Does the cropping KEEP the dog in pain? They are breeding for arthritis basically.
There are *no* wild canids with drop ears.
Drop ears are an artificial concept and unnatural.
We have created deformed ears through breeding.
Cropping, in some breeds, prevents the inevitable chronic ear infections inherent with drop ears and tail docking is much better than the tail amputation that is likely to follow in dogs with thin, long tails.
So you are right, they do not *live* in pain for the rest of their lives, like intentionally deformed breeds do.
It’s just a basic disregard for the well-being of the dog. So there is a pattern here.