Pups on Parade: Behind the Scenes at the 2013 Westminster Dog Show

PAULA ~~~~~~~~WHAT EVER YOU DO,   MAKE SURE YOUR MAN IS NOT ( CIRCUMSIZED )  HE'S MOST LIKELY STILL SCREAMING FROM THE PROCEDURE ...

Paula, I don't know what barbaric part of the world you come from, but your comments on cropping are so out of line. And if you are that familiar with cropping, you seem to know how YOU think it is done, then maybe you are hanging around with the wrong people.  Who in there right mind would tape an ear or bandages as you state, after a pup is newly cropped. First off the ears are secured on light weight cups, so that the cropped edge is exposed, and it heals very quickly, being careful not to tape the edge. After the ear is completely healed in a week, the sutures are snipped off, usually coming out on their own.  Some people choose to just let the ears heal, then post.  Posting is the support which is used to support the ear while growing.  And it is foam, such as pipe insulation. My pups never even reacted to the cups on their head at 6/8 weeks old, they just run around and play, no differently than before.

Second if you know someone who is opening up a Bitch's abdomen, and injecting semen into the uterus, please give me their name.  And your friends ( breeders as you might call them), who are breeding their bitches at 1 year, are doing more harm to their animal, than can be imagined. Are your friends doing natural breeding's only, if so do they check the bitch before she is bred, to make sure she has no infection, or problems that could harm the male.  Do you know a male can die from being bred to a bitch that has not been checked out completely by a Vet.  Wake up, Miz Paula, you are a nobody, speaking on a subject you know nothing about.  And Shoreline Great Danes is one example, of how responsible breeders care for their dogs, and your picked the wrong person to pick on when you decided to write your uneducated comments on this post.  She has bred some of the top dogs in the country.  Beautiful, happy, sound, physically and mentally stable dogs.

So go back into the woods, take some "Moonshine" with you, and sleep under a log somewhere, people like you who banter on about subjects you think you know and understand, are lonely, insecure, with a great need to be noticed.  Come here spend some time with some breeders, watch them welp their pups, stay and see the litter, as they grow and play....met some great Vet's that are doing all the testing, and certifications, that are necessary to produce sound, and outstanding pedigree's.  Because I'm thinking, you have been in the wood's too long.

 Paula you are so misinformed. First the puppies are NOT  4 months of age when they are cropped. They are cropped at 6-8 weeks of age by a licensed veterinarian. They come home after cropping, eat a meal and fall asleep. Upon wakening they play with their littermates, and resume their natural activities. There is very little discomfort in the first 24 hours and the sutures are removed around day 10 after cropping. It is THEN we use the foam braces to keep the ears standing, NOT when they are first cropped. This is NOT uncomfortable and the puppies do NOT mind it at all. Once a week the ear tape is changed and the supports are reposted. This is not painful, in fact the puppies look forward to this time because they get treats and loving. Depending on the puppy and ear leather, some ears stand after a few ears tapings. Others take a bit longer, but again Paula, this procedure is NOT painful as you so stated. It is a proven fact that cropped ears on a great Dane or any other breed that has their ears cropped  have less of an incidence of ear infections. The reason for that is the cropped ear  allows air to circulate and keep the ear canal dry, thus preventing the moist environment that a dropped ear animal has in the ear canal. Here is another fact Paula, long pendulous ears are a man made ear because all dogs originate  from the wolf which has short pricked ears, not long pendulous ears.  We  now will  address the second part of your misinformation, the females are NOT bred at a year of age. Responsible breeders make sure that the bitches are at least 2 years of age, have all of their health clearances, i.e.: OFA for hips and elbows, echo cardiograms, thyroid panels, and eye certifications. After having all of these clearances done, then a suitable stud dog is found that would compliment the bitches pedigree, and temperament. If a bitch is being surgically implanted with frozen semen, hundreds of dollars are spent targeting the progesterone of the bitch so that the surgical implant will be done when your timing is right. Usually this is done when your using a dog that is deceased and the semen is frozen, or if you were using chilled semen from a  dog that  lives across the country. The small incision is done under a light anesthesia, the bitch then wakes up and goes home, and is not uncomfortable at all. Paula, there is NEVER another breeding done one week later when you have had a surgical implant, because if we waited another week, the bitch would be out of season and a second breeding would NOT be necessary. Bitches are also bred naturally, but because of their size, we also do artificial inseminations. Contrary to your beliefs this is NOT painful. I feel that all your misinformation leads me to believe that you have no idea at all on how responsible breeders conduct their breeding programs. We spend a lifetime studying our breed trying to responsibly breed the best dog to the best bitch,we  screen the perspective homes to make sure that a Great Dane is the proper dog for that family and most importantly health temperament and longevity is our up most concern.  If you would like to contact me personally to learn more on how responsible breeders operate, I would be more than glad to educate you. My email address is nancy.simmon47@yahoo.com I hope that I cleared up all of your misconceptions.

No, they are mutilated at about four months of age. They are put under general anesthetic, half of the pinnae (ear flaps) are amputated, then the edges are sutured. They then place "supports" in their ears, and tape them to those. Every week or so they have to come in to have the bandages changed, then the sutures are removed in another painful procedure. If they are lucky, in a year or so, the females get to come in for surgical insemination - being anesthetized so that their abdomens can be opened, and semen injected into the uterus. Then a week later they come in, and are inseminated again via a pipette - a small tube inserted through the cervix - another painful procedure. All in the name of "good breeding". Sorry, you won't see me at a dog show....ear cropping in Europe has been banned for thirty years now. 

Aristocrat is soooo cute! I wannna. 

Images 9 & 10: Are those dogs ears naturally like that? Or do they cut them when they are puppies?