Docking Of Tails

[Alyosha]

The ones I saw last year were in the junior & intermediate classes so definitely after the NSW ban.

Imports? Or done medically. There are forms to be filled out to include docking on a dog's registration. It requires certification by the docking vet.

I had a borzoi pup born with a broken and hanging tail last year (caught up in umbilical cord), it was docked to one third. Even though no-one in their right mind would choose to dock a borzoi, we still had to do all the paperwork to be lawfully covered. He is a stunning boy, and had he been from a breed where a docked tail would not have caused serious detriment in the ring he would have been shown.

[Dobecrazy]

Plenty of dobe breeders are sending bitches to NZ it is their right as breeders to continue to uphold the original standard of the breed. Both my dobes are docked and it came after the ban, one breeder was in NZ any way the other sent her bitch to NZ. I know someones who's vet does this for them in Aus.. very illegal. They pretend all the tails are damaged at birth hence the no (IMP NZ) after their dogs' names. It's funny that docked breed breeders have to go to all this trouble because of the RSPCA..prime example of them wasting their time on petty stuff instead of concentrating on the bigger issues.

Edited April 10, 2012 by Dobecrazy

[SparkyTansy]

It is also thought that they were docked by the farmer to avoid having to pay a "tail tax" as counting tails was a method used to count livestock, which were then taxed according to the number.

It is believed that above is the reason Old English sheepdogs were also docked (but there are some other stories, such as hygiene etc), however it is believed also that they did have a natural bobtail gene, which, as more and more OES were docked, became less selected for. A friend of mine that has been a breeder for over 30 years has never had or seen a litter with natural bobtails.

Weims are for obvious reasons - hunters of large and small game, docking prevented serious damage to their tails whilst working.

When i was in the UK I had a very interesting conversation with a breeder of GSP. She had a litter on the ground and all puppies tails were docked, due to the fact that she had 3 buyers wanting working gundogs (Becks mentioned this earlier in the thread). All that needs to be provided is a letter from the buyer to confirm they will be working the dog, along with the correct paperwork from the vet. Only one letter is required, so you could have a litter of 14 puppies with one going to a working home, and they are all allowed to be docked. These dogs, however, will not be allowed to be shown at any show where the general public must pay admission.

[redangel]

Dobecrazy why is it Dobe breeders see it as "preserving their breed standard"...do you know of other breed people feeling similar with their breeds?? Is is the odd Dobe breeder of a more general consensus amongst breeders of the breed? Are there any issues ringside with people who have non docked examples of the breed??

[erinonthefarm]

I had 2 docked Rottis born '96, gone now. Rotti's tails are weapons of mass destruction.

I have friends with tailed Rotts and you have to watch them, especially around kids. The tails, that is, not the dog, as any Rott lover would know.

:laugh: You remind me of my friends old German shorthaired pointer. Her tail used to clear the coffee table and leave brusies on your calves!! Admittenly she was poorly trained and a hazard indoors until age slowed her down.

I was pleasantly suprised that my boy does not wack/ sweep with his tail, but he seems to hold it very high so it is not so whippy, more like being hit with half a hoola hoop

[Bisart Dobes]

Dobecrazy why is it Dobe breeders see it as "preserving their breed standard"...do you know of other breed people feeling similar with their breeds?? Is is the odd Dobe breeder of a more general consensus amongst breeders of the breed? Are there any issues ringside with people who have non docked examples of the breed??

I would say that it is about half half in Australia at the moment. We have had litters with full tails but with so many damaged / badly injured tails we have sent our next litter to New Zealand. We complied with the law and it was to the detriment of our dogs wellbeing and that I cannot live with being responsible for. Still loved them just as much with full tail or docked though.

