Question by J: why do caucasian ovcharkas have their ears cropped short?
Best answer:
Answer by Audrey Kohly
They are Livestock Guardian Dogs; their ears are cropped short to prevent predators from grabbing onto them.
As a side note, I love these dogs. <3
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Ear cropping! and fiddling with this bit and then that bit !! The poor dogs if some of us had our way will end up looking like Joan Rivers… Leave mother nature alone as she probably knows best. Just love your dog for what it is. On a lighter note, Predators usually go for the throat ! as any newly divorced bloke will tell you.
Livestock guardian dogs often have their ears cropped. Some don’t but those that do have short crops known as shepherd cross the lower the odds of an ear related injury while protection livestock. Anyone who has even had a minor head injury will tell you that area bleeds like a bitch sometimes even over small stuff.
This is one breed where the crop is OPTIONAL within the standard.
They are a flock guarding dog, meant to fend off predators. Closely cropped ears meant little chance of a predator getting a good latch onto the dog’s head and inflicting serious injury. In the long run, a one-time crop saved many dogs repeated exposure to potentially severe pain and serious infection.
Since there is decreasing need for such types of working dogs, the need to crop is diminishing. Some may still crop because it’s traditional for the breed, but I just don’t see the point if it’s not a working dog where in-tact ears may pose a greater risk of pain and infection than cropped ears ever would.