American Bully Ear Crop

As the owner of an American Bully dog, a point may come when you have to consider cropping the dog’s ears. In this article, you will find comprehensive information on Bully ear cropping: including what it entails, its purpose, its cost and much more.

The American Bully ear crop is a procedure that entails cutting the floppy part of the dog’s ear (under anesthesia). Then the cut ears are taped to some sort of hard surface for a while, to ensure that they grow in an upright manner onwards.

An American Bully with cropped ears looks is said to be less prone to certain ear infections. This is because after cropping, the ears grow upright, and therefore don’t trap much moisture. So that is one reason people have American Bully ears cropped.

People often use American Bullies as guard dogs. And there are those who believe that after ear cropping, an American Bully is more effective as a guard dog, as it looks more ‘menacing’.

So that is yet another American Bully ear cropping reason.

For show dogs, ear cropping apparently increases the aesthetic appeal of dogs. So people who keep American Bullies for show purposes also crop them to increase their aesthetic appeal in this regard.

In fact, in some circles, taking an American Bully with uncropped ears to the show ring would be regarded as ‘odd’. Thus ear cropping Bully dog is often an essential part of preparing it for the show ring.

But this practice of having American Bully ears cropped is not without its controversies. There are people who argue that cropping American Bully ears is rather cruel.

What Does American Bully Ear Cropping Entail?

The process of cropping Bully ears normally starts with putting the dog under local anesthesia.

The next step is that of cutting the American Bully floppy ears. The actual manner of the American Bully ear cutting depends on the cropping style one opts for.

So there are several ear cropping styles for American Bully dogs. One sometimes has to make reference to an American Bully ear crop chart, to select a suitable cropping style.

Thereafter there is fastening of the cropped Bully ears to a hard surface. We may also refer to this as American Bully ear taping. The goal is to ensure that the Bully dog ears grow upright.

Thus all the American Bully cropped ears you see come about through this sort of process. In other words, if you happen to see an American Bully puppy with cropped ears, you know that it is as a result of this sort of process.

There is usually a special American Bully ear cropping kit that a vet uses to complete the procedure.

Is American Bully Ear Cropping Painful?

One question that tends to come up with regard to the whole subject of ear cropping American Bully dogs is as to whether it is painful.

The truth of the matter is that American Bully ear cropping is somewhat painful. True, they do the procedure under anesthesia. This means that the dog doesn’t actually feel pain when the cutting and taping is being done.

But once the anesthesia wears off, the dog may experience some pain. Then again, the vet will usually give some pain medications, to deal with that sort of pain.

Still when setting out to get your American Bully puppy cropped ears, you need to beware of the pain factor.

However, if one follows the American Bully ear crop aftercare protocol well, the pain is likely to be minimal.

There are cases in which people who are not vets may try to do the ear cropping. In that case, it can be extremely painful: as there will usually neither be anesthesia nor pain medications.

But if you get a proper vet to do the American Bully puppy ear crop procedure, then the pain is likely to be minimal.

Generally, ear cropping for American Bully dogs is not as painful as, say, neutering or spaying.

And if you agree that an American Bully without cropped ears is more prone to ear infections, then you see that this little pain is worthwhile. It is certainly better than the pain that the dog would otherwise suffer due to ear infections.

Should You Crop American Bully Ears?   

One dilemma that owners of American Bully dogs face is on whether or not to crop their dogs’ ears.

So it is not uncommon to find an American Bully owner asking, should I crop my American Bully ears?

Now to resolve this dilemma, we first need to know, why do American Bullies have their ears cropped? Or, to put it differently, why do they crop American Bully ears?

And if you research on why are American Bully ears cropped, you see several reasons.

The most pragmatic one is that cropping the dog’s ears apparently makes it less prone to ear infections. The uncropped American Bully natural ears are flopped, which makes them prone to trapping moisture.

That moisture in turn makes them very prone to ear infections.

Cropping the ears entails cutting and taping them, so that they grow upright. In that posture, they are less likely to get infections.

So there is the fact that an American Bully or American bulldog with ears cropped is less prone to infections.

Many vets provide the American Bully with ears crop service for this reason.

Further, an American Bully dog with cropped ears is likely to be more effective as a guard dog than one without. The Bully dog uncropped ears make it look less menacing.

Yet a guard dog should look as menacing as possible. So there is this fact that American Bullies with cropped ears are more effective as guard dogs.

Yet another reason to have your American Bully’s ears cropped is to make it a better show dog. So this applies if you want to take the dog to the show ring.

