Spaniel puppy with docked tail?

[Stitchintimesaves9]

Advice please! We (DH, DS (16), DD (14)) have been wanting a family dog for a while, done lots of research and one the breeds we thought would be best for us is a Cocker Spaniel. We've just found out about a litter of Cockers very close to where we live. The breeder owns a boarding kennels/dog grooming business and is used and very highly rated by friends of mine. My friends also know the Mum, and say she has a lovely temperament etc

Visited the pups a few days ago, all fine. They're currently 2 weeks old. Mum was lovely, pups being raised in a family home - definitely not a puppy farm. But the pups' tails had been docked! They are from a working strain, so maybe this is routine? Just wondered what peoples' thoughts were?

Your cocker sounds like ours Wizard! Bonkers and I think would be rubbish if he had to work love him. Loveable but crazy! And yes you wouldn't say his tail was docked to look at it either.

I've a springer that is undocked and a cocker that is docked. The cocker is from a line of field champs and the breeder bred to gain another working dogs, the rest of the litter was pre booked before conception to working friends. Ours was the 'extra'.

However, his tail is only a third docked and never ever stops wagging, you call his name and hear it thumping on our wooden floor. I love it.

The springer has had one or two tail minor injuries when foraging, the cocker not.

In terms of exercise, the Springer needs far more exercise than the cocker, who about as low maintenance and gentle as a dog could be. Never demands attention and soft to the point of being timid.

Lovely breed of dog.

Thanks everyone! Interesting to read all the different points of view. We do live in the country, so plenty of fields and woods for walks and running around. We also have lots of time to devote to training - I work from home part time and the DCs are plenty old enough/responsible enough to take him/her out. DS would be fantastic at this.

AFAIK, the puppies will be sold to be used as working dogs - we only found out about the litter from my friend.

Thanks Wizard!

Utterly bonkers would fit in pretty well here too...

Beyond a working dog it's a personal preference for whether you wait for an undocked dog or buy on that is legally docked. Some breeders that breed them to work will not dock if you ask and put down a deposit before birth.

Mine runs at full speed through woods and bracken and we have had no issues so far with his undocked tail but we do also keep it clipped short so he doesn't have as much fur as some pet spaniels I see. At our gun dog training most of the spaniels are docked even though they are pets so docking does seem to be the norm.

A word of caution - a west highland is a completely different kettle of fish to a cocker o having looked after the former, you will be in now way prepared for the latter!

And, no, you won't be able to show I don't think. I know I've met someone with Springers and complemented her on the wonderful flags two of her dogs had to be faced with a rant about the fact that she should have been able to dock them but couldn't if she wanted to show them.

"Dog didn't react that way to a GA for a cut pad... "

Mine did for GAs for scans and x-rays and separately an arthroscopy, didn't after being neutered...also didn't after the partial gastrectomy and duodenotomy (though in fairness he wasn't in much state to and there were a huge amount of heavy painkillers afterwards) but did after what was supposed to be light sedation and turned into heavy sedation and ketamine for skin prick allergy testing.

So no huge correlation between how painful the procedure was likely to be and how much the same dog reacted like it was painful, but I think it was hugely unlikely that the scans and X-rays were more painful than being neutered, lol, no clue if there was a difference in drugs though, other than the last time.

But then the same dog acts like he's about to die if he gets a hotspot because it's itchy but it took 2 vet's and a physio to notice his second elbow was shot...

I've decided you really can't tell how painful things are by how a dog acts.

Hi Lumela Happy to provide the science if you can do the same!

The science indicates that puppies vocalise for an average of less than two and a half minutes after docking
Can you show me where a lack of vocalisation is equivalent to a lack of pain?

obviously, it would be preferable if they were given analgesia. But I've seen an adult dog, who had been given painkillers, lying on the floor whimpering and whining for over an hour when returned home from the vets following amputation.
Absolutely and that's with analgesia - its a hugely painful surgery, just because puppies don't express pain in the same way as adult dogs it doesn't mean that they don't feel it. Analgesia was routinely witheld from human infants for surgical procedures (including heart surgery) until 1987 (yes seriously ) because it was believed that infants didn't feel pain - until Anand et al demonstrated that surgical recovery rates were better with anaesthesia/analgesia. Sadly we don't offer the same protection to neonates of other species. A PP mentioned better growth rates in undocked dogs - this is a phenomenon seen in sheep and pigs also - basically the pup (or lamb or piglet) is in so much pain that it won't move to feed, eats less over a period of several days and so its growth is reduced. All because of pain.

