I have not read all the responses to this question yet. But I will offer my opinion. I would never dock a tail on an older dog. Doesn't matter what the show conformation is or how badly I wanted to win. When one docks a 3 to 5 day old puppy it is just that....docking as the bones are not hardened yet. But when one "docks" the tail of an older dog is it amputation pure and simple. Along with this is the pain of the bone healing. I personnally just have real problems doing this to an older puppy or adult dog for the sake of winning. Yes I am a show breeder and still feel strongly against this procedure for older dogs. I had a Yorkie male bred by myself. I docked his tail as to the normal length of a Yorkie docked tail at 5 days old. But his tail grew weird! It ended up being a bit TOO LONG. Other breeders and even pro handlers told me to re-dock his tail at about 9 months of age if I wanted to win. I refused! He needs too more wins to gain his AKC championship! It may be difficult but I believe if we continue to show Yorkies with tails the judges will eventually look at the overall quality of the dog......and not just his/her tail. After all the Yorkshire Terrier standard does NOT have an DQ's as other breeds do. What wins on any given day is totally in the eye of the judge on that particular day.
In my opinion I just would never do a tail amputation on an older dog. One should consider these problems BEFORE importing such a Yorkie. |