In fact, in many places, American Bullies with uncropped ears don’t make it to the show ring.

What Age Do You Crop Bullies Ears?

The best American Bully ear crop age is between when the dogs are 6 weeks old and when they are 12 weeks old.

So that is the most appropriate American Bully ear cropping age.

And if you research on what age to crop American Bully ears, you will see that the 6-12 weeks range is most ideal.

In fact, most vets would be very hesitant to crop the ears of an older dog.

The American Bully ear crop healing process tends to be faster and less eventful for a young puppy. That is a puppy in the 6-12 weeks age range.

Thus if your American Bully is older than 12 weeks, and its ears are uncropped, you may not have another chance to crop them.

What Are The Different Types Of American Bully Ear Crop?

There are four major types of ear crop for American Bully dogs.

Those include the American Bully battle ear crop and the American Bully short crop. Others are the American Bully show crop and the American Bully long crop.

So these are the main American Bully ear crop design options.

You need to know what the different American Bully ear crop styles entail, then select the most appropriate one for your dog.

The main purpose for which you are cropping the dog’s ears will determine what is the best cropping style for it.

Suppose, for instance, you are cropping the dog’s ears in readiness for presenting it at a show ring. You will find that there are certain American Bully ear cropping styles that are most ideal for this purpose.

Take another person who has an American Bully as a guard dog, and is cropping its ears to make it more intimidating. The ear crop styles American Bully owners use for this purpose are quite different.

They are quite different from the ear cropping styles American Bully owners may use for the simple purpose of making their dogs less prone to ear infections.

Thus it is important to have some awareness of the standard Bully crop styles.

As noted earlier, those styles include the battle crop, short crop, show crop and long crop.

We will now proceed to look at what each of these entails.

American Bully Battle Ear Crop

This style entails cutting off most of the dog’s ear.

It gets its name from the dog fighting era. The battle cropped ears were to minimize the chances of opponents having ears to latch onto while fighting.

So the battle crop Bully dogs receive in their ears is the most radical: it cuts the whole ear.

The problem with the battle crop American Bully dogs get at times is in the fact that it leaves their ears prone to entry of debris.

That problem (of entry of debris into ears) is one that an American Bully with floppy ears that are uncropped doesn’t have at all.

There are some people who may have objections to this sort of drastic ear cropping. So you find them asking, why crop American Bully ears so drastically? Or they just wonder why American Bully ear crop has to be this radical.

Nonetheless if you want to ear crop Bully dog in a manner that leaves little trace of an ear, the battle crop is the way to go.

When you have American bulldog ears cropped in this style, the result is a very conspicuous dog.

So for the most conspicuous American bulldog cropped ears appearance, the battle crop is most ideal.

To be sure, this sort of American bulldog ear cropping will leave the dog’s ears too open. In other words, this type of American bulldog ear crop makes the dog prone to entry of debris into its ears.

Therefore if you opt to crop Bully ears in this way, that is something you need to beware of.

American Bully Short Crop

This entails having American Bully ears cut close to the head, but still leaving enough portion to cover the ear canal.

So it is a version of the battle crop, but not so radical. The battle crop leaves no portion of the ear. But in the short crop, they leave some portion of the ear to at least cover the ear canal, preventing entry of debris.

American Bully short crop ears are conspicuous, but the style is still more humane in comparison to the battle crop.

Vets who may not be willing to do the battle crop will typically be willing to consider the short ear crop American Bully style.

The short crop ears American Bully dogs end up with after this style are still very conspicuous. But the short crop Bully ears are not too open, and debris doesn’t easily enter the canal.

For both small and big American Bullies, this style works quite well.

So it is an ideal American Pocket Bully ear crop style. And it is also an appropriate American Bully XL ear crop style.

An American Bully XL with ears that are short cropped usually has a rather impressive appearance.  So does a pocket Bully with ears that are short cropped.

As a guard dog, it would tend to be more menacing (and hence more effective) than, say, a pocket Bully with uncropped ears.

So this seems to be one of the most preferred pocket Bully ear crop styles.

There is also no denying that pocket Bullies with ears that are short crop seem to be less prone to certain ear infections. So that is one more advantage to having an American pocket Bully with ears that are short crop.

It actually works well for all dog sizes.

American Bully Show Crop

The show crop Bully dogs receive on their ears serves the purpose of making them as stunning as possible, appearance-wise.

Show cropped ears are short and very upright in posture.

