Docking and Cropping

Question
My brother has a Doberman puppy, 8 weeks old. The pup's ears and tail are natural. Should he have them docked/cropped? Or is it safe to leave them natural?

Answer
Hi Lisa,

It's perfectly safe to not to dock the puppy's ears and tail. It's the way nature intended to dog to look! The only reason to dock any dog's ears or tail is purely cosmetic. The American Kennel Club (AKC) says that it has no rules which require docking or that make undocked animals ineligible for the show ring.  Today, many countries consider cropping, docking to be cruel, or mutilation and ban it entirely.

If tail docking is be done, it's usually done within the first three days after the puppy is born.  Ear cropping is usually done between 7 and 9 weeks of age. Cropping done after 12 weeks has a low rate of success in getting the ears to stand.

Best of luck,
Patti