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Tails improve balance
Walk along a curb or balance beam with your arms crossed in front of you. Now do it with your arms free at your sides and using them for balance. Wasn’t that easier? Dogs use their tails in much the same way, to provide balance and stability when moving over difficult or rough terrain.

When dogs don’t have tails to provide a counterbalance and rudder for movement, something has to give.

“If you take away the ability to shift weight or compensate for balance displacement by use of the tail mechanism, then the forces that would otherwise be absorbed or counteracted through the tail need to be shifted elsewhere,” says Edge-Hughes. She speculates that the stress or pressure could then fall on the cruciate ligament or patella, hip, or hock joints, or even travel up the chain into the sacroiliac joints or spine, potentially causing or contributing to seemingly unrelated orthopedic injuries.

Cruciate disease and other orthopedic problems can have many contributing factors, and can occur in dogs both with tails and without tails. Yet, for dogs, who evolved to have tails, having them removed may add another cause of injury.

Edge-Hughes is also concerned about docked dogs who are unable to use tail wagging (with a tail of normal length and without scar tissue) to stretch and flex the dura, keeping it pliable. This could be a particular problem when a dog has a slow, progressive disc lesion, such as a bulging disc, which slowly compresses the dura and spinal cord over time. “The dura might become inflamed more easily if it is not as pliable. This may lead to a faster onset of neurological signs and symptoms that accompany disc lesions,” she explains.

Veterinarian Robert Wansborough, in a paper published in 1996 in the Australian Veterinary Journal, describes how the tail is interconnected with the physiological structure of the entire hind end of the dog. He speculates that removing the tail may change the muscle tone and contribute to perineal hernias and incontinence.

Dewclaws may contribute to improved balance, too
Dewclaws are another frequently amputated dog part that are often thought to be useless, but in fact, the front dewclaws do have a purpose says Chris Zink, DVM, PhD. “The function of front dewclaws is to prevent torque on the leg,” she says. “There are five tendons attaching the dewclaw to five muscle bundles, supporting this functionality. When a dog is running, the dewclaw comes into contact with the ground. If the dog needs to turn, the dewclaw digs into the ground to support the lower leg and prevent torque.”

“The rear dewclaws are vestigial in most breeds; that is not true for the front dewclaws, which should be more correctly called digits or thumbs,” says Dr. Zink. She works exclusively with performance dogs and has found that if a dog doesn’t have dewclaws, the leg will twist when turning, which applies significant pressure on the leg, to the toes, carpus, elbow, and shoulders. The repeated twisting and pressure can ultimately cause chronic painful conditions, especially carpal arthritis. “Of the over 30 dogs I have seen with carpal arthritis, only one has had dewclaws. All the others had them removed,” says Dr. Zink.

Out of balance
Beyond the physical balance and movement aids provided by tails and dewclaws, removing these parts, and ears too, may cause a different type of imbalance. The removal of parts as a result of docking and cropping may interfere with well-being and health from a Chinese medicine perspective. Scars or the absence of body parts that are normally part of a meridian or specific acupuncture points may adversely affect the organ systems associated with the meridian or energy channel.

A beautiful sight: an athletic dog with the tail, toes, and ears that he was born with, moving swiftly, comfortably, and in perfect balance.

An acupuncture map of the ear will show points that correspond with the entire body. In fact, there are over 200 acupuncture points on the ear – it is often described as “the meeting place of all the channels of the body.” In addition, the ear is part of the kidney meridian. When a dog’s ear is partially amputated, as with cropping, these points are removed, and scar tissue is created on the new edge of the ear. The removal of dewclaws creates a scar that may affect the Large Intestine meridian, while the Governing Vessel meridian ends on the tail.


Abbreviated communication
Dogs use both their tails and ears extensively for communication, with each other and with humans. Norwegian trainer Turid Rugaas describes many different positions for tails and ears in her work on “calming signals” of the dog, and how dogs use these parts to communicate.


Think for a moment about all of the positions floppy ears can take. The ears can be forward and the base held upright, or they can be soft and low against the head, even pinned back, tight to the head. Each subtly different position communicates something different, from aggression to fear, contentment to appeasement.


The tail, too, acts as a key communication device for dogs. Different types of tail wagging and carriage may indicate happiness, stress, anxiety, fear, or other emotions. Dogs without tails are limited in this type of communication, and have to rely on other signals, which may be more difficult for humans and other dogs to interpret.


With all of the probable and possible problems associated with cropping and docking, how important is it to keep certain breeds of dogs looking a particular way?