Hey everyone! Professional dog trainer and certified animal behaviourist here!
This is absolutely a very precious Great Dane puppy.
But let's talk about the thing everyone is confused about... His ears.
Ear cropping is a surgical procedure that involves cutting away the outer pieces of the ear (called the pinna) to remove the floppy bits. The remaining cartilage gets forced upwards using tape, bandages, and flat wood as support (similar to thick popcicle sticks). A process that is called "posting".
Ear cropping today is almost entirely done for aesthetic purposes, and there is absolutely no health benifits to doing it.
It had originated for breeds that were expected to face injury. Dogs used in dog fighting (which is now illegal) and less nerfarious things such as livestock guardian dogs.
Think of it like "No capes!" except the cape is two pieces of long floppy skin attached to the animal...
Do you know the breed Doberman Pinscher? The beautiful "Anubis" looking dogs? Well... What if I was to tell you they too are born with beautiful floppy ears!
Pitbulls and other bully breeds are all born with floppy ears. Dogo Argentino, Cane Corso, Mastiffs, and even Schnauzers are all dog breeds that are born with floppy ears but commonly get them cropped.
Ear cropping and tail docking are almost one in the same. There are MANY dog breeds that get their tails docked as well! HOWEVER tail docking has more reasons behind it than just dog fighting and aesthetics that humans place on animals. But that's a whole other topic...
I'm personally heavily against ear cropping, unless there's a medical reason that it had to be done in the first place, which is HIGHLY unlikely.
It doesn't help prevent ear infections. That's a myth.
Anyone who is comfortable doing, what is essentially, cosmetic surgery to their dog, while at the same time not being comfortable neutering their dog, shouldn't have a dog.
Ear cropping is slowly becoming outlawed in may vet practices. Please love your animals for how they are, and not how you want them to be perceived.
If you have any other questions about dog breeds or ear cropping, feel free to ask in the comments!
First look at Scooby Doo in the live-action βSCOOBY DOOβ series.
Coming soon to Netflix.