Quote:
Originally Posted by Smokey2011  IMHO and not to start a war, but I kind of dont understand why in this day and age, tails and ears are still docked.
We got Smokey at 5 months and for some reason or other, the breeder did not dock his tail and I am glad he didn't.
Breed standard? Forgive my stupidity, but WHY?
Having spent a couple thousand dollars rushing a greyhound with infected "happy tail" into emergency amputation and dealing with the aftermath,
I am a bit put off by what I consider unnecessary cosmetic surgery.
Again, forgive me, but that's how I feel.  |
I wholeheartedly agree that the dog should keep whatever anatomical attributes were gifted to him at birth by his parents...unless a medical emergency or situation exists.
I have one Yorkie whose tail is undocked...he carries it up, and one whose tail is about the length you describe...she carries it tucked down behind her body. Both dogs were each just over 1 year old when they came to live with me.
I prefer the long tail to a docked tail, especially a really short tail, although, were a full-length, full-coated tail to hang straight down on a short-legged hunting Yorkie, I can see how it could have been a nightmare to keep it clean and free of burs, mats, and the like from a hunting Yorkie running through grass, weeds, brush, etc...
which may have been the original reason for docking the hunting terrier tails...just guessing, but some things that don't make sense today
did make sense at their inception.
The YTCA Standard to the AKC is just to
describe a 'finished product' so 'genetics' breeders have a mental picture what they are trying to create from a limited and specific genetic set, and the judges have a mental picture of what the breeders should have been trying to create...to see if they hit that target and how close they got to it.
I believe this is also why such controversy exists regarding "white" (or other colored) hair on a Yorkshire Terrier...the target is to NOT get white (OR other colored) hair...only blue and tan...regardless of whether "white" (or any other color) is a recessive parti gene or accidental breed stock mixed into the genetic set. Plus, you then have multiple 'competitors' aiming for different targets, making judging who hit the bulls eye closest an impossibility. Then, there is the health-related-hair-color issue vs. canine soundness. Regardless, mis-marked, parti colored, and/or Biewer babies are precious and I'd welcome any of them at my place!
The Registries (AKC, etc. ) are for disclosure of which genetic sets were used in the mix...for fairness as well as to ensure a lack of 'cheating' and polluting the breed stock/gene pool...at least, that is
my opinion of what the deal is.
I have often thought I wanted to be, and have had a couple unplanned (by me
) litters (re-homed/rescued mixed breeds...not Yorkies), but I am not a breeder. If I was to become a breeder, because I do very much like the genetics part and have been fascinated by genetics, and working Punnett Squares for fun, since I was a child, I would breed specifically for genetics...and both the Standard, complete with judging, and the Registries make sense from the point of view of them that I have accepted.
Oh, and I am guessing you meant a 'war' on YT...'cuz if there is a full/docked tail war, it's been going on for a lot longer than YT has even existed.