America's Biggest Dog Show .

Ears are cropped to make the dog look fierce

Of course, we in the UK are far from perfect on the dog front, s every discussion on gransnet confirms.

Like ViceVersa I’ve been surprised on American Labrador sites, at the casual use of e-collars, prong collars and acceptance of leaving these huge active people focussed dogs locked in crates for 8 hours because guess what, left alone for long periods, they find their own entertainment

eddiecat78

From the thread title I honestly thought this was going to be about a competition to find America's biggest dog

It means it's the biggest dog show they film , like Crufts
In the UK

A shame your thread went arse over tip Nanato3
I didn’t see it but love those big Collies with tan and white long hair and narrow heads, always wanted one of those.

Oreo

A shame your thread went arse over tip Nanato3
I didn’t see it but love those big Collies with tan and white long hair and narrow heads, always wanted one of those.

I've had 9 of these Collies Oreo
They come in 3 colours, Sable and White which I think you mean , Tri colour and Blue Merle . I've had all 3 colours .
I've got 2 atm , A Sable and White and a Tri , both girls .
I love their long noses , they fit lovely in your hand

Lucky you, they really are beautiful dogs 🥰

Nanato3

Oreo

A shame your thread went arse over tip Nanato3
I didn’t see it but love those big Collies with tan and white long hair and narrow heads, always wanted one of those.

I've had 9 of these Collies Oreo
They come in 3 colours, Sable and White which I think you mean , Tri colour and Blue Merle . I've had all 3 colours .
I've got 2 atm , A Sable and White and a Tri , both girls .
I love their long noses , they fit lovely in your hand

I was planning to get a short haired rough collie (if that makes sense) at one time. Not sure why I didn’t but it might have been when I switched to whippets. I’m not very good at grooming: always start off with good intentions but let them slip.

MayBee70

Nanato3

Oreo

A shame your thread went arse over tip Nanato3
I didn’t see it but love those big Collies with tan and white long hair and narrow heads, always wanted one of those.

I've had 9 of these Collies Oreo
They come in 3 colours, Sable and White which I think you mean , Tri colour and Blue Merle . I've had all 3 colours .
I've got 2 atm , A Sable and White and a Tri , both girls .
I love their long noses , they fit lovely in your hand

I was planning to get a short haired rough collie (if that makes sense) at one time. Not sure why I didn’t but it might have been when I switched to whippets. I’m not very good at grooming: always start off with good intentions but let them slip.

The short haired Collie is called the Smooth Collie .
The Smooth is a bit more energetic than the Rough but lovely dogs . It's harder to get a Smooth as not so many are bred .

My mum had shelties, beautiful if sensitive dogs x

I did not, of course, say that every American is cruel to their dog nor that every British owner is perfect.

watermeadow

I did not, of course, say that every American is cruel to their dog nor that every British owner is perfect.

Precisely. But Americans need to realise that ear cutting cropping puppies ears is downright barbaric. Even Scooby Doo has cropped ears.

watermeadow

I did not, of course, say that every American is cruel to their dog nor that every British owner is perfect.

That is good to hear. Thank you. People are the same and are different everywhere.

Aveline

Cropping ears? Why on earth do that?

Doberman Pinschers I think.

Doberman’s, Great Danes ( one of those won a big show recently with cropped ears) and probably bull breeds, too.

What a ghastly thing to do. Ears are so sensitive too. It must be extremely painful for those poor dogs.

Macadia

Aveline

Cropping ears? Why on earth do that?

Doberman Pinschers I think.

It's not just Dobermans - it is sadly done to many breeds, mostly larger ones. And while tail docking can sometimes be justified in certain circumstances - working dogs can often injure their tails, which are notoriously difficult to heal and injuries often result in amputation anyway - there is no justification for ear cropping whatsoever. It is, as MayBee70 rightly says, downright barbaric.

Dogs tails sometimes have to be operated on due to happy tail syndrome; Cockers in particular are renowned for wagging their tails a lot and this is compounded by the fact that now they’re no longer docked they do tend to grow very long and spindly. My first whippet had to have the end of her tail removed because my ex shut the end of her tail in the hinged side of the door next to her basket. It’s quite a difficult operation. My current whippet cracks her tail on furniture when she shakes herself sometimes which worries me. She has an exceptionally long tail but, in general whippets keep their long tails underneath them. But the thought of cutting a puppies ears off horrifies me, as I can see no justification for it and certainly don’t understand why some people think it improves their appearance.

