Docking

Not meant to start the debate . . . I never had any strong feelings one way or the other, as long as the procedure is done PROPERLY. I can even see where some breeds probably benefit, BUT . . .

Watching Tallulah - not only is she adorable with her perfect little perky natural Terrier ears and that tail going a mile a minute, but seeing the HOURS of amusement she gets from her own tail, well, I'm awfullly glad she's a natural grrrl

Watching her roll over and over and around and around on the bed going after that pesky tail, then turn it loose in order to catch it again. And again. And again . . .

She sounds adorable.
I think she's a keeper

I often wonder about Buzzy's tail, I'm pretty sure its a deformity as opposed to a bad dock (little bone on end bends in all directions) and I've always wondered what he's be like with a full tail.

Welcome to the world of tail chasing. It's sometimes better than watching tv!

she's a PB right? She'd have had a tail either way lol. They aren't a docked breed but are cropped.

Bimmer was a champion tail chaser, lol. But he always caught his pretty quickly. Kharma figured out early that it was a lot less painful to chase someone else's tail

Duh. I'd forgotten that, lol. Terriers = dock somehow in my head

I abhor docking tails and the ears just make me ill. I feel very strongly against this and always will. I love pepper's perky ears and her skinny tail is the butt end of many a game. I am glad she has both as well. ONe day i will do my parody on the theme Hair changed to Ears...wanna hep?

Yeah I'm rather relaxed about it too, and dogs sure do get plenty of fun out of theri own tails, but i can see the boxer/doberman/rottie/aussie/etc population declining a bit now that they've banned docking in the UK...
i just think some breeds look better WITHOUT tails... but it is a bit superficial i suppose.

If done properly while the dog is a pup or whatever i don't really think it's cruel, unneccessary yeah, but i wouldn't really say cruel.
What's everyone elses thoughts on this?

JRTs can chase their tails, they just can't catch them very easily. Joey, the foster was trying to catch his tail in his crate today. Still provide hours of fun, and is more challenging But seriously, I don't find tails a huge deal for the pups if done properly. I don't care about the look either way, but hunting people tell me a long whippy tail on a JRT is an issue in the field. I don't know as none of mine have long whippy tails.

I've also been told that lately more and more judges in the UKC are preferring natural ears to cropped on APBTs.

yays!!!!! and a happy dance

I think it should be the breeders choice. If you dont like it go to a different breeder who doesnt do it

My corgis chased their feet the same way some dogs chase their tails. :lol-sign:

A corgi without a docked tail is a cardigan corgi.
Personally, I don't have strong views on the issue. Much of the tail docking that's done these days is for tradition rather than to serve a purpose. If the dog doesn't need to have a docked tail, I see no harm in leaving it natural, but I also see no harm in docking it.

I worked for a boxer breeder, and he would take the litter to the vet when they were a few days old. They'd get a check up and they'd get their tails docked. There was no noticeable effect on the pups from it.

this is what i think...that if you want to do that to your puppy you should have to stand there and watch. I was found it incredible that when a poster on whatever thread it was on this topic said..i just saw my litter (i think it was of boxers) done and i will never do it again. SHe witnessed it. ANd people just go on and on about how there's nothing wrong with it. IT IS pain, they are babies. BAby boys go to sleep right after a circumsion, sleep hard. THat doesnt' make it right. I promised Bronki something the second he was born...the second that i helped open his sack and watched him take his first breath in to this hard hard world, that i would never let him suffer. IT is a promise i kept. I think it is MEAN and i think it is SELFISH and that combined IMO is CRUEL. FOr pitties it represents exactly what he don't want them to be used for. SO WHY? Because it suits our greatest human shame to feel we have THE RIGHT to make animals suit our needs. Maybe they will start showing hogs without ears and tails..both cut off at birth, so they can't chew them off each other while in overpopulated conditions. I am sorry i will stuff a sock it in...but that is exactly how it strkes me. Ears are so sensitive. cries. TAils are communication and i don't just mean wagging either. MAry ENJOYS Wacking her tail hard on teh floor to express her happiness in greeting a loved one. SHe has different sounds like her exhalations that have a dictionary of meanings.

Im the same way. I am agains bybs like the ones who raised Maggie and almost hacked of her entire tail which causes her problems according to my vet. But if docking and cropping is done properly I am fine with it.

I'm against it completely. I love dogs and their natural beauty. When we get our dane, you better believe he/she is going to be natural, I just hope I can find a breeder to comply.

Ears I'm a little more touchy on, though I have to say that I do prefer a good crop on a Dobe...pretty much everyother breed looks just fine natural. A Dobe just has such a gorgeous head and natural ears are big, floppy and cover most of it up. But especially with ABPT's, I love their natural ears.

I own a breed that is both naturally bob-tailed and a docked one. I prefer the docked look on them; they just don't look "right" to me with a tail.

yup it looks pretty to people but do you honestly think the dog gives a wag? IF asked would they want it done? As i sit here rubbing pepper's ear, i think not.

Do you think dogs wanted to be morphed into non-dog shapes, either? Bassets have beautiful, long silky ears and horrific back problems because of their short little legs--a product of breeding instead of surgery. What would you have done with them? And English Bulldogs...a breed that's so far away from a natural shape that it's unable to reproduce naturally.

I've decided that my stance is something along the lines of not caring about a PROPERLY DONE dock/crop so long as we have dogs like the above still being bred to some random and arbitrary standard. It does nothing for the dog's health and is all solely for our aesthetic leanings.

(I just feel like arguing this morning, it's all good. )

Awww! How cute.

On the subject of crops - There are few things in this world that are cuter than pibble ears... I can't imagine cutting those off.