[Remarkabull]

I have never seen a dog with a badly damaged tail in all my life. I spent years around hunting dogs and despite running in scrub, bush and through fences not one damaged tail on the hundred plus dogs I encountered. I've owned plenty of dogs with long tails and again, no damage. I've also worked in a number of vet clinics and never saw a dog come in with a damaged tail. I can understand that on occasion accidents happen but not with the frequency that some would try and suggest. What on earth are Dobe people doing with their dogs that there are so many damaged tails? Very clumsy people/dogs maybe

[LizT]

I have never seen a dog with a badly damaged tail in all my life. I spent years around hunting dogs and despite running in scrub, bush and through fences not one damaged tail on the hundred plus dogs I encountered. I've owned plenty of dogs with long tails and again, no damage. I've also worked in a number of vet clinics and never saw a dog come in with a damaged tail. I can understand that on occasion accidents happen but not with the frequency that some would try and suggest. What on earth are Dobe people doing with their dogs that there are so many damaged tails? Very clumsy people/dogs maybe

This is interesting as I have heard similar lament of damaged tails in Boxers but have not seen such with regard to any examples of thin, weak tails that literally break!!! Urban myth perhaps? I mean there were plenty examples of these breeds that were "oops bred" pure and cross bred that I have seen over years with full tails and no problems.

[pepe001]

I am anti-docking but mistakingly docked (to some extent) two of my dogs tails. First was a kelpie. He was riding in a sidecar (I was a teen and quite stupid????) and he slipped into the chain. Docked to about 2/3 and fixed by the vet. Second was a German Shepherd. He was walking in front of my horse, stopped to scratch and the horse stood on his tail de-gloving it by a few inches - again a vet fixed it. Never seen a dob, boxer, schnauzer, or JRT with a damaged tail. Just my two non-docked breed doggies.

[LizT]

I am anti-docking but mistakingly docked (to some extent) two of my dogs tails. First was a kelpie. He was riding in a sidecar (I was a teen and quite stupid????) and he slipped into the chain. Docked to about 2/3 and fixed by the vet. Second was a German Shepherd. He was walking in front of my horse, stopped to scratch and the horse stood on his tail de-gloving it by a few inches - again a vet fixed it. Never seen a dob, boxer, schnauzer, or JRT with a damaged tail. Just my two non-docked breed doggies.

Oh poor doggies! Docking probably came about as a result of these types of accidents! (not so much the car door but definitely the horse stepping on the tail). A friend had a kitten that badly injured it's tail by knocking over a terracotta pot and had it docked by a vet too, looked very Manxy after that.

[Podengo]

We're on our second tailed Dobe and still have not had any issues, she lives on a farm and rough and tumbles like any rural dog... Her tail is always held up and out of the way, not at all a table clearer like the ridgeback X' tail! It's certainly not thin like a greyhound tail either, I've seen greys at work before that have broken the tips of their tails, but I just can't imagine how a Dobe you do that unless you slammed it's whole tail in a car door or something??

[Crisovar]

I have never seen a dog with a badly damaged tail in all my life. I spent years around hunting dogs and despite running in scrub, bush and through fences not one damaged tail on the hundred plus dogs I encountered. I've owned plenty of dogs with long tails and again, no damage. I've also worked in a number of vet clinics and never saw a dog come in with a damaged tail. I can understand that on occasion accidents happen but not with the frequency that some would try and suggest. What on earth are Dobe people doing with their dogs that there are so many damaged tails? Very clumsy people/dogs maybe

I have seen quite a few damaged tails both working in Vet surgeries and away from work.

I have long tailed dogs too and they don't damage their tails, but their tails are certainly far more coated and sturdy and carried differently than those of the breeds that I have seen damaged.

It is not just length of tail, it is the structure, the carriage, the way the dog uses its tail and the activities the dog engages in that result in damage.

[ravenau1]

We're on our second tailed Dobe and still have not had any issues, she lives on a farm and rough and tumbles like any rural dog... Her tail is always held up and out of the way, not at all a table clearer like the ridgeback X' tail! It's certainly not thin like a greyhound tail either, I've seen greys at work before that have broken the tips of their tails, but I just can't imagine how a Dobe you do that unless you slammed it's whole tail in a car door or something??

Same here. My Dobe holds her tail up high, mostly curled over her back and it's nice and thick. It certainly wouldn't damage easily at all. It's pretty much the same thickness as a GSD or Lab tail, and all the tailed dogs I have seen come from her breeder are the same.

Perhaps a thick healthy tail is something we should be breeding for if some dogs have really thin, fragile tails?