the purpose of docking, as I understand it, dates back to the practice of 'working' dogs. Yorkshire Terriers were originally used to kill fox and rats in small places. Many hunting/ ratter breeds had docked tails to eliminate the possibility of the tail getting caught by prey or in the hunting environment.
Its also important to note that the Terriers used as ratters date back to pre-industrial revolution England and weighed about 30 lbs. They are not the 3-7 lb. standard we all know and love.
Much like ratting, the practice of docking is outdated. Unless there are some YTers on here who are using their terrier to hunt vermin.....
