Ear Cropping & Tail Docking

Ear Cropping

Why do people choose to crop Cane Corso ears? 

The practice of ear cropping can be dated back as far as the ancient Romans. Ear cropping was originally implemented in working, hunting, and fighting dogs hundreds of years ago. The idea is that if the dog needs to hunt or fight the animal has less to grab ahold of giving the dog with cropped ears an advantage and afford the dog less chance to get seriously injured. Dogs in those days were considered investments towards businesses or home protection, so the dog's owners or caretakers would do what they felt necessary to protect those investments. The floppy and droopy ears were considered a liability. The old methods of performing the crop would be considered barbaric. The puppy's ears would either have been twisted off or cut off with a blade and then fed to the young dog in hopes to make them more aggressive. 

While working dogs still exist in modern times, many dogs in general are purchased or adopted as pets. These days pet owners choose to crop their dog’s ears for a few different reasons. Some, including those with dogs registered with the American Kennel Club, state that ear cropping is necessary to defining and preserving a breed's character. Others claim that it can help cut back on certain health conditions such as hematomas, which occur when the cartilage separates or tears and fills with blood, or ear infections. 

The controversy behind the tradition of ear cropping is mainly due to the amount of pain it can cause the dog while healing from the procedure. While this will be a possibility with any procedure, the puppies will not feel anything during the procedure due to anesthesia being used and will typically heal from the surgery after 7-10 days. 

We understand that some families would prefer to have a choice in the matter of their dog's ears. We will only have the puppies' ears cropped by a licensed veterinary surgeon in order to ensure that if you want the dog's ears cropped, that it is done as safely as possible, and with the lowest risk of infection. The choice to get your new puppy's ears cropped is totally up to you. There will be some maintenance for the new owner because the puppy's ears will still be taped up and will require the new owner to take care of.  

Care for Cropped Ears

Cropping of ears is not without risk. Any dog who is properly cropped by a licensed veterinarian will be anesthetized during the procedure. Some puppies who go under anesthesia are more sensitive to the drugs than others are.  Each time you are considering ANY procedure for your dog, you need to accept the possible risk that the dog may not wake up. It is not common, but it is possible and there is currently no way to know which dogs are at this increased risk. The decision needs to be made on an individual basis. 

Why we perform tail docking:

Tail docking also started with the Romans, although they thought it would prevent rabies. Later tail docking was performed for the same reasons as ear cropping was for working, hunting, and fighting dogs. These days, the puppies have their tails docked between 2-5 days of age. The breed standard calls for the tail to be docked to 1/3 the overall length or at the 4th vertebrae.  This is done to all pups in the litter and we do not offer an option to not dock the tail. Tails are docked purely to prevent injury. Cane Corsos are “catch and hold” hunting dogs, which means that they tend to bite when playing with each other and not let go. It is best to provide as few handles for them to bite as possible, or else they may hurt each other.

Why we remove dewclaw:

A dewclaw is a digit on the inside of a Cane Corso’s legs that does not make contact with the ground when the dog runs or walks. Sometimes referred to as a dog’s thumb, these digits do have a claw, and they can have some musculoskeletal support or be completely unattached to the musculoskeletal structure of the foot; only attached by a flap of skin. Some Cane Corso lines actually produce dew claws on rear legs, but usually, they are only found on the front legs.

Dewclaw removal with a Cane Corso may not be necessary, but it is usually a preference among owners. If the dog has a dewclaw that is only connected by a flap of skin, this digit is easily injured. For example, the extra digit can get caught on a thorny underbrush while the dog is running through a field, which would tear the skin. Therefore, it is best if the dew claws are removed early.