Baileys mum Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I also own/breed a traditional docked breed & while I do prefer the look of a docked tail on my breed I have got used to seeing tails on my dogs & actually think they can look very cute. I love my breed far too much & would never ever stop owning/breeding them because of tail docking laws. Having said that I do get a little jelouse when I see piccies on facebook from a couple of my American Aussie terrier breeder friends with their lovely neat looking docked Aussies...but I can't see tail docking ever becoming legal in this country again & I am quite willing to just suck it up & to continue to enjoy my Aussies with their cute little tails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpotTheDog Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 4. Have you ever owned a dog that has broken its tail as an adult, and you had to get the breaks to heal, without success, and then after months of unsuccessful treatment, you had to get the tail amputated on the adult dog? If so, can you tell me what the temperament of the dog was like during the months of treatment, and what the dog's temperament was like after the amputation? Souff, I wanted to genuinely ask about this - my bitsa dog has a long, whippy tail (steel cable around the knees if he catches you with it, and a coffee table clearance device if ever there was one). Is the anti-docking law so strong over here that if my dog were to mangle his tail, I would not be permitted to request that my vet perform a controlled amputation under anaesthetic? It seems perfectly logical to me to request amputation of the tail to, say, a 1/3 length if it has been badly damaged, because logically it will difficult to facilitate it healing what with it being banged off everything when the dog wags, and his ability to reach around and bite at it if it itches and so on. What happens in an adult tail amputation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightgrace6 Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 adult amputation is very painful and it depends on your vet.. my legally docked dobe puppy was redocked and she was fine but I do think as an adult it is supposed to be very painful and seeing as the dogs are used to their tails they get a bit "lost". I also have a legally docked dobe puppy and I get a whole world of pain from the public but luckily my vet is for it and so are all my friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJean Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 (edited) How do you like your breed with a tail? I like my breed anyway, but they are better off with their tails docked. fwiw I think they are better off with their ears cropped also. Are you still breeding? Yes. But I am also breeding from overseas. Do you prefer it with a tail? No What do you say to people that think its cruel? That they don't know what they are talking about; moreover: it's none of their business. and what they think its irrelevant. Edited April 18, 2011 by lilli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remarkabull Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I can't imagine adult amputation of a tail is any more painful than any number of surgeries that may be necessary if a dog were to injure a part of it's anatomy, say a leg for example. If the argument that is going to be used is that docking is preventing injuries then why not remove their legs too? In all the years I worked as a vet nurse I never saw a dog come in with such a severe injury to the tail that it needed to be docked and a lot of that time was in north west NSW where the number of hunting dogs is huge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Nothing pleases me as much as seeing a dog of a breed that had previously been docked wagging its tail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Nothing pleases me as much as seeing a dog of a breed that had previously been docked wagging its tail. My dogs are both docked and funnily enough, their tails still wag. Even a docked rotti's tail wags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightgrace6 Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 If the argument that is going to be used is that docking is preventing injuries then why not remove their legs too now thats just ridiculous, what do they NEED their tails for? clearly they need legs to walk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightgrace6 Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 amputation is painful fullstop no matter what body part but it can be prevented in the tail.. thats not my argument for docking at all really, but I will agree with docking to prevent injury of working gundogs etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Nothing pleases me as much as seeing a dog of a breed that had previously been docked wagging its tail. My dogs are both docked and funnily enough, their tails still wag. Even a docked rotti's tail wags. Funny that isn't it, and I am sure you can read their mood as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Nothing pleases me as much as seeing a dog of a breed that had previously been docked wagging its tail. My dogs are both docked and funnily enough, their tails still wag. Even a docked rotti's tail wags. Funny that isn't it, and I am sure you can read their mood as well. Yep, sure can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bisart Dobes Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Nothing pleases me as much as seeing a dog of a breed that had previously been docked wagging its tail. Oh Yeah - especially when there is blood gushing out of the end of it ;) With all the injuries we have had on our 2 litters with full tails we have decided no more long tails in this house on a dobermann !!!!