How do you cut or crop a pitbull's ear at home?

Answer 1

* Cutting or cropping a dog's ears should only be done by a veterinarian, and should NOT be done at home. First of all, the procedure requires anesthesia. Without anesthesia, the procedure would be incredibly painful for a dog. (Plus, the dog would not be likely to hold still!) And if you are not a veterinarian, but you try to give anesthesia to a dog, you can easily kill it. In addition to the whole anesthesia/pain question, you could also potentially kill your dog by giving it an infection if you didn't do the procedure with properly clean technique. For instance, everything that touches any part of an incision on a dog has to be sterile. This is NOT something you can mess with at home - it's NOT something you can learn to do on the internet. It takes training and practice. In addition to all of that, you would have to have appropriate tools for this minor surgical procedure - veterinary tools. You can't just take sharp scissors and do this - they don't cut the way surgical tools do. If you decided you wanted your own ears cropped, would you want someone to do this to you at home, or would you want to go to a doctor? It's not like getting your ear pierced. Please take your dog to a vet. If you love your dog, have this done right. If you can't afford to take your dog to a vet, contact a local pit bull rescue society to see whether they might help. If they know that your alternative is to try this at home, they just might help. * I totally agree with the above poster and I would just like to add, that dogs ears SHOULDN'T be cropped! It's painful and cruel! How would you like someone cropping your ears because they felt you should have pointed ears instead of the ones you have! Let the dog be. Pitbulls don't need their ears cropped. Bravo!

Answer 2

It is serious surgery and has many risks associated with it. When the ears get infected or other complications occur, you will need to take the dog to the vet. Then it will be obvious that you have physically abused your dog. This is how home cropping of ears is regarded and this is a fair view. You cannot take the needed steps to care for a dog during and after this surgery without veterinary support.

Ear cropping of dogs is illegal in many countries and in some states. In other places it may be legally done but only by a licensed vet. It is a surgery on an animal that is done for cosmetic reasons and therefore is controversial. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is opposed to ear cropping for cosmetic purposes, and encourages the elimination of ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards.

If you are considering this surgery for your dog, keep in mind that it is an injury unnecessary for the dogs health and well-being, and is only done to produce an appearance that is not natural to the dog breed you have. There are serious risks and pain associated with undergoing surgery and anaesthetic that need to be balanced with any potential benefit of a small change in looks. As the dogs owner you are responsible for their well being.

Dogs that have their ears cropped usually have it done at about 8-12 weeks of age. This is so that the puppy is old enough to cope with the stress of this injury, and young enough that the cartilage is soft so the ears can be trained to stand erect.

Not all vets will perform this surgery. If you do decide to proceed, make sure that the person who performs this surgery is a qualified veterinarian, and takes great care and gives follow-up care.

The vet performing the cutting of the ears will need to anaesthetise the puppy so that:

* the puppy is still throughout the surgery * the puppy does not feel the pain of the cutting (the injury will be painful for some weeks afterwards) * some control of bleeding is possible The cutting needs to be done carefully so that:

* the remaining part of the ear will balance in an erect position * both ears look the same * the scarring is controlled (Scarring can cause twisting and folding of the ear.) * the risk of infection is minimised The ears will then be stitched or glued.

After the operation the puppy will need:

* sedation to minimise further damage to the ears * bandaging to reduce the risk of infection and bleeding * antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection * anti-inflammatories for pain and inflammation control * taping or splinting to train the ears to stand erect until the cartilage hardens with age. There will need to be follow up visits to the vet to monitor the injury for infection, scarring, and potential injuries and irritation from the splints or tape.

The ears may still not stand erect after this treatment. You can't. You'll kill the dog. If you don't have the money, don't get its ears cropped. If the puppy is over 3mos old, it usually can't have its ears cropped anyway. actually you sure can have them done. I have seen it done, but none of my dogs have had their done By anyone besides my vet. my friend tried to get me to do it to mine, but they will not bleed out or anything like that, But if they are over 4 months they will. I have seen it donne with a square butcher knife, a hammer, and they drugged the puppy up. you draw how you want it on the ear, you line the Blade with the Drawn line, and you hit it with the hammer multiple times to that it goes all the way through, you have to have a SHARP blade to d this, or you will mess up the dog's ears. This is how I have seen it done, but please, do not try this for you and your dog's safety.