popcorn

I think the problem is that breeds of dogs are being used that have not had ancestors herd sheep for hundreds of years. These breeds of dogs have been bred to do a different job in the modern day to what they may have been originally bred for. There is also certainly a difference between a dog that will occassionally nip at a sheep to a dog that drags a sheep down and rips a sheep apart to the point that it needs veterinary treatment and this is something a few of us have witnessed. It is these dogs that need to be banned from participating in all herding and trialling activities and it is the herding clubs responsibility to ensure that this is so.

Unfortunately I have witnessed incidences that you have just described and I was absolutely appalled at the lack of concern these particular owners have for the unacceptable behaviour of their dogs. In my opinion, it should be the responsibility of the clubs who are organising these herding/training days to prevent the uncontrollable or 'grippy" dogs from coming back. As far as I am concerned, the money you pay for the trial or herding day should be forfeited if your dog attacks sheep and this money should be used for the veterinary treatment of the sheep. From what I have seen , the people who have these types of dogs have little regard for the damage these dogs inflict on the sheep. Unless something is done by the clubs as a whole to prevent uncontrollable, vicious dogs from competing and passing in instinct tests, I can see that herding days will definitely be a thing of the past. From the events I have witnessed over the past few months, it will only take one person from one welfare organisation to report these acts of cruelty and herding will be banned forever. As in lots of things, it only takes a minority group to destroy a good thing for everybody else.

I would definitely have the tail removed. As for your vet having a problem with the paperwork, I would definitely be changing vets. My family has racing greyhounds and they break their tails on the kennels walls all the time as they get so excited. WE have had tips of tails removed from some of these dogs as they start to bleed and the risk of infection is so great, it must also be very very painful. The fact that your dog has broken his tail 4 times must be horrible for him and it must be SO painful. Although removing tails is a touchy subject, I think in your dogs case it is justified