Art exists because life is not enough

Many people claim “we have to crop dobermans, boxers, etc. because floppy ears retain moisture and it makes them prone to ear infections.” but if that’s the case, why don’t we do this to other breeds then? The dogs most prone to ear infections are labradors, beagles, bloodhounds, coonhounds, spaniels, poodles, etc. and yet we almost never crop them. Why? because it doesn’t look right. It’s not about preventing ear infections, but that’s a poor argument to begin with considering you can just take care of your dog’s ears.

Many people make a similar argument for docking; “we have to doc dobermans, boxers, rottweilers, etc. because it prevents happy tail.” Again if that’s the case, why don’t we do it to other breeds? Labradors, greyhounds, whippets, bloodhounds, etc. commonly get tail related injuries yet we don’t dock them unless it’s after the injury has already occurred. Plus, unlike with cropping, docking is generally done without anesthesia or painkillers. Even if you go to a vet it is still done without anything to prevent pain because it’s done to newborn puppies. They can feel it, they squeal and react to the pain. So you’re causing pain in order to prevent pain. Of course, some people will tell you it’s fine because the puppy ‘won’t remember’ but not remembering a traumatic event isn’t the same as being unaffected. 

But that’s just with pets, cropping and docking working dogs is completely different… right?

“We have to dock dobermans, rottweilers, etc. for protection work because someone could grab them by the tail.” Yet german shepherds, belgian malinois, dutch shepherds, and more, are left with their tails intact despite the fact that you could grab them by the tail too.

“We have to crop dobermans, american bullies, etc. for protection work because someone could grab them by the ears.” Yet german shepherds, belgian malinois, dutch shepherds, rottweilers, and more, are left with their ears intact despite the fact that you could still grab them. And you could still grab a cropped doberman’s ears because they are almost never given a short crop. It accomplishes nothing except making them look a certain way.

“Well we have to crop and dock livestock guardians so predators can’t grab their ears or bite off their tails.” I am less critical when it comes to cropping livestock guardians, but just like with everything else it seems to only be done to specific breeds. Even if they do the same job, even if they face the same predators, it’s still not done to every breed. It is generally only done to the breeds you expect to see cropped and docked.

“Well cattle dogs could have their tails stepped on.” We still have the same issue as before. It’s not done to all cattle dog breeds, just to the ones you expect to see docked.