Dog ears: genetics, breed standards and ethics

[Titchy Reindeer]

I've been following a course to qualify to be a volunteer dog trainer at the dog club and one of the days on the course was taught by a vet. She said that ear cropping was banned pretty early on here in France because there is a nerve in the ear that is also linked to other organs such as the heart and lungs. Dogs were dying of cardiac arrest while having their ears cropped. It is still tolerated here to have tails docked and dew claws removed from very young puppies by a vet as there isn't the same risk associated with it.

 

[skinnydipper]

Dew claws have a function. I'll post this info again in case anybody is thinking of having dew claws removed.

"That function is to prevent torque on the leg. Each time the foot lands on the ground, particularly when the dog is cantering or galloping (see Figure 2), the dewclaw is in touch with the ground. If the dog then needs to turn, the dewclaw digs into the ground to support the lower leg and prevent torque. If the dog doesn’t have a dewclaw, the leg twists. A lifetime of that and the result can be carpal arthritis, or perhaps injuries to other joints, such as the elbow, shoulder and toes. Remember: the dog is doing the activity regardless, and the pressures on the leg have to go somewhere."

Do the Dew(claws)? « Sugar Factory Vet Clinic

sugarfactoryvetclinicmt.com

 

[skinnydipper]

Tail docking.

"It is an outdated practice that involves cutting or crushing muscle, nerves, and bone without anaesthetic in puppies under 5 days old. Evidence indicates that it inflicts significant pain on puppies and deprives dogs of an important form of canine expression in future life. In addition, poorly performed docking can cause chronic pain."

"Tail docking should be banned as a procedure for all breeds of dogs, unless it is carried out by a veterinary surgeon for medical reasons (eg injury).

Puppies suffer unnecessary pain as a result of tail docking and are deprived of a vital form of canine expression in later life. Research published in Vet Record found that approximately 500 dogs would need to be docked in order to prevent a single tail injury.

We continue to call for a complete ban on tail docking of puppies for non-therapeutic reasons across the UK."

Tail docking in dogs | British Veterinary Association

www.bva.co.uk

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Dew claws have a function. I'll post this info again in case anybody is thinking of having dew claws removed.

"That function is to prevent torque on the leg. Each time the foot lands on the ground, particularly when the dog is cantering or galloping (see Figure 2), the dewclaw is in touch with the ground. If the dog then needs to turn, the dewclaw digs into the ground to support the lower leg and prevent torque. If the dog doesn’t have a dewclaw, the leg twists. A lifetime of that and the result can be carpal arthritis, or perhaps injuries to other joints, such as the elbow, shoulder and toes. Remember: the dog is doing the activity regardless, and the pressures on the leg have to go somewhere."

Do the Dew(claws)? « Sugar Factory Vet Clinic

sugarfactoryvetclinicmt.com

I don't not believe this, but the dew claw seems like such a weak little thing, especially on my Lab, and I can't believe it is able to sustain much force. So that's interesting. It barely seems attached.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I've been following a course to qualify to be a volunteer dog trainer at the dog club and one of the days on the course was taught by a vet. She said that ear cropping was banned pretty early on here in France because there is a nerve in the ear that is also linked to other organs such as the heart and lungs. Dogs were dying of cardiac arrest while having their ears cropped. It is still tolerated here to have tails docked and dew claws removed from very young puppies by a vet as there isn't the same risk associated with it.

That's actually interesting, and sad. So many crop the ears of their Cane Corso (I have one, so I'm focusing on that breed), and of course no one talks about this nerve thing. Vets still crop ears, and a vast majority Cani Corsi are cropped in the US for the dumbest of reasons (can't think of any good ones). I hate it.

Historically for working dogs and dogs of war, it "made sense" to dock and crop. Not that I agree with that, but nowadays it makes even less sense! Just idiots after a "look".

 

[Titchy Reindeer]

It is so sad. My puppy still has her tail and dew claws and will be keeping them. But a lot of people are very surprised to see an Aussie with a tail and I often get asked what breed she is.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Dew claws are mostly vital but I do know people who have had them removed from their dogs if they're weak/get caught/ripped. It's a horrible injury to rehab. Doing high impact stuff, I see how important they can be and how much of a balls it can be they are if not strong.

 

[limestonelil]

I have a border terrier who is (according to people who know more than I do) very smart - he is bred to show. It has been suggested to me that one of his ears has an undesirable kink and that could be glued….

All border terriers are exceedingly smart, love them

 

[Boulty]

I can see why you may choose to have poorly attached (literally hanging on by a flap of skin) dew claws removed as these kind do flop about & are unlikely to be able to perform the function they’re supposed to anyway so are just an injury risk with no benefit to the dog (they’re also very easy to remove when like this) but there should be no reason to remove normally attached, functional dew claws unless for medical reasons due to an injury in that area. If kept trimmed short they don’t seem to cause any more issues than any other nail.

Tbf the random floppy about ones seem to mainly be on hind limbs where are has already been said a lot of dogs don’t have any anyway.

As for ear cropping preventing ear issues… I’ve seen some horrendously chronically infected ears on cropped dogs and also thickening and inflammation of the skin on the cropping sites where a crap job has been done so whilst you can’t get a haematoma without a pinnae you can definitely still get inflammation & infection in the canals.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Are you talking about front and hind dew claws?

Hind dew claws are interesting to me since not all dogs are born with them, but I guess they have a purpose.

God knows what, Bear has one hind dew claw, not near the ground, we just keep an eye on it and chop it occasionally when it threatens to curl into the pad. One of his fore dew claws has been a nightmare, he's snapped it, had to have it chopped, it finally became a bit of a stump and has not grown since he snapped it near the root. I took him to the vets when it was hanging off, they sedated to chop it because the quick was exposed and he was obviously in pain. I remember someone telling me to just chop it, but I couldn't do that to him!