@Provéto Juniors, really intense pain?
Two Dobermanns with cropped ears, and they never showed any discomfort or pain—no aggressive reactions or fear during bandaging or when the posts were put in.
I doubt a dog that had suffered in that spot would let you fiddle with its ears afterwards without making a fuss...
On the other hand, my first Dobermann with natural ears suffered from recurring ear infections. Touching his ears was a nightmare; he would have definitely bitten if a stranger had insisted on touching that area. And yet he was "all natural"...
I’d also like to know if an adult dog breaking its tail is less painful than a puppy just a few days old having its tail docked, when the bones haven't even calcified yet. Sure, there are nerves, but the endings aren't fully developed. Docking tails or cropping ears isn't painless or trivial, but I think demonising it to that extent is a bit much.
And there are more Dobermanns who break their tails once they’re adults than you might think. That might not be a good enough reason to dock them as puppies, but from my humble point of view, I’d rather dock them as pups than have to bandage or amputate once they're fully grown.
We choose a dog as much for its temperament as its looks; we need to stop kidding ourselves. Who would choose a dog they think is ugly? We often fall for the look of an animal before wondering if the personality is a match, which is often why people make mistakes when buying or adopting because they’ve only fallen for the appearance. To deny that is hypocritical.
To get back to the bandaging, you only use posts on Dobermanns with cropped ears. On the other hand, with natural-eared dogs, you use tape if they don't sit correctly against the cheeks.
If you like the Dobermann personality, it doesn't matter if they have long ears or cropped ones, they’re the same dogs—only the look changes... So, look into the temperament and the health side of things, be well-informed, and if you really have fallen for the breed and feel ready to take on a total nutcase who’ll be up to all sorts of mischief and drive you round the bend, but whose loyalty is undeniable, then go for it! 😁
