I'll start catching up, in more or less chronological order so you can see how she's grown.
Remember how freaked out her uncle Teddy was when she first came here? He's gotten over it, and they play sometimes. He tends to get too rough, so their play is very supervised but sometimes it works out great - Dakota was about 9 weeks old here:
Yes, we got her ears cropped - and yes I know it's an unnecessary surgery.
But you know what? Most of the surgeries we impose on our pets are not medically necessary - I'm including 99% of all spaying & neutering. Doing a surgery to reduce the future possibility of illness that may or may not occur does NOT make it medically necessary, or even always a good idea.
At least the ear crop isn't a major surgery, nor will it have any impact on her growth and development. With the anesthetics and pain medications we have now, it is possible to keep the pups very, very comfortable after the surgery. The photos above were taken the next day after her ear crop. It didn't slow her down at all!
6 comments:
I have similar feelings about the simple snip it takes to dock the Poodle puppy tail. They fall sound asleep as soon as both dewclaws hit the table.
I wouldn't put ear crops and spaying in the same category and use that as an arguement. Cropping is a personal choice and obviously from the adorable photos of her playing the day after (SO CUTE!) she did not miss a beat. That is your best arguement if you feel you need to make one.
I guess I really shouldn't have brought the cropping issue up, because it sounds so defensive - I know I'm not doing anything to my puppy that will cause her harm but I also know that's not the common perception. I think everyone has a right to his or her opinion, but I also feel that pet owners have a right to decide what surgeries are done when on their pets (along with their vet of course).
You're right, cropping and spay/neuter are not in the same category at all - but I do tend to think of them together because it often seems that people who want to ban cosmetic surgeries (ear crops, tail docks, etc) are the very same ones who push spay/neuter for all pets - sometimes to the extreme of mandating those surgeries by law, often at early ages. I understand why they want more pets spayed and neutered (although most pets already ARE) - it just strikes me as hypocritical that some groups want to ban one group of surgeries (done admittedly for human vanity) and yet want to mandate another group of surgeries that - when you get right down to it - are primarily done for human convenience. It is perfectly possible to keep intact animals without having any accidental breeding - but it undeniably takes more effort and knowledge to do so.
I definitely disagree with mandatory spay/neuter!!!
Jen
I have to agree at this point in time...
People should be able to choose, about both surgeries! Mandatory spay/neuter is just a BAD idea.
However I don't like that some registries make it cropping/docking mandatory. I personally think that it should be completely optional to dock or crop, and that dogs should not be punished in the show ring for either choice. I have a Poodle and don't think it's fair, practical, or realistic anymore to keep docking tails for the show ring. I also think the same for other breeds - like Danes, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Cockers, etc.
Hi Natalie!
I totally agree... owners who want to show in conformation shouldn't be forced to surgically alter their dogs. I believe that the right to choose should go both ways!
Actually with Danes, we do have the choice. The breed standard describes the ideal for both natural and cropped ears, and both are acceptable. Now, in the real world, I think it is still more difficult to win with a Dane with natural ears... but it definitely can be done. And it is becoming more common every year to see more natural eared Danes in the show ring.
I actually like both looks - it just depends on the shape of the dog's head and the ear set, whether we think it will look better cropped or natural.
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