That doesn’t mesh with the image that most people have of Pits, so those ears have to go. As a puppy with its natural ears, a Pitbull is cute, some may even say downright adorable. Here’s the biggest and most prominent reason for cutting a Pitbull’s ears. Again though, Pits don’t have long, floppy ears, making this a non-issue as well. This is another area where yes, dogs with longer ears have a hearing disadvantage because their ears can’t send sound waves to the ear canal the same way a dog with shorter ears can. The other health benefit of cropping a Pit’s ears is to help his hearing. He wouldn’t be prone to ear infections in adulthood, and I don’t think he’d get that many frequent ear infections in puppyhood either. Uncropped, the Pitbull does have big ears, but not big enough that his ears could be considered floppy.Īs a matter of fact, as the Pit matures, his ears grow into his head so they’re not as large. There is some credence to this, admittedly.ĭogs with longer, floppier ears tend to get ear infections more than breeds with shorter, more erect ears.Ī few of the more commonly known floppy-eared breeds that are susceptible to ear infections are the Basset Hounds and Cocker Spaniels. Health Benefitsĭog owners who decided to crop their Pits’ ears also claimed it was beneficial for their health. Since dog fighting is illegal across the United States today and in other parts of the world, this benefit is all but erased. Someone then decided that it would be better if their Pitbull had a lower profile ear that was harder to get a hold of so cropping the pit’s or pitbull’s ears became commonplace. Long ears could be targeted by another dog or animal in the fight, being bitten and pulled on. The pitbull also referred to as “Pit” would have made a good choice for fighting given its musculature and strong bite, but it had one glaring vulnerability: its ears. When the Pitbull was first bred in the United Kingdom and later in the United States, one of its primary purposes was dogfighting. Okay, so what’s the appeal of cropping a Pitbull’s ears? Here are some reasons that cosmetic otoplasties rose to prominence more than 100 years ago and why some vets will still do them today.

The Pros and Cons of Cutting the Ears of Pitbulls.

Pit bull ears clipt