Q: Is it necessary to cut the ears of a Cane Corso?
I'm getting a Cane Corso, and I've been hearing from people that you DO have to cut it and others say it's just a choice. I like it when it hangs because it looks less scary lol.. but are there negatives if I live them down, or is it necessary to cut them.
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Answers and Views:
Answer by CanineTruth
Not necessary in a pet dog, no. A most reputable breeder will dock or crop on ALL animals if it is a part of the breed standard - but some will not, especially if a chosen home asks them not to on a pet animal.
The only negative to having hanging ears is moisture MAY get trapped and cause infection, but I wouldn't worry too much about that as this is usually only a problem with certain very long-eared breeds (Cocker Spaniels for example) and providing you clean the ears regularly.
Answer by iLoveMyCorso
I have a 10-month-old Cane Corso. Before we cropped her ears, we were constantly cleaning out gunk every day. Literally. We had her at the vet which gave us the stuff to help keep the "gunk" down. We then chose to get her ears cropped. Since then, we have really only cleaned her ears once (just recently). The only thing that bothered her with her crop surgery was the drowsiness of the anesthesia. Her spay surgery bothered her for days and her ear cropping did not give her any problems. Once the anesthesia wore off, she was a normal, playful Phoenix.
I would not want to have my dog on antibiotics her whole life from multiple ear infections that are painful. I am for ear cropping, something that is not just for cosmetics. I would know because I have experienced it.
Answer by Natalie
I have had Cane Corso’s for almost 10 yrs The first one I got had her ears cropped I admit I like the look but I will not put a dog through an Unnecessary surgery just to get a look I have had 3 dogs with ears intake for 6 yrs and I haven’t had ear infections I clean my dog's ears on a regular basis Gook in-ears are diet-related Usually related to grain found in crappy dog food Like corn & wheat And yes cropped ears need to be cleaned too Also dogs with cropped ears hate the rain as it Gets in their ears easily
I do believe in tail cropping if it’s done before day 3 These dogs never stop wagging their tails & it really hurts when they hit you
There was a reason the Italians did tails & ears It was to protect the dogs from the wild boar they were hunting Today it purely “the Look”
- Do you Prefer Cropped vs Uncropped Cane Corso dogs?
- How can I stop my Cane Corso dog from shedding?
- Why is the Cane Corso considered a dangerous dog breed?
- Why Caucasian Ovcharkas have their ears cropped short?
Answer by Justice
It is of note that natural canines not domesticated by humans, there is no such floppy-eared breeds, for many scientific reasonings. So for esthetics sure, breed confirmation sure, personal decisions not to crop the ears sure. Just a scientific fact that only domesticated breeds exhibit flopping ears.
Answer by MaryR
It is a personal choice. Some breeders have all puppies done if they are keeping a puppy or 2 back so that their show dog has it's ears done (if the ears are done before a breeder evaluates who is show potential and who is pet quality) others don't do any of the puppies but have no problem if you choose to have them done and will send pics or patterns to your vet of choice if you wish too, although most would prefer you use a vet that is familiar with a Cane Corso ears crop. You can show cropped or natural ears in a show but sometimes being the only dog without a crop can put you at a disadvantage.
Whichever you choose good luck with your puppy.
Answer by §arah
Definitely not – it's totally not worth the struggle of trying to find a vet that will perform the cropping, it would be painful for your Cane Corso, it's super expensive, the cropped ears may get infected or have an adverse reaction to the tape, the scarring could occur, it's a colossal pain in the… *ahem*… to re-bandage the ears… actually, there are like a thousand reasons why you don't need to have his or her ears cut, but most importantly you sound like you would prefer not to have the cropping done anyways. If this is the case, it's for the best. Congrats on the new Cane Corso dog!
Know better? Give your own answer to this question!
Daniel says
That’s not a corso in the pic. And don’t crop its ears. Animals don’t go around cropping their ears.
RussianDog says
Thank you for your comment. We’ve changed the picture.
Kerrie says
Im getting a cane corso in a few months I’m excited but a bit worried about if I should leave my Corso natural or crop and dock. I’ve heard from both side that the Corso has problems with both scenarios. Its so confusing i don’t want any issues with my puppy just for him to be happy and love this human. What should i do?
RussianDog says
Cropping is not obligatory, and it can be even risky for your puppy because of anesthesia. One story if you buy an already cropped puppy from a breeder, and another if you do it yourself.
