Originally Posted by ARCOgraphite
I Like Dobi's, but i fail to understand why folks cut their ears and tail.
Seems barbaric.
No It IS barbaric.
Actually, your judgement of it being barbaric, is purely out of your own ignorance and failing to understand basic canine health evolution & biology. Dogs with cropped ears are MUCH less likely to get ear infection, yeast infections of the ear canal, wax build-ups, injuries, hematomas, etc.
Think about this - NO WILD TYPE Canid species has flopped over ears, they ALL stand erect and upright, because that is what nature dictated to be the most trouble free form of ear design, over the hundreds of thousands of years of evolution.
Now, during humankind's domestication & subsequent selective breeding of dogs, the ears of a great many breeds gradually became too pendulous to stand up on their own. So modern day problems require alternative solutions in order to deal with the issues that floppy ears have.
I've owned, trained, bred & worked with hardcore working & hunting dogs for the past 28 years and have worked closely within the veterinary field dealing with Police K9, hunting dogs, Personal Protection Dogs, security K9's, search & tracking dogs, etc. My ex is a DVM and several of my good friends are DVM's as well. Their real life experiences, in addition to my own, back this ear cropping debate up, whether or not it pleases you, the furmoms, PETA and any other bleeding heart animal lovers.