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5/18/10
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It really depends on what you want to do with your Cane Corso. If your Corso is a family pet, then there is no advantage. However, if your Corso is going to be a work or show dog you'll need to crop the ears. The only advantage is safety in a work situation since they can bleed out pretty quickly if the ears are torn while working. As far as showing the dog goes most, at least in America, require cropped ears. In Europe, they do not alter the dogs at all.
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Katherine
Trailhead Cane Corso
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7/6/10
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There is currently much concern about allowing the future of the Cane Corso and the breed standard to be changed by the elimination of ear cropping and/or tail docking in our breed. Due to animal rights activists calling for legislation against cropping and docking in many countries, the very future of the Cane Corso breed is at stake.
With regards to cropping and docking, the AKC states that "Mislabeling these procedures as 'cosmetic' is a severe mischaracterization that connotes a lack of respect and knowledge of history and the function of purebred dogs." Yet veterinary colleges no longer teach cropping and docking to their students, and a growing number of veterinarians are shying away from performing crop/dock procedures. Already in several European countries pencil pushers have decided that cropping/docking is ‘wrong’ and passed legislation banning cropping, docking, and limiting the ability to compete with a cropped/docked dog. This legislation is passed by people who have
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Richard & Laura
About Time Cane Corso Italiano
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7/6/10
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...no knowledge of the breed or how their legislation affects the breed’s future, they are simply ‘anti-crop’ and ‘anti-dock’ in their personal opinions.
There are breeds with long floppy ears that are functional. For example a Bloodhound’s long ears assist the dog in performing the task for which it was bred. The reasons for the Cane Corso breed being cropped are also functional, preventing catching and tearing of the ears on a working dog, and reducing health problems that stem as a result of the ears remaining uncropped and floppy. Health issues aside, the dramatic impact of uncropped ears on the Cane Corso, its look, and breed type, are profound.
When the floppy ears are left uncropped, several optical illusions come into play and dominate. The correct image of square head and muzzle are lost in a rounding effect. The headpiece, over all, now gives the impression of a basketball and loses the cube like correctness that the breed is recognized for. The skull and muzzle toge
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Richard & Laura
About Time Cane Corso Italiano
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7/6/10
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...together take on an elongated image, and the once well defined stop is drowned out. The definition of powerful muscle in the cheeks is lost and the entire impression and expression is changed. With the ears cropped, the majestic expression and correct head type, or lack thereof, are easily recognized. Cropped ears allow to see the true squareness of head and the muzzle. With floppy uncropped ears, it becomes all muddled.
Unilateral uncropped ears would devastate the Cane Corso breed as we know it.
Breeders will be forced to exaggerate certain aspects of the head to counter the effect of the illusion given by long ears. In their subsiquent efforts to maintain the appearance of the chiseled squareness that is the defining marker of the Cane Corso breed’s head piece, the true original standard and correct head will be lost.
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Richard & Laura
About Time Cane Corso Italiano
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7/6/10
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...If you are struggling with this issue please consider the truths of the situation. Mother Nature has perfectly designed the animals in her world to be effective and prosper. It is apparent that each animal has adaptations and structure designed to enable that animal to live well and reproduce. That being said, the realization that 99.9% of all the mammals in Nature have erect ears should give us pause… Why?
After all, there must be some reason most of the warm blooded animals on the planet share this trait. So, hold this thought while we examine the dog and why many breeds have floppy ears; the answer, in one word: Man.
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Richard & Laura
About Time Cane Corso Italiano
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7/6/10
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...The domestic dog, in all its different varieties, has been genetically engineered by man. Over the course of thousands of years we have taken the dog and changed it to fit our every need and whim. This includes changing Mother Nature’s style of ears. But what harm could that possibly bring to a dog, having its ears pendulous? Well, little beasties (parasites, yeast and others) LOVE warm, dark places that are still and quiet. What better place to thrive than inside a dog’s ear that has a flap of heavy skin to protect it for the air, sunlight and water? It’s common knowledge that dogs with floppy ears suffer more with such health issues than dogs with Natures design; erect ears. Standing ears have the advantage of allowing air and sun and water into them. It is much harder for parasites to thrive in such a hostile environment, resulting in a natural reduction of ear infections and health problems.
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Richard & Laura
About Time Cane Corso Italiano
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7/6/10
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... Maintaining the health of a working dog was and is critical. Cropping the ears is and was one ways to protect the dog’s health. Erect ears are generally healthier. Not only does an erect ear hedge against parasites, but in the course of the dog performing its duties, smaller ears are more difficult for other animals to bite or people to grip. Because the capillaries are so close to the surface in the ear, when wounded they bleed. If the blood gets in the dogs eyes, it can hinder their ability to perform and may even endanger and render them helpless. Cropping the ear virtually eliminates the possibility that a part of the dog’s own body could be used to immobilize it. This is another reason Mother Nature gives her animals erect ears. Pendulous ears would give “handles” to grip and leverage to pull down. Imagine how much easier it would be for a predator to grab and pull down a dear that had dangling ears.
Despite recent pushes to the contrary, the fact remains that cropping a d
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Richard & Laura
About Time Cane Corso Italiano
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7/6/10
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... Not to imply that all Cane Corso dogs must be cropped/docked, as there are some who have a preference for the uncropped look. The decision to crop a dog comes down to personal preference on the part of the dog’s breeder and/or owner, and the freedom to make that choice is vitally important to the future of our breed.
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Richard & Laura
About Time Cane Corso Italiano
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