What do dog fighters generally do with the ears of the dogs they intend to fight?

Danzi: What do dog fighters generally do with the ears of the dogs they intend to fight?
I saw a pit-bull type dog at the shelter with ears that were docked very short to the head. Does this indicate that this dog was used or was intended to be used for dog fighting?

What do dog fighters do with the ears of the dogs anyway? In old days didn’t they used to dock them real close to the head?

Answers and Views:

Answer by tankstar1985
It does not intend that they were fighting dogs. LOTS of people dock the pitbull ears. Doesnt mean they are fighters.

docking was to protect the ear ina fight so the ear wouldnt get ripped off as the dog wouldnt have anythin to grab

Answer by DRAFT DOG
For ears, it is CROPPING. And yes, they crop them really close.

Answer by Joey
They chop them shorter so the other dog(s) fighting don’t have anything to grab and yank off of their opponent(s).

Answer by Erica
Most people who get “fighting” breeds crop the ears with no intent on fighting. It just gives the dog a mean, watchdog look (even though they can be super sweet). But since it is at a shelter, why don’t you see the staff if they know anything? I kind of doubt it because then it would probably have aggression problems with other dogs and all shelter dogs are tested for that.

Answer by Pit Bully Love
It doesn’t necessarily mean they were used as a fighter.

Some people do home crop jobs with scissors and butcher their poor dogs ears to make them look “tough” and “scary”

Some dog fighters do home crop jobs, and some leave them natural.

Answer by Jessica L
the ears are cropped on dogs who are expected to do fighting, because the ears and tail are seriously prone to injury during combat. If a dog has a tail severed or it’s ear shredded, it will be focused on the pain, and not on it’s opponent. Also, it makes it helps to prevent the pain inevitably gained from fights in which an ear is mutilated. It is a precaution.

Answer by APBTmommy
People that fight their dogs do normally crop their ears very short so the other dog has no ear to rip off during the fight. But, just because a dog’s ears are cropped too short doesn’t mean that it was definitely used, or going to be used, for fighting. A lot of the time, if the dogs ears are cropped too short, it’s just because some moron decided to crop their dog’s ears themselves instead of taking them to the vet like they should.

Answer by savethepitbulls67890
Yes, dog fighters crop the ears extrememly close to the head. Some of these dogs look as if they do not even have ears because they are so closely cropped.

However, the short cropped ears do not necessarily mean that he was used for dog fighting. He could have been the victim of a poorly done crop or a “Do it yourself at home” crop. I would not assume that he is a fighting dog just because of the shortness of the ears.

Answer by Gretchen
People who use dogs for fight tend to crop both the dogs’ ears and tail, and sometimes they will take them off completely so that it is harder for one of the dogs to get a hold of another dog. But these are not the only things they do to the dogs they plan on using for fighting.
It’s terrible what people will do for money, but putting dogs against each other is one of them.