to judge people whose dogs'

[Fabulousfreaks]

tails have been docked? Is there ever a justifiable reason for this?

Mostly yes...

Unless you have a dog who falls and breaks it the has to have it amputated then bites that so gets it infected and has to have more done so he looks docked

Docking tails at 24-48 hours old is actually very painless for the dog (a tight ligature is tied around the 2nd or 3rd joint and it just falls off, much like an umbilicus)

The problem is that if a dog in the field receives a tail injury, it is often miles away from veterinary care and can easily die of blood loss very quickly. Even if the dog can receive veterinary attention in time to save its life, it will have spent many hours in extreme pain with no access to analgesia.

For working breeds, tail docking shortly after birth is, IMO, far more humane than the alternative. Cosmetic tail docking in adult, non working dogs is a different matter.

gymmummy In answer to your very valid question, a lot of dogs. I live in the countryside and my pet dog is in the minority by quite some margin.

I am on the fence about this one [adjusts wedgie]

YANBU to think that most docking is unnecessary and nasty - our lovely, lovely dog (pic on my profile!) was so badly docked that she hasn't even got a stump to wag, the poor girl. She waggles her whole back end instead. It's a real shame, since a tail is so much a part of how a dog expresses itself.

BUT YwouldDBU to judge me, her owner for that. Cos I rescued her when she was already 5 years old.

So... YANBU. And YABU.

[adjusts wedgie again]

My mum had a Gordon Setter that is bred like a spaniel, To point out and retrieve game. It had a lovely long swishy tail. Why is it OK for spaniels to be docked when setters never have been?

Some dogs are born with naturally bobbed tails. I was walking a neighbor's dog once when another neighbor lit into me about tail docking. It took me a whole to get a word in edgewise so I could point out that said dog was a.) not mine and b.) an Australian Sheperd with a naturally bobbed tail.

My mum had a Gordon Setter that is bred like a spaniel, To point out and retrieve game. It had a lovely long swishy tail. Why is it OK for spaniels to be docked when setters never have been?

Because retrierers don't do the work springers do, they do not get covred with brambles,

Judge me all you like
But my dogs are rescues; should I have not given them a home because their tails are docked?

Docked tails do bother me but realise its sometimes done before you get the dog. I tend to look at dogs now and think how lovely they look with tails.

Many years ago we had a Springer cross (his mother was a pure breed who misbehaved and had he been 'pure' I think it would of been docked) but he had the most wonderful tail 'with long 'feathers', he used to hold it up in an almost circle at it looked magnificent...very unusual for the time

gymmunmy here, there are a lot of working springers, and mine is also in the minority. We spent a lot of time looking for undocked, most springer breeders here breed from their working dogs so their assumption is that the pups will also be worked.

Our springer's parents were sniffer dogs, no need to dock so the breeder didn't have it done.

I also judge people whose dogs smell bad. SO many do!

I have a docked cocker, you may judge me all you like, i didnt dock him myself, he was docked at a few hours old and we have certificates to say it was done legally, he comes from a working background, both his parents were actual working dogd as well as being field trial chamions, the rest of his litter were sold to working homes were they would be shooting every weekend in session, if you saw how much he wags his tail you would understand how easily it could be damaged in a working situation.

Dogs are docked with a pair of scissors, not a ligature. And yes it does hurt otherwise they would not squeak the way they do! It's not illegal here unless the breeder has proof that they will be gun dogs. Boxers, Rottweilers and Dobermans can no longer be legally docked and I think they so much better with tails.

I've an undocked springer and he (obviously) bounces like a nutter in brambles and woods - I'm always having to upset him by picking things off his tail - he doesn't like it, it hurts. I totally understand why people would have springers docked.

My friend had a dog that wagged his tail vigorously and kept smacking it against walls/tables etc. Eventually it 'broke' and caused the dog shed loads of pain . It had to be amputated. It hasn't made any difference to the dog, he still wags his 'dock' just as hard, but now he doesn't get hurt.

Another friend is part of the 'hunting/shooting/fishing' crowd. He has 3 Springers, 2 Cockers and a Lab. Two Springers are docked, the one that isn't comes in from a working day absolutely covered in blood from brambles and barbed wire etc. It sprays all up his body because his tail wags furiously for the whole time he is 'seeking'. This one was a rescue, so undocked at birth - my friend has a fund ready for the day he will have to pay for amputation - because it will happen, Springers and Cockers are naturally waggy - if they work they need to be protected.

I don't like docked tails for vanity reasons, but understand that if it is done correctly and shortly after birth then it doesn't cause pain. Botched jobs are a different matter

Do you judge farmers and their lambs?

There are, as shown by the many replies, lots of justifiable reasons for it. Our lovely old dog went missing in a rural area the middle of January, when we by some miracle found him a week later, he had bad frostbite in his tail. he was in a lot of pain and tried to chew it off. We didnt want to have it done, but the vet said it was for the best, Would hate to think people were judging us for it!

They could have got the dog from a shelter. Never assume one whom owns a dog is at fault.
Docking tails is illegal also.

My cocker/springer cross was docked before we got him. He has papers, but it was not done well. The end is messy. He has about 7 inches of tail, so can still wag up a storm. I wouldn't have chosen to have it done myself, and keep all feathering short on him. His ears have been damaged by rummaging through brambles and scrub. He is a pet, but he still 'works' off his own back.

I think that any dog who is loved, happy and healthy and a part of of a forever home is bloody lucky. tail or no tail. Doesn't bother me.

I think it's impossible to stop spaniels 'working' . MuttDog chases after her working friends and joins in with gusto. Although the day she caught a pheasant she really didn't know what to do with it! My friend thinks she could have been a great worker - has a really soft mouth and her flat short coat is a blessing in the undergrowth.

There is a phenoneminal difference between someone wanting to cut off their designer Pug's tail and someone for example of my parents age who are the best owners ever and have a pile of happy docked dogs sleeping in front of the aga.

Isn't there laws on docking tails now ? well int he UK , I don't judge they may have come with tails docked or need them docked , I do like seeing rottweilers with tails now , they are cool tails

Dallas, I think it says great things about Mners that most of our dogs are not quite the full package but the best pets ever. I bet Netmums dogs are all docked, groomed pedigrees who never get muddy or eat a three piece suite. We get the gun shy waggy tails ( I had a failed US Army sniffer last year) because they are the best characters-like us!