Now for my science :
• The tail is a functional limb with complex anatomy including bone, nerves, muscle and connective tissue. Surgical amputation of the tail in puppies results in severe pain (1)
• Neonates have similar, if not increased, sensitivity to pain compared with adults (2-4) and that an early pain experience may sensitise neonates to subsequent pain (5)
• Transection (cutting) of the nerves in the tail results in neuroma formation. A neuroma is an outgrowth of the nerve endings in a vain attempt to ‘reconnect’. There are 4 nerves within the tail of a dog and so four neuromas will form at the site of amputation. Limiting the length of the dock to a maximum of 1/3 of tail removal makes no difference from a pain-perception point of view as the four nerves are present throughout the length of the tail.
• Neuromas may be associated with neuropathic pain (pain originating from the nerve tissue) neuropathic pain occurs on a spectrum and may include numbness, tingling, hypersensitivity and actual pain, all of which can result in chronically poor welfare and self-injurious behaviour. Neuroma formation and pain-related behaviour including severe self-injury are documented in dogs after docking (6).
• In one case series of six dogs presenting with severe self-trauma post-docking, five dogs were spaniels (6). In humans chronic pain associated with amputation occurs in 30-50% of cases (7)
• The development of neuropathic pain can be prevented only by the administration of appropriate analgesic (pain-killing) and anaesthetic drugs, including specifically ketamine (a general anaesthetic)(8-10) plus a local anaesthetic. Even with anaesthesia and analgesia, post-operative pain will occur as the healing of bone, cartilage and skin damage takes some days.
• Only 10% of veterinarians used anaesthetics or analgesics in conjunction with tail docking of puppies (2). Conversely, should an adult dog require tail amputation for a severe injury, it would receive appropriate anaesthesia and analgesia for this procedure, thus mitigating the risk of chronic pain for this individual - a protection not afforded to puppies less than 5 days old.
• Adult dogs with tail injuries may receive more lengthy veterinary therapy - something which would be inconvenient to a working dog owner, however the dog’s welfare would be assured via appropriate pain relief.
• Conversely docking of puppies provides a much more convenient (for the owner) protection against future medical treatment, but the restriction of docking to puppies less than five days old without the provision of appropriate analgesia and anaesthesia, will cause unnecessary suffering, and in many cases chronic pain to a much greater number of individual dogs e.g. 320 spaniel puppies would need to experience the pain of docking to prevent one tail injury in an adult spaniel (3).
• Only 0.59 per cent of the total dog population visiting a veterinary practice are affected by tail injury and only one in five of these tail injuries resulted in amputation, meaning that 0.118% (1 in a thousand) dogs visiting a veterinary practice require therapeutic tail amputation (3), with appropriate analgesia and anaesthesia delivered to minimise long-term welfare consequences. This risk should be balanced against the risk of acute pain in 100% of working dog puppies that experience docking, and the potential chronic post-surgical pain in 30-50% of docked puppies.
• Due to the neuroplasticity (flexibility) of the neonatal nervous system, pain experiences at a young age can have lifelong impacts on an individual’s behaviour and responses to future experiences (11). The socialisation window in puppies is a developmental period where they are able to learn appropriate social behaviours and become accustomed to new experiences, it occurs at approximately 4-16 weeks of age, a period of time that would be affected by the chronic pain experience associated with docking; reducing exploratory and social behaviours and impeding appropriate social development.
• Recommendations for reducing stress and anxiety in adult working dogs include providing neonatal puppies with a stimulating but not overtly fear-inducing environment (12) but factors such as unpredictable handling, transport and fear-provoking situations (such as those triggered by tail shortening) should be avoided because the experiences of dogs during their first year of life is crucial in determining their later behaviour and temperament (13).
• Social communication in dogs relies on proper observation of tail signalling, suggesting that tail docking may impair social communication in dogs (14).

