A Hypo and a Dobe...

[wetceal]

I hope everyone is having a great year so far!

It's been a while so I just wanted to share a few photos. Here is one of my Hypo girls looking quite nice today...







And the dobe! Just wanted to post some updated photos of my baby He's growing really fast and is probably around 40 pounds now. The ears are coming along well. One of them is perfect and stands all the time but the other generally only stands for a few hours and then gets tired...







Thanks for looking!

Celia

	Hypomelanistic Hypomelanistic - a genetic reduction in the dark pigment Melanin.

[louise]

nice looking animals you got.

[jonjpl]

They both look really nice. I have a dobe as well, he is just a big baby.

[toker]

some very nice critters

[lethargiic]

yeah very pretty snake!!

but for some reason i used to like dobe's with cropped ears until i met my best friends red doberman and his hears are just flopped.. and now all i want is a red dobe with floppy ears.. lmao

[haroldo359]

gorgeous boa! and the dog is nice, too.

[Wrasse]

Your Hypo is gorgeous. I would so love to have the boa here.

The dog is a great specimen, looks really fit and well, it is just a pity that breeders feel the need to surgically mutilate a dogs ears that way.

Cropping ears is illegal in Australia and docking tails is on the way there too. Many vets won't dock tails at all anyway, legal or not. There is no purpose for either, other than cosmetic.

A dobe with flopped ears looks great, not comical like the cropped ones. Hearing seems to be just as good too, they sure can still hear the dinner bag rattle ok.

	Hypomelanistic Hypomelanistic - a genetic reduction in the dark pigment Melanin.

[wetceal]

Thanks for the compliments everyone.

Wrasse - To each his own. I didn't have the ears cropped. The breeder I purchased my dog from had already had it done when I got him. I did actually look and do a little bit of research on the ear cropping and tail docking. I am by no means an expert on the subject but from what I could gather, both procedures do have a history behind them and it is not simply for asthetic reasons. I certainly am not saying that there is no asthetic value to the ear cropping and tail docking, especially nowadays but they did and still do have their functions.

From the information I gathered, Dobes with their ears cropped have a far less likelihood of developing chronic ear infections. It also does in fact increase their hearing ability from a 5 degree cone up to a 20 degree cone. As for the tail docking, these are working dogs used for a variety of things. For example, for police/military work, the long tail can be easily grabbed by an assilant or caught by/in something.

These are just a couple of pros to ear cropping. I know there are more and I know there are several cons to both as well. I'm not saying that ear cropping and tail docking is right or wrong. That is a huge debate in itself. I know that ear cropping is illegal in many areas and it is slowly spreading. I read and found it ironic that ear cropping is illegal in Germany. However, the people in Germany take their dogs to other countries to have the ears cropped and then are still allowed to show their dogs in Germany. What good is it then to make ear cropping illegal there?

I don't fault people who are anti ear cropping and tail docking and I would hope that the same courtesy is returned. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way and people feel the need to make personal attacks on those who do not feel the same way as them. I've noticed the same occurance happening with other issues like tattooing, piercing, and in the reptile community, hybrids and even morphs.

Anyways, just my thoughts...take them how you will...

Thanks,
Celia

	Morph A morph is a color or pattern variation that is proven to be genetic. Common morphs include albino, anerythristic, gentically striped, Hypomelanistic, and many others. Morphs also include combinations of simple traits such as "Sunglow" which is Albino and Hypomelanistic. These traits may be recessive traits, co-dominant traits, dominant traits, or created through selective breeding (ie Pastel).

[Wrasse]

Originally Posted by wetceal

Anyways, just my thoughts...take them how you will...

Thanks,
Celia

I will take them as you wrote them, as your opionion, as my words were mine. This wasn't a personal attack on you, I think your dog looks great and your Hypo too. Clearly both are well looked after and in good health. I was expressing my dislike of ear cropping is all.

	Hypomelanistic Hypomelanistic - a genetic reduction in the dark pigment Melanin.

[Ti]

Hypos are looking awesome!!!