Prettydobie i'm sure you saw my tripod page an asked me a Question regarding why Harveys ears are not cropped as it was from trinity1 which i saw in another thread was an old username for the other forum you are with ..well i tried to respond but it seems i cant on the tripod site so i thought i would reply here..
anyways here is the answer to your question~ i got Harvey as a rescue of sorts and he had his tail docked when i got him Which is illegal here in the u.k but it still happens behind closed doors..even if i wanted to i cannot get his ears cropped as it is illegal also here as it is considered mutilation. I have never seen a dog with cropped ears in the u.k but seen many with no tails (even though both are illegal) i think that is because alot of people feel that they can do a decent job on the tail docking as it they feel its alot easier process than ear cropping. Well someone thought they could do a good job of harveys tail and cut it of a joint to short with a pair of scissors leaving aload of scar tissue which the hair could not grow through
Thats how it is with trinity i don't know if you looked at her picture on dogster but her ears look like someone ran over them with a lawnmower. Thsi is what I ment when I said this is y the breeders had there AKC title removed. Hair will not grow on the back on her ears cause the breeder decided to crop her ears when she was 3 days old and when the AKC looked into it they found that they had been doing this to alot of doberman litters. It turns out that the breeders had about 12 females and 3 males and every littler they cropped the tails, ears, and did there shots themselves. The shots aren't bad but the AKC said that the way they were doing the tails and ears is cruel so they removed there AKC title for this.
Hi just saw the pics of Trinity ~ its a real shame about the ears but like My Harvey they are still both beautifull. Harvey went through some serious issues as he was abused but now he is such a well ajusted dog you would never know he had an awfull start in life. When trinity had her ears 'cropped' it must have been awfull for her not to mention cruel and painfull (not doing it properly) did she have any emotional scars from having it done .. or did it not effect her one bit?
I think that the ears are usually cropped when they are about 6 months old, or a bit less. I have seen many young dogs with the ears taped up, on top of their head. They do that till they stand up on their own... I remove dewclaws on pups at 3 days of age. It is like snipping a fingernail. They cry for a minute, then grumble a bit, then just go back to sleep. Hardly worth tramatizing them, and their mom, by a lengthy trip to a vet. I guess tails would be much harder, but vets are no better at doing things than an experienced dog breeder, the method is the same... I would not trust a vet to give shots when I can purchase the best available, and give them myself. I need to get Rabies shot this week, the only one that I do not give myself. I have no proof that that man is not just injecting water into the dog. I MUCH rather give shots myself. That way I know what I am getting is EXACTLY what I paid for.
She can't stand being left alone but most dobies I know are that way. I don't really think theres any emotional damage, if there is any then I haven't seen it yet. I do know that she loves it when you massage her ears. It puts her right to sleep.
When I bought trinity all they said is that they started her shots and when I asked which shots they have started she handed me an empty bottle. I decided to take her to the vet and start her shots over cause then that way I know shes had all of her shots.