Of course despite all of this evidence, there will be dog owners who choose to dock their dog's tails, or choose to support docking by purchasing dogs with docked tails, because its easier to fall back on tradition than engage with evidence. The only way to stop painful and unnecessary mutilation is to report it in cases like the OP's (though it sadly sounds as if instead she'll be rewarding the breeder with her custom), and to buy from responsible breeders who don't engage in causing unnecessary suffering to the dogs they breed

Refs:

1. Noonan GJ, Rand JS, Blackshaw JK, Priest J. Behavioural observations of puppies undergoing tail docking. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 1996;49(4):335-42.
2. Noonan GJ, Rand JS, Blackshaw JK, Priest J. Tail docking in dogs: A sample of attitudes of veterinarians and dog breeders in Queensland. Australian Veterinary Journal. 1996;73(3):86-8.
3. Cameron N, Lederer R, Bennett D, Parkin T. The prevalence of tail injuries in working and non-working breed dogs visiting veterinary practices in Scotland. Veterinary Record. 2014;174(18):450.
4. Fitzgerald M, Beggs S. The Neurobiology of Pain: Developmental Aspects. The Neuroscientist. 2001;7(3):246-57.
5. Clark C, Murrell J, Fernyhough M, O'Rourke T, Mendl M. Long-term and trans-generational effects of neonatal experience on sheep behaviour. Biology Letters. 2014;10(7).
6. Gross TL, Carr SH. Amputation Neuroma of Docked Tails in Dogs. Veterinary Pathology. 1990;27(1):61-2.
7. Kehlet H, Jensen TS, Woolf CJ. Persistent postsurgical pain: risk factors and prevention. The Lancet.367(9522):1618-25.
8. Wagner AE, Walton JA, Hellyer PW, Gaynor JS, Mama KR. Use of low doses of ketamine administered by constant rate infusion as an adjunct for postoperative analgesia in dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2002;221(1):72-5.
9. Tsui PY, Chu MC. Ketamine: an old drug revitalized in pain medicine. BJA Education. 2017;17(3):84-7.
10. Goldberg ME. A look at chronic pain in dogs. Veterinary Nursing Journal. 2017;32(2):37-44.
11. Schwaller F, Fitzgerald M. The consequences of pain in early life: injury-induced plasticity in developing pain pathways. European Journal of Neuroscience. 2014;39(3):344-52.
12. Rooney NJ, Clark CCA, Casey RA. Minimizing fear and anxiety in working dogs: A review. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research. 2016;16:53-64.
13. Foyer P, Bjällerhag N, Wilsson E, Jensen P. Behaviour and experiences of dogs during the first year of life predict the outcome in a later temperament test. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2014;155:93-100.
14. Leaver SDA, Reimchen TE. Behavioural Responses of Canis familiaris to Different Tail Lengths of a Remotely-Controlled Life-Size Dog Replica. Behaviour. 2008;145(3):377-90.
15. Lofgren SE, Wiener P, Blott SC, Sanchez-Molano E, Woolliams JA, Clements DN, et al. Management and personality in Labrador Retriever dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2014;156:44-53.
16. Robinson LM, Thompson RS, James C. Ha. Puppy Temperament Assessments Predict Breed and American Kennel Club Group but Not Adult Temperament. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. 2016;19(2):101-14.
17. Riemer S, Müller C, Virányi Z, Huber L, Range F. The Predictive Value of Early Behavioural Assessments in Pet Dogs – A Longitudinal Study from Neonates to Adults. PLOS ONE. 2014;9(7):e101237.
18. Batchelor CEM, McKeegan DEF. Survey of the frequency and perceived stressfulness of ethical dilemmas encountered in UK veterinary practice. Veterinary Record. 2012;170(1):19-.

Cracking post Veterinari!

I know of someone that had her name down for a puppy, went to visit, found the litter had been docked, and said she wasn't prepared to give a home to one of them after all. She fond a rescue instead.

Veterinari, thank you for taking so much time to reply.

I do not have access to most of the academic papers that you reference, but I do have a couple of questions concerning your conclusions from Cameron, Lederer et al (3):

e.g. 320 spaniel puppies would need to experience the pain of docking to prevent one tail injury in an adult spaniel (3).
According to Lederer's original study ((Lederer, Rose, ‘Investigations regarding tail injuries 
in working gundogs and terriers in pest control in Scotland’, University of Glasgow, 2014, downloaded from here, 'In order to prevent one tail amputation in spaniels, 320 spaniel puppies would need to be docked soon after birth.' (p. 54) That is a tail amputation, not an injury. Does the Vet Record give different numbers from Lederer's original work?

