As a Doberman enthusiast, I absolutely love the elegant look of cropped ears. Although some people choose to keep the natural floppy ears, it is hard to dispute that the sight of a Doberman with erect ears is the signature feature of the breed.

I respect buyer’s option to have natural ears, but if a buyer prefers cropped ears, I do recommend the following veterinarians (above each veterinarian is a picture of a Doberman whose ears they cropped ):

1) Dr Schaffer (972) 385-8400

12600 Coit Road

Dallas TX 75251

2) Dr Brittany Fraison

Holystone Veterinary Services

10522 Mt Zion Road

Linville VA 22834

4) www.advancedvetcomplex.com in Reisterstown, MD. (410)833-0500.

5) Dr. Anne Midgarden in Wopakaneta, OH. 419-753-3126.

3) Dr. Mona Fasth, mobile vet working in Pueblo and Denver areas of CO. 303-981-4836

6) Dr. Erin in Monument, CO. 719-481-3509 (The dog pictured above is not one of my dogs but it appears this vet is another reputable source for ear cropping. All other dogs featured on this page are from my line.)

Ear cropping is truly an art and not simply a medical procedure. I caution to not have ears cropped at a veterinarian that cannot produce pictures of past work. The veterinarians I have listed specialize in cropping ears and do outstanding work.

Most veterinarians crop ears at 7 - 13 weeks of age, and they can vary on their preferred age to crop ears within that time frame. Most vets will handle all of the tapings for you (which would be a weekly visit and would require an additional fee) or teach you how to tape them at home. If you decide to have your puppy’s ears cropped, you must be prepared to consistently tape the ears until they stand perfectly (this could be as short as about 3 months or as long as about 1 year). There are several factors involved and the time frame to train the ears can vary from that estimate.

I like to have the ears taped for 6 days, untape, clean, and immediately tape back up if there is no irritation or signs of infection. If the ears are consistently standing perfectly at the time of wrap change, I test the ears and let them rest for a period of time, but as soon as they are not 100% perfect, I tape again. As the ears start to make progress, they may remain untaped for a matter of hours or a couple of days, but I only rest the ears if they are standing perfectly. As soon as they start to drop, I tape them back up. You only have a small window to train the ears and consistency is key.

When having your puppy’s ears cropped the two main decisions you have to make are the length and the shape. Look at pictures and be sure to convey to the veterinarian exactly what you would like and provide pictures to the veterinarian.