What are your views on tail docking?

kildara

Incheerocket wrote: »

Docking just cos us humans think they will look prettier is out of order, there is just no need for it at all, a rottie with a tail..love it, dobie with a tail..they are all born with tails and its only us lot that take them off, yes it is strictly illeagle in UK but it is still widely practiced..just look at the crufts pictures from this year, with lots of UK breeders with docked tails..weimaraners, springer spaniels, rotties and dobies etc,

The dogs in Crufts with their tails docked would have been born before 2007. The Animal Welfare Act came into force (in the UK) in 2007; so docked dogs born before this Act came in can still be shown.
Dogs with docked tails will eventually die out.

We have a Rottweiler with a docked tail and I, personally, would not like her to have been docked. I think it takes the edge off these "dangerous" breeds if they have a nice long tail wagging while somebody tries to tell you how they were bred for fighting/guarding etc...

ncmc

Coincidentally (or maybe he saw this thread ) Pete the vet on Ireland AM was talking about this yesterday.

He said that although tail injuries can be serious and can take a considerable time to heal, there is no evidence to show that Boxers/Rotties/Dobermans/Spaniels are more prone to tail injuries than any other breed of dog. He said, that if you use that argument, then you would advocate docking all breeds of dogs. He was describing how it is done and he made it sound very traumatic for the dog. He also said that Ireland is already the puppy farm capital of Europe and it is fast becoming the tail docking capital too as it is becoming very difficult to get a pup with a docked tail in Britain or the continent.

I have a Cocker and she has her tail docked (although to a really strange mid length) she had it done before I got her of course and I feel so bad that she had to go through that. If I knew then what I know now, I would have refused to buy a pup off him (in my innocence, I thought it was done under anesthetic :rolleyes:)

It's obvious to me now that he just did it himself and made a mess of it (hence the funny length) I think she would look really pretty with a full tail. The sooner we ban this practise here the better.

andrewh5

Tail docking should be illegal here just as it is in the UK. It is barbaric!

cos!!

ncmc wrote: »

Coincidentally (or maybe he saw this thread ) Pete the vet on Ireland AM was talking about this yesterday.

He said that although tail injuries can be serious and can take a considerable time to heal, there is no evidence to show that Boxers/Rotties/Dobermans/Spaniels are more prone to tail injuries than any other breed of dog. He said, that if you use that argument, then you would advocate docking all breeds of dogs. He was describing how it is done and he made it sound very traumatic for the dog. He also said that Ireland is already the puppy farm capital of Europe and it is fast becoming the tail docking capital too as it is becoming very difficult to get a pup with a docked tail in Britain or the continent.

I have a Cocker and she has her tail docked (although to a really strange mid length) she had it done before I got her of course and I feel so bad that she had to go through that. If I knew then what I know now, I would have refused to buy a pup off him (in my innocence, I thought it was done under anesthetic :rolleyes:)

It's obvious to me now that he just did it himself and made a mess of it (hence the funny length) I think she would look really pretty with a full tail. The sooner we ban this practise here the better.

cockers and other spaniels and working dogs usually dont get their tails docked like rotties or boxers for example but do get 1/4 to 1/3 of thier tail removed!the tails can be seriously damaged in the brush if they arnt!there was pictures posted here before of what can happen to working dogs tails if they havnt been docked!i think if the dog is going to be used for working it dos need the docking done!

kildara

kildara wrote: »

The dogs in Crufts with their tails docked would have been born before 2007. The Animal Welfare Act came into force (in the UK) in 2007; so docked dogs born before this Act came in can still be shown.
Dogs with docked tails will eventually die out.

We have a Rottweiler with a full tail and I, personally, would not like her to have been docked. I think it takes the edge off these "dangerous" breeds if they have a nice long tail wagging while somebody tries to tell you how they were bred for fighting/guarding etc...

Just realised I had said our dog was docked - she's not!:o

EGAR

greetings wrote: »

But tail docking isnt done purely for appearance,tail docking is carried out on breeds such as rottweilers and doberman because they are known to be such strong and muscular dogs then their tails are weak,Docking is merely carried out to eliminate the dogs weakest aspect.

Wrong. Tail docking (and ear cropping) were carried out in those and other guard dog breeds to make them appear more vicious and harder to read. Your argument does not carry any weight, as the Great Dane for example is much stronger and, although they used to have cropped ears, were never docked.

As for the hunting argument, GH's are hunters, GH's can have quite bad tail injuries, yet, the breed was never docked. Setters the same .

Also, because the tail was believed to help a dog in the chase, dogs were historically docked if they were owned by a poor person not permitted to hunt game .

To deprive a dog of a vital part of its inner-species communication system is a cruel practise and ought to be banned world-wide, IMHO.

macadam

I cannot see anything wrong with it , its on comparision with getting a childs ear pierced, also certain religions circumsize all males , did you ever hear a man say he could remember the pain he went through at 1 week old ,getting his foreskin cut.

Skillie

macadam wrote: »

I cannot see anything wrong with it , its on comparision with getting a childs ear pierced, also certain religions circumsize all males , did you ever hear a man say he could remember the pain he went through at 1 week old ,getting his foreskin cut.

Oh dear lord too many things wrong with this to even start, i'm not surprised though after reading the "Rottie" post.