Only 0.59 per cent of the total dog population visiting a veterinary practice are affected by tail injury and only one in five of these tail injuries resulted in amputation, meaning that 0.118% (1 in a thousand) dogs visiting a veterinary practice require therapeutic tail amputation (3), with appropriate analgesia and anaesthesia delivered to minimise long-term welfare consequences.
This, as is clear from the original study I linked to, is the total dog population, docked and undocked, working and non-working, everything from Great Danes to chihuahuas. This is not the population of field-bred spaniels and HPRs, for whom the rate of serious tail injury seems, on the data so far available, to be substantially higher. I would like to see figures for undocked spaniels and HPRs, especially those who are worked. No one is advocating docking all puppies.

These data are drawn from a retrospective survey of veterinary records, and are at odds with (much lower than) the tail injury figures reported by the owners of working dogs which are given earlier in Lederer's thesis (which gave low numbers for injuries to terriers' tails, but much higher ones for spaniels and HPRs, which makes me think that they were being honest and not exaggerating).

Additionally, the model dog used in the Leaver et al study on canine communication had an extremely short tail, much shorter than is normal in docked working spaniels, who usually retain at least half their tails, and shorter even than is usual in docked HPRs, who usually retain a minimum of a third.

If analgesia can be provided for puppies during docking, why isn't it? It seems from what you say that several of the issues arising from docking would be resolved or at least ameliorated if proper analgesia were to be used.

I'm also a bit baffled about the relevance of your final four references...

Finally, I'm not 'falling back on tradition': as I said in my first post on this topic, I used to think docking was unnecessary, until I saw the consequences of not docking. If I was 'falling back on tradition', I'd be arguing for the docking of terriers. I'm not.

A westie is nothing like a working cocker. Why not go for a show cocker? Less manic, just as lovely

My cockers was done. It's still very cute wagging. Depends on the length. He has very long curly hair so in terms of care it's probably a blessing. My springers is not docked.

I have a springer with a docked tail, he only had the end quarter docked though so still has a very saggy tail. TBH I didn't want a docked dog but the litter were all done as the breeder breeds and trains most of them as working gundogs. I'm quite glad he has a shorter tail now as I'm sure he would have injured it by now as he gets so much stuck in it.
I would get another dog from the same breeder as he is fantastic and a very easy dog.
Not really relevant but I also have a dog who was born without a tail. He is so funny when he gets excited as his whole back end wiggles.

I have a docked cocker. I got her when she was 10. It makes me a little bit sad every time I see her wagging her stump. If she'd been a poppy I wouldn't have bought her, I don't want to encourage the practice.

Lumela - ignore the last 4 refs - The info is copied from another document - I didn't type it all out for MN and yes apologies the Lederer ref should say amputation not injury - my typo. The figure for injury is "To prevent one such tail injury in these working breeds approximately 232 dogs would need to be docked as puppies"

I guess fundamentally it depends how many amputations you think are necessary to prevent an amputation (a bizarre circular 'logic'). Is inflicting the significant pain of amputation and risking longterm health and welfare benefits of 232 dogs worth it to prevent one dog from experiencing the pain of tail injury? or is amputating 320 spaniels' tails without anaesthetic worth it to prevent one spaniel from a surgical procedure under anaesthetic?
It seems a fairly obvious cost-benefit analysis to me.

Not to mention all of the associated risks in terms of chronic pain, neuroplasticity and behavioural impacts (which would not be removed by providing analgesia - you said yourself adult dogs exhibit pain for days after amputation - it would be the same for puppies even with analgesia). What about the potential for suffering there?

As to why someone would choose not to use analgesia, I can't answer that - my assumption is that it's because isn't a legal requirement for 'docking' and that many people assume its relatively painless because a 5 day old puppy is a tiny baby and has very limited abilities to convey the agony of tail amputation without pain relief (you put forward that same argument yourself).Its much cheaper to not provide analgesia and almost no drugs are licensed in pups that young as they are still developing.