My spaniel is show not working heritage, so has her long furry tail. She’s nit a manic racing about girl but give her birds to flush and she’s in there like a proper dog. Getting bits of wood, teasles etc out of the tail is a regular walk experience
I accept the need to dock the tails of working cockers

Ear docking is malicious, gives the dog no positives and is rightly banned in the uk. I’d also ban the importing of dogs with docked ears. People claim their dog was I,ported where it was back street bred and mutilated to make it look fierce

I’m so pleased there are some sensible knowledgable people posting here. The things referred to were previously legal in the UK also. It is to do with the breed standard for the pedigree at the time (KC or AKC) The rules are continuously reviewed and have evolved. Docking croppimg and removing dew claws (to prevent extremely painful claw rip
Injuries and blood loss in adult dogs) has to be done by a vet at a very young age (young puppies not young vet) those are regulations registered breeders must adhere to. No I’ve never had this done to a dog of mine, no I don’t breed or show dogs, so don’t start attacking me, and I’m pleased the breed standard has changed but tail injuries are a real issue with some working breeds so tail docking is performed (by a vet) for a sensible reason, although I personally went out of my way to find an undocked litter from a quality working line, but mine doesn’t work as such.. However using a lovely post as a thinly veiled excuse to attack the Americans is wrong and unjust (no Im not American) and is of course as bad as any other broad brush form of racist comments. That is my opinion. So I’m so sorry for OP it was indeed a lovely post which was unfortunately derailed.. P.S. If anyone on here decides to attack me you will be met with the appropriate silence.

I had two litters of puppies from my spaniel ( something I regret now but I was encouraged to do so by her breeder) and their tails were docked very early on and I’m pretty sure they suffered no pain or trauma because it was done by someone who knew exactly what they were doing. At no point were they removed from their mum so she wasn’t stressed either. I also found that a long cocker tail is quite problematic when they’re in season. So I am quite ambivalent when it comes to tails. My whippets have all had their dew claws removed because they often damage them when running at speed. Again that is done at a very early age.

Are ears cropped in UK?

Averlibe, ear cropping is rightly banned in the UK. TV programmes recently, have under cover reporters infiltrating people cross breeding eg xl bullies to about the Dangerous Dogs legislation. These cruel back street breeders also crop puppies ears, taking pride in avoiding legislation. They don’t face the inspections responsible breeders go through. They use the dogs in fights where money is made. Disgusting people

My first blue roan in 1975 had one litter of 7 beautiful healthy pups. My vet came out to trim dew claws and dock tails. You couldn’t kennel club register the litter unless tails docked. My lovely experienced vet suggested I put the mum in a different room, the pups will cry, mum will be distressed and want to protect them, he said
Thankfully this no longer happens (unless you’re an unscrupulous breeder of fighting dogs, then you don’t care

I live in the US (from the U.K.) and I don’t know anyone who crops their dog’s tail and ears or leaves them in a crate for 8 hours a day. I think it’s like anything else, the stories you hear are not ideal. I also don’t know anyone who declaws their cat and it is something that very few vets will perform. Of course it happens and American has a huge population so it probably happens more often here but it is the same group of people who behave similarly towards pets in any other country. People who either treat them as accessories or those who treat their own family members in a similar manner. Most people love their dogs and cats just as much as the British do.

not all pet owners are like there
i adore mine and they sleep with me only time i make them
leave the room if someone they dont like and not to many all them on my street are spoiled
topdogtips.com/cropping-dog-ears-why-is-it-done-and-how-it-affects-canines/

I thought,on skimming the posts, that it was an anti American thread. Very racist at that. I am so glad it is not the case and I immediately thought of lambs and how their tails are docked without any anaesthetic whatsoever. They are living creatures,too but no one seems to care about them.

But, as with dogs tails, there is a reason behind docking lambs tails; it’s to prevent fly strike. There is no reason to crop a dogs ears and the problem with that is dogs are becoming show champions in America with cropped ears.