I'm no longer in my twenties (wont say how much 'no longer' but it's been a while) and I had two holes in each ear from college days. I had one 'second hole' grow up years ago. I wanted to wear my studs in the second holes, so needed to get that one re-pierced. I did it in the mall, and it was not that bad. Just a pinch. You say you jumped, but was it because it hurt all *that* bad or just the noise from the gun and suspense/surprise? I have not done DD's yet (she's 4) for a lot of reasons, but mostly, I want it to be her decision. So far she hasn't asked, despite having plenty of classmates with earrings. But when she does want to do it, we'll go together and make a day of it! (I still remember the day I got my ears pierced the first time - it was a special 'growing up' day).

that is wrong. IMHO only a very egotistical (or possibly cruel) person would feel the need to mutilate their pet for their own flight of fancy. Also I'm quite surprised the owner found someone to do this to their dog, unless he did it himself??? Seems to me nowadays most vets are very conservative about mutilating pets for the owners whims. Many won't perform tail docking & most definitely not ear cropping. The AVMA is against it too. If I were acquainted w/the owner, I'd have a hard time not reporting him. But likely there'd be no punishment or consequences, so I guess it would be for naught. Here is a link that might be useful: American Vet. Med. Assn. Stance on docking & cropping

Thanks all. From what I have now read, most suggest that a needle, and not a gun, should be used. And that indeed the most skilled and hygienic practitioners are those shops that do body piercing (and often tattoos). None other than the ordinary folks at Good Housekeeping give this advice. As for the wisdom of using a certain type of earring (re thickness, sleeping, etc) I will ask again but I was assured that the ones I liked should be fine. And several people above, whether using potatoes or apples or just bringing their own earrings, seem to have used something other than "thick" piercing earrings. I am just going to give her a gift card for the piercing and she can decide from there. The earrings i like are sold singly and are a few hundred dollars each; they are not just for a single use. But I want her to like them so I will let her pick them out. They are for her birthday next month.

A million years ago, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was in college, I worked at a small jewellery store in a mall. I pierced probably well over several hundred ears in my year or so at that store. I even did my own with that gun! Most kids did fine, by the way. A lot of it seemed to depend on whether they really wanted it done, or their mother was the one who really wanted it done. I only ever saw/heard of 1 person who ended up with an infection, and it was someone who admitted they didn't clean the piercing with the cleansing solution the store provided. I'm not saying there weren't more people with problems (hey, we were a jewellery store not a doctor's office, ha ha!) - but it seemed to be a pretty safe endeavor. No part of the gun ever touches anyone's ear. The earrings used for piercing were special and one's hands never touched the earrings either. They came sterilized and individually-packaged, and you loaded them into the gun without ever touching them. We were told if you accidentally touched one or dropped it, throw it away and use another. I can see why a needle would be easier on the ears too, but at least with the gun it's over in a split second.