Are Miniature Pinschers ears naturally pointed or... ?

Question

have they been cropped. I know the tails are docked...but i'm not sure on the ears.

Answer 1

IMO the dogs with the natural ears - floppy and erect - look lovely.  The poor dog with the cropped ears looks deformed.

Answer 2

I think they are floppy. Interesting Question!

Oh, and if you love Bernies, add me to your contacts because in my opinion, Saints are the best breed of dog in the world!!! Plus, the picture of the Saint Bernard in your avatar picture is adorable!

Answer 3

The Miniature Pinscher natural ear can and does often stand without being cropped. Many have floppy or what we refer to as "button ears". For those that are under the assumption that cropping in any way assures they will stand, sorry it does not. Many Miniature Pinschers have had ears cropped and they do not stand. This has nothing to do with poor taping but due to improper evaluation of the ear by a vet prior to attempting to crop. The reason for ear cropping on a Miniature Pinscher was never to get them to stand and majority of the original "Zwergpinschers" were born with natural standing "doe" ears. Farmers cropped to avoid having to continually clip portions of the loose ear torn by rats when the dog would go to ground after them. Miniature Pinschers would go head first into holes after rats, mice and small vermin. Once in the hole the ears were left with no defense and were then subject to being bitten leaving the loose torn. Farmers soon discovered if they "cut" cropped the ear this would alleviate the issue later. But far too many with cropped ears actually have ears that do not stand.

The true Miniature Pinscher natural standing ear does have a semi point as found in the deer. But should not be confused with the cropped ear.

proper length crop (note: height has nothing to do with attempt to stand but is based on dogs proportions. Longer the dog head and body the longer the crop. Shorter the dog, less height of crop.

perfect length on crop for dog size.

http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/pets/...

Note the slight point of the ears and outside curve. These are what are referred to as "doe" or deer ears.

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/preview...

These are what are referred to as "button ears" the tip of the natural flopped ear catches the corner of the eyes.

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/1031...

Unlike the the norm for Dobermann's Pinschers, Miniature Pinschers ear are usually done at 4 to 6 months. This allows time for natural development of the ear to help better chance that with cropping the ears will in fact stand.

Answer 4

They are naturally floppy.  They have to be cropped to stand up.

Answer 5

Yup, their ears are floppy. ^_^

Answer 6

Yep ears are cropped and then tapped to keep them upright

Answer 7

Both.  Some do have naturally upright, rounded ears, some have naturally flopped ears.  Many people do crop the ears shorter to stand nice and pointy.

Floppy ears:

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/1031...

Natural upright ears:

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/preview...

Cropped ears:

http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/pets/...

Answer 8

Since everyone has already said their ears are floppy I'll just comment on

how adorable your picture is.

Answer 9

Mini Pins ears are naturally floppy. They need to be cropped to stand upright.