Does a boxer ears have to be cropped to show

Tracy Jean · #1 07-01-2009, 10:34 PM

I have got a question does a boxer's ears have to be cropped to show them? I have a 5 month old fawn female who is beautiful but I didn't get her ears cropped. I didn't know if I could show her. We have been interested in showing and have been working on some training,

LILYLARUE · #2 07-02-2009, 09:50 AM

I believe in the US, both cropped and floppy are acceptable.

Nowadays, natural ears are becoming the preference in the professional arena. Cropping is banned in the UK now, I think because it is only for cosmetic reasons. There is no medical benefit to cropping the ears any longer.

**gmacleod** · #3 07-02-2009, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LILYLARUE

Cropping is banned in the UK now, I think because it is only for cosmetic reasons.

Yes, it was banned in the UK around about 1875. In a number of other countries also. That's a bit longer ago than the boxer breed was invented...

Tail docking is the procedure more recently outlawed here.

In the US, the breed standard was changed a couple of years ago to provide for natural ears in the show ring.

**GoCougs** · #4 07-04-2009, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LILYLARUE

Nowadays, natural ears are becoming the preference in the professional arena.

I don't know what "professional arena" you are referring to, but as you are in the US, if you mean the show ring, than this statement is not true. Cropped ears are still the preference. As Gmacleod said, however, it wasn't until a few years ago that the standard allowed for the natural ear.

As with many things, it will take some time to change hearts and minds, and until that happens it will continue to be difficult to show a natural eared boxer.

LILYLARUE · #5 07-07-2009, 08:42 AM

GoCougs, I didn't mean the show ring, as traditions seem to override the current style. I really meant to say that more and more people in the dog business, ie. vets, are starting to shy away from unneccessary "cosmetic" alterations. My vet and I had this discussion just recently. He was saying that in the past, vets did whatever alterations to keep the breed "standard". He is finding in the past decade that vets are now accepting that some of these practices, though traditional, are really not neccessary unless the dog is competing in the show ring. He said the show ring will be the last place to conform to the modern theory of leaving a dog "au natural". I am seeing more and more boxers with natural ears and tails.....which makes me believe that what the vet is saying is true. There will always be those that will still want to crop cause they like the look, but those who feel the need to keep the traditional look are waning. I happen to like the cropped ears and docked tails, but if I were the one to decide to do either, I would opt out of both.