You should decide what type of dog you want, and for what purpose. Historically, some breeds were cropped because they had to fight wolves. Please view the discussion Why Caucasian Ovcharkas have their ears cropped short? for more ideas.
Sarah says
Definitely do not crop. I have had beagles my whole life and no ear problems. It’s for People who are too lazy to clean their dogs ears once a month. Way more medical problems from cropping
Andrew D says
Don’t mutilate him or her then. Would you love a human who mutilated you?
Natalie says
The comment has been moved into the body of the post.
Justice says
The comment has been moved into the body of the post.
Johnny says
I love the PETA people who immediately want to attack ear cropping. We are choosing to get a Cane Corso because of their breed features.
We had a mastiff here is our story. She because of her long ears despite being cleaned 2-3 times a week. Had allergys. Allergys in dogs effects ears causes redness slight swelling as well as moisture. Long ear flaps keep air circulation down thus not drying out the ears. You as pet owner can only clean the external part of the ear and obviously not the ear drum area etc. she constantly had ear infections and mites and was alawys getting treated at one point or another at least 2-3x’s a year.
Ear infections for dogs are incredibly uncomfortable. They will shake their heads allot to try to remove moisture and relieve itching. This can cause serious blood vessel issues and rutupre of the vessels in the ear ends. Which would cause your pooch more discomfort going through surgery for it. So with that all said and the incredible costs of vet bills and overall health and happiness we will be opting for a cropped dog while they are young. Stay true to the breed standard.
The other thing was tail crop we want a tail cropped dog. Our mastiff the happiest of all dogs and extremely excited everyday to see us would switch her hind end around so vigorously she had actually broke her own tail on door jambs in between rooms in our house. She was a tail wagged there is no correction for a happy dog. The welts and bruises she would leave on my wife’s legs because her tail was like a whip was pretty minor. The black eyes our children got were pretty minor because after all they loved their tail wagging dog as much as we did.
Our dog despite us knowing she had even done it because it does not bother them broke her tail causing the nerves to go dead causing no pain. Once or twice split her tail off the edge of the doorways and would wag away splattering blood all over was still pretty minor it was easy to clean never hurt her.
One day she was out the back yard playing g and enjoying the sun as usual would often pick a spot to lay and bask. Came running back around the front of house with her tail half gone. Us immediately panicking and thorough upset to our own stomachs at what we saw went looking all over top to bottom for the piece of tail that was missing. Mind you the dog wasent even bleeding. Fearing we were going to get in some sort of trouble even though we had done nothing wrong but now a days with animal right activists etc animal abuse is watched closely .
Our vet had seen our dog more than his own children probably so we knew he knew that was not the case. We took her in once again. The vet laughed at our panicked reaction. Explained to us he sees this very often. The dog had broke her tail at one point causing the nerves to go dead no feeling she ate her he tail why because it was prob just there moving and she just happened to bite ahold of it and not feeling any pain kept biting. And when she was getting down close to where the break must of occurred and she finally felt somthing decided to stop. So he easily clipped off the ligament she was trailing around and rounded off the stub of bone on the end of her tail and sewed it up.
Well we then had a tail docked dog. Not a short tail docking like they do for pups but about 8-10″ vs the 24 or more she had.
Basically moral of story. If you decide to do a tail docking or ear cropping it is not inhumane as people would like to pressure and say it is. Baby boys HUMANS have their foreskin on their penis circumcised. Children have their tonsils out. All easy surgerys to young not developed humans. Perform that surgery on a grown human and extreme different scenario. Horrible pain associated with tonsil removal. And with a circumcision they say for an adult.
One trip in for a spay and neuter and ears and docking while that young that dog is far far from abused and can actually have a better quality of life in the long run. For them and their owner. Sorry for such a long post but I dislike people talking out of their ass when it comes to options not backed by facts.
RussianDog says
Thank you for your interesting comment. We’ve published it on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RusDog
Steven Collins says
I have a an APBT (6yrs old) and a Cane Corso (19mos), both female. Before our Cane, we had an American Bulldog (male) who lived 13yrs….all had their ears and none of them have ever had any problems whatsoever w “gunk” or being constantly dirty. Maybe the ppl making these claims live in filth, I don’t know, but ear cropping is not necessary at all…it’s purely cosmetic. Stop making excuses and stories, just grow a set and say that you like the way it looks, end of story.
Andrew D says
Right on Steven !