Also cognitive dissonance is hugely powerful - its psychologically difficult for humans to accept that they're choosing to inflict significant pain on an animal they care about, or that they're funding unnecessary suffering of their puppy and others by choosing a docked dog. So instead people tell themselves its ok, and it's worth it because by performing amputations on 320 spaniels they're saving one spaniel from an amputation (assuming 100% of docked spaniels go on to work - we can see from this thread that they don't in which case the numbers are even higher). It seems a weird cost-benefit analysis to me but humans are rarely logical Also owners don't see docking so they close their eyes to it - I'm pretty sure that if the average new puppy owner watched their lovely pup having his tail cut off, the practice of docking would end pretty quickly.

I wasn't specifically talking to you re: falling back on tradition - apologies I wasn't clear, but you do appear to be relying heavily on anecdote/experience. I've seen plenty of 'consequences' of undocked dogs. I have also seen plenty of consequences of docked dogs - incontinence, perineal hernias, aggression, self-mutilation... Trust me an occasional clean surgical amputation under anaesthesia is not the worst thing that could happen.

My experience sides with the science, which may not be perfect, but I have at least provided a reasonable body of evidence as you asked - now I'll ask again - where's your evidence that tail amputation in puppies is not painful, does not have the potential to cause longterm impacts on development or behaviour, and how is causing injury in many dogs to prevent injury in a few ethically justified?

Make sure you get the paperwork, vets do ask to see it.

Vet: The info is copied from another document
Yeah, I realised that as I trawled the net last night (I found your source) - and I had suspected as much

I guess fundamentally it depends how many amputations you think are necessary to prevent an amputation
But you're not just preventing the possibility of adult amputation when you dock a litter of puppies. You're also preventing the near-certainty that some of those dogs will suffer painful repeated injuries which will have a long recovery time. I've seen a docked litter the day they turned three weeks: all healthy, fat, active and thriving with no apparent ongoing issues. I've seen a dog with an adult amputation the same amount of time post-operatively still requiring regular dressing of a stump that was still partly raw.
So instead people tell themselves its ok, and it's worth it because by performing amputations on 320 spaniels they're saving one spaniel from an amputation (assuming 100% of docked spaniels go on to work - we can see from this thread that they don't in which case the numbers are even higher)
The thing is, if I felt that 320 number was accurate, I wouldn't consider docking to be justified. However (as I noted upthread), my own drilling into the Lederer numbers for reported injuries per season indicates that about 5% of undocked working dogs require an amputation each year. Assuming a working life of 7 years (which is probably underestimate once the training period is included), that means about a third of workers will end up with an amputation. That seems very high, and I'd like to see more work on this topic. It's also important to remember that pet dogs end up with amputations too: as I said, from my tiny sample (far too small to be statistically useful), I've seen one dog with an amputation, one who is possibly heading towards one (yesterday's decision was delayed as the vet wanted to try something else), and two with recurrent injuries. I can think of three who are so far okay, and two of those are only 3.
or is amputating 320 spaniels' tails without anaesthetic worth it
Having read what you have said, I think we should do it with anaesthetic. And again, I'm not convinced by that number.

Not to mention all of the associated risks in terms of chronic pain, neuroplasticity and behavioural impacts
Not to mention all the recurrent injuries, which definitely cause pain. We don't actually know how widespread issues are with chronic pain from docking: we're extrapolating from humans, and it's very hard to establish how much pain a dog is in.

you said yourself adult dogs exhibit pain for days after amputation - it would be the same for puppies even with analgesia
In my experience (admittedly limited), puppies heal from docking far faster than an adult dog heals from a tail amputation.

So instead people tell themselves its ok, and it's worth it because by performing amputations on 320 spaniels they're saving one spaniel from an amputation (assuming 100% of docked spaniels go on to work - we can see from this thread that they don't in which case the numbers are even higher). It seems a weird cost-benefit analysis to me but humans are rarely logical
See above for rather different numbers. If I genuinely thought it was only one working spaniel in 320 who required amputation as an adult, and that amputation was the only indicator of severe tail pain in an injured dog, I'd be on your side in this, as I am in the case of terriers. And as I've also said, pet dogs end up with amputations too.

but you do appear to be relying heavily on anecdote/experience.
While you're relying a lot on the science, you're also relying, as you admit, on your experience too: My experience sides with the science. Whereas my experience sides with the Lederer study of the rates of injury in working dogs.

