Sooooo Ear cropping may be contoversial, but there are a few things to consider and I ask you to, and go to http://www.appd.ca/pettion-results.html and sign The Objection to Ban Cropping. “Natural” ears on Danes ond other typically cropped breeds are NOT natural. Created by human kind selecting for other traits ie size, herding, guarding ability, temperment etc. the ear cartilage broke and a flop ear was created. It is a by product of Human genetic engineering and to say cropping is for easthetics only is not not fully comprehend the subjct. NO WHERE in nature is an animal created with floopy ears…its just not advantageous at all. To ban cropping on the grounds of “It’s just an unatural man made desire” is to fail to recognise that ALL dog breeds have been created for exactly the same reason! Let’s be aware and fair in our assements…and dogs that spend their lives chained, forgotten in back yards, puppy milled and posted for sale on Pet Find, abused, neglected and forgotten and filling shelters and rescues from unethical breeders who care not about their chosen breed, with no buyer screening, questionaries, responsibilities outlined. As I search for my new Dane Puppy…I am shocked and staggered by the number a poor breeders out there looking to make a buck. It is so dang hard to get a hold of a great Harelquin Great Dane from a responible and ethical breeder who does comprehensive health checks and breeds once every year or two. We all owe it to ourselves to be enlightened and awre of breeds origin, heritage and welfare as we created these beings for our use and pleasure, like it or not. Chromadane has a wealth of links that detail domestication and inherited selection of traits that impact animals. http://www.chromadane.com With gratitude to JP Yoshua for complining such a fascinating and comprehensive body of work….