protect the dog, and whether it is worth the pain of getting the ears cropped. We will explore both sides of the argument below.

Does cropping a dog’s ears help with ear infections?

There has been some research done on the length of dog’s ears and frequency of ear infection. The most respected study was performed by New Zealand Veterinarian Letter Baxter. In the study, Baxter examined the frequency of ear infections in dog breeds with long floppy ears vs. dog breeds with shorter erect ears. The study found that dog breeds with long floppy ears had around a 15% chance of developing an ear infection, while only 5% chance of ear infections in dog breeds with shorter erect ears. In his study, Baxter admitted that this does not prove that cropping ears helps prevent ear infections, as there are most likely other underlying reasons why the dog breeds with floppy ears had a higher prevalence of ear infections. 

However, there are some reasonable hypotheses as to why dogs with longer ears are more at risk of ear infection. Dogs with floppy longer ears have more hair and a higher temperature around their ear and inside the ear canal. Thus, the increased temperature will increase the humidity, and thus promotes the growth of bacteria which can lead to infection.  

Is cropping a dog’s ears inhumane?

Some critics of dog cropping say that cropping a dog’s ears has little to no health benefit, and is an excruciating pain for the dog to go through. They also claim that people only crop their dog’s ears for cosmetic purposes, which does not justify the procedure.

Should I crop my dog’s ears?

While it is totally your decision, we don’t think it is necessary to crop a dog’s ears. While there certainly may be some small health benefit, dogs with uncropped ears will still be healthy. 

When should I crop my dog’s ears?

If you do decide to crop your dog’s ears, you should do it as early as possible. We recommend doing it when the puppy is still young, and thus won’t remember the painful procedure when it gets older. You should never crop a dog’s ears after 12 weeks of age, as the ear has already taken its form, and cropping will not have any positive impact.