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15 week old Doberman cropping

BrunosMomma

Novitiate
Hey guys!
I am new to the forum and a first time Doberman momma. My family and I had Rottweilers all our lives, and I never expected to bring home any other pup until my fiancé surprised me right before Easter this year! Needless to say, I am in love! His name is Bruno. :)

We went back-and-forth on whether or not we would crop Bruno’s ears. We decided to move forward with the cropping and have the procedure done when he was exactly 15 weeks old. The doctor we used advised his age would not be an issue as I was concerned he was too old. I took Bruno in for surgery on Tuesday, May 23. Staff advised it is customary to keep pups overnight, but because their office was closed on Wednesday, May 24 (clinical staff was there tending to the dogs), I picked him up today on Thursday, May 25. Upon picking him up he was not placed in a cone. I was advised to bring one as they noticed Bruno was attempting a lot of scratching and they did not provide them at their facility. Bruno’s ears were cropped, but not taped or bandaged. They have sutures surrounding the border and are in regular/floppy position. The vet hospital we used is about an hour from where we live. He seemed to do all right on the car ride home, but when I took him out of his crate, I noticed a lot of caked on blood around the E collar. I had my fiancé soothe him while I cleaned the inside of the collar with hydrogen peroxide. Bruno keeps attempting to itch his ears with his hind paws even though the collar is on as a barrier and his nails have been ground down. I have not noticed any caked on blood on the collar for the last several hours since initially cleaning it. I think the blood came from his ears being scratched when he did not have the collar on at the animal hospital.

My question is this: is Bruno harming himself/his sutures when he smacks his hind paws against his cone in an attempt to relieve his itch? I’ve also noticed a lot of shaking, especially his head. He has not been under anesthesia for 48 hours - at least. He was given a pain pill this morning (it is now evening) and was advised to give him 1 daily in the morning. Is this normal?
 
Most puppies don't need cones, but yours could be different. It is normal to leave ears down & floppy until the stitches come out. I don't think Hydrogen Peroxide should be used, just dab with warm water to clean. Hopefully no more bleeding and the ears will heal up.

Read in the puppy section about posting so you can have all the materials at hand as soon as the stitches come out. Never cover/bandage/post the ears up before the stitches are out and all the edges are healed up.

Welcome to Doberman Chat & Congrats on your new puppy! Yes, 15 weeks is running late, but it's do-able. Pictures of your puppy are always welcome here!!!
 
Congrats! It's normal for the ears to look pretty nasty with scabbing and seepage. A small amount of blood would not be unusual for the first couple days, I'd say. Yes, the whacking the ears with the paws, and the head shaking could have caused some of the bleeding.

Just watch out for a bad odor, as this could indicate an infection.
 
Welcome from Minnesota!

Most pups don't need a cone but they might be itching at this point. I agree photos would be helpful.
 

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