[Britster]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

No, that's not the case. There are lots of yorkies with full tails. To keep your dog's anus clean, you should make sure to feed him a good food that he produces formed stools on, and keep the hair around that area closely trimmed.

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Last time this was hashed out, someone said the most sensible explanation that I've heard, which was that working dogs were taxed, and dogs with tails were considered working dogs. Actualy, now that I write that, it doesn't seem to make a tremendous amount of sense - why would a dog only be taxed if it had a tail? - but, well, there you go.

Nancy, where have you seen a yorkie that's had trouble holding up its tail? All the ones I've seen with full tails have lovely long ones that gently curl up over their back.

FYI to the poster above, dobermans do not have docked ears or tails in Europe, and they do perfectly fine. The "fragile" tail explanation does not hold water to me. It seems like a pretty self serving argument, there is very little evidence to support it, and it doesn't make a tremendous amont of sense anyway. Yorkies have trouble with LP, does that mean we should remove their knees, just in case?

IMO, it is only a matter of time before it's outlawed in the US. You can see the way the wind is blowing.

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Because the large majority of dogs have their tails, and they are fine, even if the tails are "ugly", long, or narrow. Plenty of yorkies have tails NOW. It's not like they have never had tails, and suddenly last year all of a sudden we're breaking new ground.

As for tails breaking because they are stepped on - it's a body part, of course if it's not there, it's not going to get injured. Yorkies get hurt jumping off things, does that mean show breeders want them to be bigger? Or does safety only matter when it's about meeting the standard?

FYI, women in the UK were given the vote almost 100 years before they were in the US - we can be pretty slow to pick up on good ideas sometimes.

I understand some people support tail docking, and while I don't agree with it, I have a much easier time when people don't cast around for evidence to support their preferences. We have a lot of responsibility to dogs, and it seems to me that we should really confront and question practices like this because they cannot speak for themselves. What is more important, doing right by dogs, or finding reasons not to change your mind?

Again, I understand that some people like dock tails. The best argument I've heard is that it doesn't hurt the pup and it's personal preference. I personally don't think personal preference is sufficient reason to remove a body part, and maybe other people don't either, which is why other stuff like breaking tails comes up.

I love you! You type so I don't have to

Totally agree.

I still think tail docking is totally pointless, besides giving people cosmetic pleasure for how their dog looks.

I've seen, surprisingly, 3 Yorkies in my real life with full tails, and they all held them proudly. I saw one on It's Me or the Dog with a full tail and same thing. As I said in my previous post in this thread, I get sooo many comments (literally everyone who has a convo with me at the dog park) about why all Yorkies don't have their full tails and how they prefer it that way.... so if we're talking about preference, in my area of town, full tail wins. I visit dog park approx 1-3x per week and probably talk to dozens a week. I probably see atleast 1 other docked tail Yorkie owner a week and even though their dogs is docked, they wish it was full.