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 How many working gun dogs are there in Australia though? I'd happily support the docking of working dogs where docking made things safer for them. I'm all for protecting breed heritage, but there are a million things that need to be protected before tail docking IMO. If you look at pictures of breeds 50 years ago (especially the popular breeds ) they have changed so much. A lot of these changes are cosmetic - more rolls = cuter, bigger chest = stronger looking etc. I've met many mini schnauzers that would run from a mouse! I'd rather we focus on preserving dogs function than a docked tail IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remarkabull Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Well I don't really need both my arms, but I really LIKE having them! Personally I like the look of a docked dog, and if it were legal then I would happily buy a puppy that had been docked. I don't think docking is cruel (if done properly) and I don't agree with the reasons why it was banned. However, why can't people just say that the reason that they like it is because of the way it makes the dog look? Why does everyone have to come up with arguments about injuries (which I doubt happen in the epidemic proportions that some would like us to believe) and that it is better for the dog etc. Just admit that YOU (no one in particular, just those that feel this way) prefer it docked and it visually pleases you. How do you all feel about circumcision? Boys don't really 'need' it, it looks much neater without it. Similar argument AFAIC, boils down to personal preference and I know what I'd prefer if I had a son, but I wouldn't try and justify my position by trying to convince myself I was doing him a favour by having it removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightgrace6 Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 I prefer the way dogs look without them, I think most people for that have said that so I dont understand what you are getting at? Bisart.. will you still be breeding? Horses die on the racetrack and have we stopped horse jumping.. no.. owners get a dog and surrender them all the time and have we put restrictions on who can buy a dog.. no.. but we have put restrictions on breeders who have been docking dogs humanely for a long time, these pups are like babies and if parents can decide whether their boy gets circumsized then why can breeders not decide what happens to their "babies". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I have had the blood splattered up my walls from the tail injuries, and I won't be doing it again. Docking a newborn pup is not cruel. Docking a damaged adult tail is a nightmare. It really shits me though that the experiences of those that have lived with and have a depth of knowledge and understanding of the breeds and are experienced enough to know how to dock quickly, cleanly and with no distress to the whelps are totally ignored and drowned out by cries of mutilation and cruelty. I cannot understand those that have decided a dog is difficult to read if docked. Are they serious? Apparently because we hear it over and over. There is more to a dog than its tail people, you are ones that keep saying it. I have never lived with a Rottie but I could sure tell if one was happy or riled. It is not ok to dock, but it is ok to rip out the reproductive organs of young pups before they have even had a chance to mature. If a tail is an import and vital part of a dog how can reproductive organs not be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Sorry, I forgot I needed to sometimes make my sentences more exact and precise so that the intention can't be twisted or misrepresented in some smarmy way. Just for you Sheridan; Nothing pleases me as much as seeing a dog of a breed that had previously been docked, with a natural long and undocked tail wagging its tail just the way nature intended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightgrace6 Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 Missing an arm is NOT like missing a tail.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RottnBullies Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 A friend has a young legally docked Dobe and she has been hassled very badly by a local vet whom she now does not see. The dog was done before she got her and legally. She has said if she ever got another one she would want the tail on as the crap she cops is not worth it, although due to reasons other than tails she will probably not have another either. If only people who are so concerned about docking being cruel, would only put their energies now towards lobbying for harsher penalties for real cruelty cases, which Is most certainly cruelty In It's highest form, but yet these people are lucky to get a small fine for what they've done, I guess outta sight outta mind comes to the equation For the record I prefer "the look' of a docked breed, just like I prefer the look of certain breeds compared to others, I don't see why people who prefer docked need to be frowned upon and harrassed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I prefer the way dogs look without them, I think most people for that have said that so I dont understand what you are getting at? Bisart.. will you still be breeding?Horses die on the racetrack and have we stopped horse jumping.. no.. owners get a dog and surrender them all the time and have we put restrictions on who can buy a dog.. no.. but we have put restrictions on breeders who have been docking dogs humanely for a long time, these pups are like babies and if parents can decide whether their boy gets circumsized then why can breeders not decide what happens to their "babies". The race industry in this country is worth too much money to upset the apple cart there, but dog breeders and exhibitors boost to the economy is not so visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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