We are getting a Doberman puppy next week. She will be 8 weeks old when we get her. We have been checking around for a vet to have her ears cropped and some vets will not do this procedure anymore.

What are your views on cropping ears? How old should my puppy be when it’s done?

Name withheld
Jackson, Tennessee

You must not be a regular Vet Blog reader, because I’ve gone on the record a number of times (and I’m about to go on it again) with my views on ear cropping. I am opposed to the procedure.

I do not crop ears. Virtually every vet I know does not crop ears. Most vets under 45 do not crop ears. I have said before that eventually ear cropping will stop, because there will be no vets who will perform the procedure. And you have already seen that it is beginning to happen. Most of the vets who still crop ears are older. They’re retiring (and, let’s face it, dying) in droves — and the procedure is dying out with them.

Here is my advice: Don’t crop your dog’s ears. She’s not going to be a police dog who needs (ostensibly — and frankly I don’t even buy this argument) her ears cropped to avoid injury while pursuing violent felons. Ear cropping is painful and has, in my opinion, an intolerably high rate of complications. Your dog will derive no benefit from the procedure. So don’t do it.

Dobermans, by the way, are super cute with their ears intact. Leave hers that way.