I have also seen plenty of consequences of docked dogs - incontinence, perineal hernias, aggression, self-mutilation... Trust me an occasional clean surgical amputation under anaesthesia is not the worst thing that could happen.
No, the worst that can happen is necrosis and death. I'll look for stats on the proportion of docked dogs (and what degree of dock) suffer serious side-effects from docking. I'm not closed-minded on this topic.

now I'll ask again - where's your evidence that tail amputation in puppies is not painful,
I've already said that it appears that docking causes puppies pain; therefore analgesia should be used.
does not have the potential to cause longterm impacts on development or behaviour
But not docking has serious longterm impacts too, for very many spaniels and HPRs. It's a case of balance, and we don't yet have all the stats to make a fully informed decision.
and how is causing injury in many dogs to prevent injury in a few ethically justified?
It's not preventing injury in a few though. It's preventing injury a very high proportion, if you believe some of the numbers that are available. I am inclined to believe them, since they chime closely with my own experience.

I think we're going to have to agree to differ on this one. I'll keep an eye on the science as it develops, and remain open to having my mind changed back again in the future. Thank you for a civilised debate on an emotive issue.

"Assuming a working life of 7 years (which is probably underestimate once the training period is included), that means about a third of workers will end up with an amputation."

The problem with that is that there's no accounting there for all the puppies that were docked and did not end up as workers... both because the whole litter didn't go to working owners to start with, you get litters of say 6 routinely docked because 2 are intended for working owners and they don't at that point know which 2 and on top of that you get dogs intended to be workers that aren't suitable later on.

That's why estimates of how many puppies are docked to prevent one amputation come out high.

Having owned working spaniels (springers) and having a lot of friends with them I wouldn't own one without a docked or partially docked tail...

spaniels will go through any cover and I have tails having to be removed out in the field due to injuries - be prepared with a spaniel for lots of injuries from their belief that they can get through anything - my first seemed to have thicker skin and was fine - my second rarely came back from a walk without blood coming from somewhere - though it stopped rapidly and didn't seem to bother him and the vets were fine about it, however it was embarrassing at times looking as though he was slaughtering something!

If you are uncertain about spaniels, be aware that they are working dogs, need loads of exercise and there is a very true saying:

• labradors come into the world half-trained
• spaniels go out of the world half-trained

they are mad / bonkers / totally gorgeous

sorry should say - I have seen tails having to be removed...

I've seen a docked litter
I've seen a dog with
if I felt that 320 number was accurate
I'm not convinced

There's a lot of personal feeling here and not really any evidence - you're using selected parts of an unpublished thesis to back up some of your inferences and yet happily disbelieving other parts of the same thesis that don't 'chime with your experience'. As I've said, cognitive dissonance is a powerful thing.

I have no agenda here except what is best for animal welfare, there are many practices which may be publically controversial but aren't necessarily significant welfare issues - which is why the evidence is important rather than individual personal experience which will likely be biased.

my experience sides with the Lederer study of the rates of injury in working dogs.
Except you've said yourself that you're not convinced by Lederer's numbers, so its starting to appear as if your experience sides with selected bits of a single unpublished study that you've cherrypicked, whilst remaining unconvinced by the published data.

But not docking has serious longterm impacts too, for very many spaniels and HPRs. It's a case of balance, and we don't yet have all the stats to make a fully informed decision.
Impacts such as? I've outlined the impacts of docking quite clearly - what are these other longterm impacts of not docking? (with the exception of tail injury which we've already discussed)

It's not preventing injury in a few though. It's preventing injury a very high proportion, if you believe some of the numbers that are available. I am inclined to believe them, since they chime closely with my own experience.
Not according to the data published so far. And its actually not preventing injury at all since tail amputation of puppies is an injury

I've already said that it appears that docking causes puppies pain; therefore analgesia should be used
But it isn't. And by docking puppies/purchasing docked puppies/supporting docking you're supporting that

my own drilling into the Lederer numbers for reported injuries per season indicates that about 5% of undocked working dogs require an amputation each year.
Could you explain this please - this figure does not seem to be put forward by the author in any of the studies? Thanks

Its also worth noting that there are significant potential biases in Lederer's study - many of which she acknowledges herself. Which is one of the reasons building an argument on a single source is not a great idea