Stig, If any dog breed has the potential for ear problems it is the poodle. Have you ever seen an unplucked poodle ear? They have very narrow ear canals and tons of hair in them unless it is regularly removed. Proper ear cleaning for every breed of dog should be a weekly event, regardless of whether the ear is pricked or down. Cropping for purely cosmetic purposes or as an easy solution to avoid bacterial ear infections....I don't know.

As far as tail docking goes, I know I'm contradicting myself, but I like my standards docked tail. I've seen pictures of undocked standards and it just doesn't seem like the same breed. I'm sure there will be many funny looking tails out there on traditionally docked breeds once anti-docking sentiment grows to NA. If a tail has always been removed breeders didn't really have to worry about tail shape and set, length, etc.

I'm not so sure about a docked tail making a protection dog's job easier or cropped ears making him look more ferocious. There are a lot of breeds out there that will bite and work plenty hard enough with a tail. My friends 28" dobe is just as intimidating with his uncropped ears.

Many breeds have features in their standard that originally, from a historical perspective at least, might have had merit. But fanciers have taken many of those traits to the extreme, and judges still reward those that do. Until more and more show people (oops said a nasty word) refuse to tow the line and opt for a more natural look (that includes overly sissified, primped and poofed coated breeds as well) "Joe Public" will continue to buy the package they want to sell.

to me the ear cropping is no big deal at all, the only issue is in regards to the risk of the anesthesia during the procedure.
does the pup feel pain, no.
the after care is simple. leave ears exposed during healing time 10 -14 days. tape ears for a few months to hold them up while the cartilage builds. that's it. what the big deal is i will never know. :rolleyes:

tail docking, well similiar to circumcision, make it shorter...painful, well i guess ask any human male who's member was altered.

the fact that the Dobe is the only dog that was bred purely for human protection and that the tail was determined to be its greatest liability the decision was made based on the protection purpose to shorten it.

the ears were cropped so when the dog was on top of someone they couldnt easily roll the dog off by grabbing the ears.

today, where the breed is not primarily used for what it was originally bred for, is cropping and docking needed? probably not but hey a few snips and you've got the greatest looking dog their is.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Hello John,

I think you should visit this site: http://www.danika.com
Britt is a Dobermann trainer from California. Maybe she can help you.

Originally posted by JC:
Hello everyone, my name is John and I currently own two dobies which I am trying to train for the sport of sch. My male is from canada out of a kennel called monacobay's dobermans. and my female is from a local breed in califronia. Now I am located in Sacramento California, is there a local breeder who sells sch. bloodline dobermanns pups? I am actually looking to buy or maybe pair my male with a nice bitch to produce nice dobies that can compete with the GSD out there. My bitch is probably not going to work out for this sport due to that she came from an AKC agility line. So if anyone have any info reguarding this matter please email me! thanks
John