So what's the big deal over

Ears

anyway?

First we need to reiterate that we have nothing against cropped ears. We simply prefer the way correct natural ears look. We strongly believe that cropping should remain an individual choice.

Contrary to the media and animal rights hype, there is nothing inherently cruel about cropping ears if it is done correctly. By that I mean that it is done by a vet who is experienced in ear cropping. It is a simple surgery that is far less invasive than spaying or neutering. Yet we don't think twice about having those procedures done, even though studies have shown that they can have some very detrimental effects on our pets.

There is, however, very little that we think ruins the noble look of the boxer than a poorly executed or a failed crop. Boxers are not supposed to have a short crop like a pit bull.

Cropping requires months of taping the ears to ensure they stand. Often this taping goes on for 7 or 8 months, and sometimes longer. If you don't have the dedication to do that, then don't crop, because if it isn't done the ears will not stand.

As we have said, we have nothing against cropping, we just prefer the look of the correct natural ear.

So what does that mean exactly? Every purebred breed of dog has a standard. A standard is a blueprint of what the ideal specimen of that breed should look like. Every part of the body is gone over in detail, and what it should look like is written down so that everyone knows what it is supposed to look like.

The AKC standard, set forth by the American Boxer Club says that the ears are to be set high, and if they are left natural that they should be of moderate size, thin, lying flat and close to the cheeks in repose, but fall forward with a definite crease when alert.

Can you picture what that looks like?

Jasmine has perfect ears according to the standard. You can see that they are set at the highest point of the skull. They break over close to the skull and fall forward with a definite crease. They are moderate in size, being neither to large nor too small.  Jasmine is from UK/Australian and North American bloodlines. Cropping is not legal in the UK or Australia, and so breeders in those countries actively select dogs for their breeding programs that have correct ear sets.

It can be hard to find Boxers that come from North American bloodlines that will have correct natural ears. The reason for that is because American Boxers have been bred for generations to be cropped. If you are going to crop, then what the ear looks like naturally isn't a big issue. Also, when ears are selected on the basis that they will be cropped, then certain traits will often become prominent. One of these traits is that the bells of the ears become very strong. They must be strong in order for a crop to stand properly.

When ears with strong bells are left uncropped they often end up looking like this:

Shayna is from very good American bloodlines. However when you compare her ears to Jasmine's you can see that they are not correct for natural ears. If she had been cropped her ears would have more than likely have stood with little trouble. While I feel this look is cute, it is definitely not correct, and there are many people who feel that this ruins the Boxer expression. This is one of the reasons you don't see very many natural eared Boxers being shown. Because there are not many that have correct natural ears. While you can tape natural ears that are not quite correct, no amount of taping would ever have tamed the bells on Shayna's ears.

Also, just because a dog comes from bloodlines that have correct natural ears doesn't mean that their ears will be perfect.

Sonny has one ear that is correct and one ear that flies a little bit. When I brought Sonny home, I had no intention of showing him, and consequently perfect ears were not my priority. Had I taped his left ear when he was a puppy, it would have been correct. Taping natural ears is not as difficult or long a process as taping cropped ears can be. More than likely I would have just had to tape him through his teething period.

Sonny's ears are set high and do break over close to the skull, which is correct. They are a little bit on the small side, but not bad. The left ear does not have the crease that it should, but as I said, that could have been corrected as a puppy.

Here is Sonny's other side, and you can see that the ear on this side is correct.

There are some other aberrations that we see in natural ears. Sometimes they can look like terrier ears. Again, it is because the bell of the ear is strong it stands up rather than breaking over close to the skull that causes this issue. Another thing I have seen on occasion are natural ears that stand up on their own. They look like the ears on a boston terrier or a french bulldog, and it really ruins the noble look of the boxer.