Remember, the battle crop was meant to ensure that there is no ear to latch onto. Now the show crop is meant to ensure that the ear is as conspicuous as possible.

In certain circles, taking a Bully dog with ears that are uncropped to the show ring would be very odd.

Actually, some show organizers may have some reluctance in admitting an American Bully without clipped ears.

And even if gains admission, the American Bully dog with uncropped ears may not perform very well on the show ring.

An American bulldog with cropped ears has a certain distinctive appearance. That is what makes it most ideal for the show ring.

And the best ear crop for American Bully dogs that are under preparation for the show ring is the show crop.

American Bully dog ear cropping under this style results in a very elegant appearance.

Apparently, the cropped ears American Bully dog ends up with also affect its behavior somewhat, making it better suited for the show ring.

As noted earlier, different ear crops for American Bully dogs are ideal for different purposes. Many owners of the American Bully crop ears in readiness for presenting the dogs on the show ring.

The term here is ‘show ring’. And in this context of cropping ears American Bully owners prefer the show crop.

American Bully Long Crop

This entails cutting as little a portion of the dog’s ear as possible.

In practical terms, that translates into cutting about just a quarter of the dog’s ear. It can give the ears an upright posture, while still maintaining some semblance of the natural American Bully ears not cropped appearance.

So you end up with the appearance of an American Bully without ears cropped, but with ears that are inexplicably upright.

Therefore it may be the best compromise between American Bully no ear crop and American Bully minimal ear cropping.

Where Is American Bully Ear Cropping Done?

American Bully ear cropping is supposed to be done at a vet’s clinic.

If, for instance, you carry out a search for ‘American Bully ear cropping near me’, you may see links to local vets who offer this service.

Or you can be more specific in your search. For instance, if you are in the Philippines, you can carry out a search for ‘ear cropping American Bully Philippines’.

That should then give you links to local practitioners, as well as things like the American Bully ear crop price Philippines practitioners charge locally.

So vets are the people who do these sorts of procedures.

Being vets, they know how to crop American Bully ears in a safe manner.

There are some quacks who may purport to do American Bully ear crops without being qualified vets. It is best to avoid them.

Sometimes, it is best to just leave your American Bully without ear crop, if you can’t find a vet who performs the procedure locally.

After all, when you compare American Bully cropped ears vs uncropped, it is not like there is a whole lot of difference.

Or if you look at American Bully ear cropping before and after pictures, it is not like you spot that much of a difference.

Thus if getting your American Bully puppy ears cropped entails having to see a quack, there is really no point.

Some of these quacks are only able to deliver American Bully puppies cropped ears services at great pain. So they subject the dogs to lots of pain, without anesthesia, to crop their ears.

They, in the name of cropping an American Bully cut ears in the most crude manner.

At times, remaining with American Bully uncropped ears is better.

How Much Is American Bully Ear Crop Cost?

One of the more frequently asked questions about American Bully ear crops is with regard to how much it costs.

So, how much does it cost to crop a Bully ear?

In most places, you can pay as little as $150 for this service. And in other places, you man pay as much as $600 for the service.

So that is what you have to pay, to end up with American Bully puppies with cropped ears.

It may look like a big sum of money. But many people would find it a small price to pay, rather than having American Bully not cropped ears for life.

So they compare American Bully cropped vs uncropped pros and cons. Then they find that the cost of the ear cropping service is actually modest.

Then again, it is worth mentioning that the cost of the service may be lower, if you are in other parts of the world.

For instance, one can’t even start comparing American Bully ear cropping price in India to that charged in the US.

How Long Does It Take For An American Bully To Heal After Ear Cropping?

In most cases, it takes about 8 weeks for complete healing to occur, after ear cropping.

But if one doesn’t adhere to the American Bully ear cropping aftercare protocol properly, then there can be complications. Those may slow down the healing considerably.

Final Verdict – American Bully Ear Crop

American Bully ear cropping entails cutting a portion of the floppy area of the dog’s ear. The vet does this under anesthesia. Then follows taping of the ear to some sort of hard surface, ensuring that it grows upright.

American Bully ear cropping may lower the dog’s proneness to certain ear infections. This is because it makes the ear more upright, hence less capable of trapping moisture.

For guard dogs, ear cropping apparently has the effect of making them appear fiercer, hence more deterrent.

The best age to do ear cropping for American Bullies is between 6 and 12 weeks of age. Only a qualified vet should do ear cropping.

The cost of the American Bully ear cropping service is typically in the $150 to $600 range.

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Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️