minicar: Looking for someone else's opinion concerning whether or not to clip my mini pins ears?I am getting a mini pin in about 2 months and I am debating on whether or not I should get his ears clipped?Personally, I like ears the way God made them.|||Don't clip your mini pin's ears!!! The tail is bad enough. Besides, look how amazing they are with long ears. http://olivewatch.com Report Abuse I am getting a mini pin in about 2 months and I am debating on whether or not I should get his ears clipped?What do you mean by getting their ears clipped? Like removing top parts of it off? No way for me! Leave them in their natural state!|||no don't! how would you like your ears clipped!I am getting a mini pin in about 2 months and I am debating on whether or not I should get his ears clipped?Leave them in a natural state.|||do you want him to be a show dog. if so unfourtnatly you have no choice. but if you are just looking for a pet to love then i would say don't having their ears clipped is not very fun for them and dosn't aid their hearing in anyway becides i think they look so cute and friendly with the longer ears.|||I don't think so. His natural apperance is perfect!|||i personaly like the ears cropped{CLIPPED} it makes them look more like doberman pinschers|||Unless you will be showing this dog then leave them natural|||that's cruel. Not to mention painful for the animal. bad idea. I'm not peta activist by far, but that's just gross.|||Its called cropping. I don't know enough about mini pins to give an answer but I know with dogs like dobes their ears should be cropped because they are more prone to infecction if they are not. Why don't you talk with your breeder and your vet?|||I'm not into showing dogs, I prefer to cuddle, hold and love mine, but if showing is your goal, then you must get them clipped. If you do not plan to show, then don't!!! My Rott still has his tail!! :))|||NO I think it is cruel to clip there ears...My grandma did that to her boxer and it hurt him...I don't think its fair to do that for a dog just for his appearance..I would never do that to any animal|||absolutely not If you saw how gruesome that whole process is, you wouldn't even consider it. I think everybody that does it should have to watch it so they can see how nasty it really is. Also, because of the positioning of the dog on the table for the surgery it makes for a higher risk anesthesia. NOT worth it.|||NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THERE SO CUTE WITH THERE EARS DOWN|||Dr. Paul McCarthy, head of surgery at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, said docking tails and cropping ears has no medical value for the animals. "This is done for the sake of cosmetics and is driven by breeders and competition. Kennel clubs have established the look they want a particular breed to have in the show ring," McCarthy said. "Many people try to keep the same standards of competition for their own pets." Dr. Cory Langston, head of community practice at MSU's veterinary college, said removing the dew claws is one procedure performed on newborn puppies that has medical value. "Dew claws are similar to our thumb, and are the claws that ride up high on a dog's foot and don't contact the ground," Langston said. "It serves no purpose and removing it prevents it from getting caught or torn off later." The procedure to remove dew claws is mild and just takes a second to perform. It is done without anesthesia because the puppy's body cannot handle the drugs. A few breeds such as Great Pyrenees require the dew claws be left on for competition in shows. "There is no benefit to having the dew claws, and there is a medical benefit to getting rid of them," Langston said. Tails are typically docked when a puppy is 2 to 4 days old. This is done commonly on breeds such as dobermans, miniature schnauzers and boxers. No anesthesia is used. "The risk of the anesthesia is greater than the risk of the procedure at this young age," Langston said. "The procedure appears relatively benign because the puppies stop crying once they get back with their mother or other puppies." Many dogs such as dobermans and some spaniels get their ears cropped. This is reserved until the dog is older for two reasons. Dogs must go under general anesthesia for this procedure. "By 3 months, the dog has been through the vaccinations and the enzymes for processing drugs have matured to adult function, so they're a safe risk for anesthesia," Langston said. Before 3 months old, the structure of the ear has not developed sufficiently for the procedure to be successful. "The cartilage of the ear has to be strong enough to support the new cut and hold up the ear," McCarthy said. When cropping ears, veterinarians make breed-specific measurements and remove the outside part of the ear. The edges are stitched, and the ears bandaged in a way that supports the new structure. Head protection is placed on the dog so it doesn't damage the wound. This head protection, an Elizabethan collar resembling a lampshade, is placed around the dog's neck and flares out around its face. Dogs typically stay overnight in the veterinarian's office after having their ears cropped. Their homecoming depends on the dog's disposition and condition, and the owner's ability to provide the intense management. "Owners have to keep the dog relatively confined and watch it closely," McCarthy said. While docking and cropping are regularly practiced in the United States today, Langston said it is outlawed in Great Britain. Since it is a cosmetic procedure with no medical value, they consider it an inhumane procedure. A similar movement is underway in the United States. "A subgroup of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons is taking a survey of surgery specialists to determine their sentiment on this issue," McCarthy said. "The American Veterinary Medical Association has not supported these procedure because they lack a medical reason, and most institutions such as veterinary colleges do not routinely perform these elective procedures." Before docking and cropping is rejected in the United States, McCarthy said it would require a re-education from the American Kennel Club on down to owners as to what a breed should look like. This would lead away from performing cosmetic surgery simply for aesthetics. "In order for this to happen, there has to be an acceptance that the dog can be part of the breed and not have its ears cropped or tail docked," McCarthy said.|||Well Ear Cropping is a cosmetic procedure done only for appearance the pain involved with the operation is incredible and many breeders advise against it. The surgery takes your young puppy away from every thing he knew, his mother and siblings have disappeared and you, his new owner is strange, but he clings to you as the one that will protect him from the Vets with their needles and dark scary rooms. He wants to trust you. When your puppy wakes up he is scared and in a lot of pain. Tape is put on his ears to make them stand and unknown people still poke and prod him. Sorry about the story but it is in my nature to write like this. Anyway for days sometimes weeks you have to clean and change the bandages or they could become infected. Sure it gives the dog a proud and sophisticated look but all the work and pain. You need to decide if you can really keep up the healing process. Good Luck!|||If you are serious about showing your new dog, then cropping is the thing to do. But, if it is going to be a companion dog, then do not bother. This obviously will not effect how the dog behaves, future breeding, and they look quite cute without cropped ears. If you choose not to crop, and people question you why you chose not to...you can always say that you chose not to jeopardize your dogs health and appearance for a kennel club's standards. ;)|||i have a mini pin and i think she looks way to cute to cut her ears she is soooo cute the way she is and i think that since they are like really smallish when they are young that if you cut their ears they will look like bats! btw mines name is Bella :)