Cropping and docking

My natural-eared Danes strongly object to being told they look like hounds.

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

I am not opposed. I would not care to have to do it, so I don't have a breed that requires it. Plenty of choices in the purebred dog world []. Ears are a VETERINARY procedure and regulating that as far as it needing to be done that way is fine with me...tho the vets that will do it are becoming harder to find. Tails are less of a big deal but I wouldn't fight much if that also became a vet only procedure.
 
It's my thought that with the AR's having their foot in the door and being under the desks of so many politicians...it will be illegal to crop or dock outside of working stock...in 10 years. There will be a huge outcry but then 10 years after THAT no one will even recall what a cropped/docked dog looks like. Such is the nature of people. What you see daily, becomes the norm...and what you seldom see if freakish and to be avoided.

 
Ditto

ORIGINAL: sillysally

Dobes with natural ears are interesting.  If you don't know any better you're not really sure you're looking at a dobe.

 
I like Dobies both ways, but I find that uncropped dobies seem to be a bit more expressive.

I find I can watch Gracie's ears go up and down and can easily read what's going on in her mind by the position of her ears.  But I know what you mean.  []  Her parents and some of her siblings have floppy natural ears that are ill-proportioned to their heads - SUUUPPER long, and they do not hang in neat triangle flaps.  Instead they are wrinkles of excessive skin that in some can extend to the length of their noses.  Had Gracie inherited nice, neat, triangle ears, I might have left them alone.  I chose to have Gracie's ears done, and I committed to their care.  I refused to go to anywhere than a reputable vet at a large veterinary hospital that had superior technology and techniques at their disposal.  I consulted with the vet and made regular return visits to him and my regular vet on average 2-3 times per week to ensure her ears remained healthy.  I was watchful for any signs of pain immediately following the surgery and for weeks - she remained her relentlessly happy-go-lucky self. 
My regular vet and several other vets and dog professionals have complimented me on her ears today.  I don't regret it, and I wouldn't begrudge anyone else taking the same steps to ensure the noble, elegant appearance as expected of a Doberman.  I have no problem if this is mandated to a veterinarian-only procedure, but don't say it's criminally abusive.
 
The shelter where she came from had G's tail, dewclaws, and spay done by the time she was 8 weeks old.  (Not a choice I made, she just was that way when I adopted her.)

I have no problem if this is mandated to a veterinarian-only procedure, but don't say it's criminally abusive.

very well said

I'm not sure I really have a strong opinoin on this, I think it depends on the breed, mostly. Or what they're being used for. My aunt and uncle have an Australian Shepherd that has a tail; I think it is very cute on him and I like it. Though at first you're not really sure what he is, because the tail is kind of curly and he looks like a smaller version of a Bernese Mountain Dog! [] I think that Rottweilers would look quite a bit different without a tail, never seen one! I don't mind them not having a tail, or some other breeds, but there are some that I don't know why people really dock theirs.[&:] Like the Pointers, for example. Why 3/4 of the tail, and not the whole? As for cropping ears, I don't really agree with it, but then again I do kind of like the look of some dogs with cropped ears, but I still like the floppy too. Boxers are cute with natural ears, and Danes too []

Edited to Add: Forgot the dewclaws--I don't see any reason to take off a dog's dewclaws, unless they are always getting them torn, or a breed that is known for getting their dewclaws ripped off, or something like that. My Lab/Shepherd still has her dewclaws, there has been no problems, so I don't see why she shouldn't have them.  I also have a Lab puppy that I got from a service dog organization, and ( I had to go check just now!) they didn't take her dewclaws off either when she was younger.