In 1996, the new owners of one of my puppies decided to crop. The 8 week old puppy, Fletcher, died under anesthesia. Since the sad loss of Fletcher, Keymaster Danes has been devoted to promoting the beauty of natural eared Danes. To this end, puppies are only sold to qualified puppy buyers who agree not to crop the puppy's ears. We believe its time the United States and Canada joined England, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Greece, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand (thanks for reminding me, Chris!) and recently France in banning ear cropping.

There is no reason a pet Dane needs to endure the cropping process of surgery followed by months of taping. Show dogs also do not need to be cropped to be successful in the show ring. The Great Dane standard gives equal footing to both the cropped and natural ear.

Read the Great Dane standard

Dane puppy in ear tapes

Educate Yourself on Ear Cropping

Most owners would probably not crop their puppies ears if they completely understood what is involved. That is partly the purpose of this page, to educate prospective puppy buyers on the ear cropping process so they can make an informed decision. Here are some things to be aware of:

• The pup must be subjected to general anesthesia between 7 to 12 weeks of age. There is always a risk, however small, that something can go wrong when under general anesthesia. It is extremely difficult to anesthetize a young puppy and great care must be given. Owners should be aware, pups do die during ear crops. 
• About half the ear is removed and there is a raw, bloody edge closed with stitches from the base to the tip of the ear. This is a significant surgery and is surely accompanied by a great deal of pain. Although the pain can be managed with drugs, the puppy inevitably experiences some discomfort.
• There is a very real risk of infection of the incisions. The ears must be kept very clean and the pup should not be unduly stressed (e.g. be shipped by air) right after an ear crop. 
• There is also a risk of fungal infections on the top of the head. This is due to restricted air flow from tape or cups being placed on the head to support the ears.
• Both you and your puppy must go through a minimum of 3 months of mandatory, time consuming, and costly weekly ear taping sessions. One never knows how long the taping process will have to go on. Some lucky dogs have ears that stand quickly at about 6 months old, others must be taped until the dog is nearly a year of age. Some ears never stand properly.
• There is NO - repeat NO - proven medical benefit to cropped ears. Some argue that a cropped ear is less likely to get ear infections because of increased light and air flow. There has been a scientific veterinary study conducted on this topic that concluded that drop-eared dogs are no more likely to get ear infections than prick-eared or cropped dogs.

When you add up the costs of time and money, then add the risks and pain to the animal, there is no other logical conclusion: natural ears make sense!

A Message to Breeders

Although historically cropped for hunting boar, the Great Dane today is cropped to ensure success in the show ring and because owners and breeders like the look of cropped ears. But more and more breeders are finding their good quality, well presented dogs will rise to the top...cropped or not. Ch. PashN RN and her offspring Ch. Otto TDI and Ch. Envy RN all finished easily with 5 point majors.

As for the look of cropped ears, yes they are beautiful! Perhaps it is time however, to seriously consider whether subjecting dogs to elective surgery simply because we think they look better is ethical.

  "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" ~ Mahatma Gandhi

See successful show Danes with natural ears.

Join the on-line group Natural Show Dogs, an owners and breeders forum for those who show their dogs without cropped ears.

Natural Beauty, No More Cosmetic Surgery on Puppies!

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