I dock my tails on Day 2 or Day 3....the nerve endings develop from the head down, and the nerves in the tail are not fully developed until after Day 5....which is why if you have not done this by Day 5, the entire procedure changes to a surgical procedure, with local anesthesia, scissors or scaple, suturing.....and it is more painful. With the hemostat method, you clamp and twist and the baby yelps when the clamp is first applied...the tail is twisted and the end is sealed...there is NO bleeding involved, and the puppy does not cry at all after that first clamp is made. It truly is very quick and essentially painless, and the tip of the tail has a very nice "shaped tip" doing this. I MUST admit, I too can not wait for the breed standard and the AKC to change the "mandatory" docked tail for showing....Against professional advise from several breeders, I had one litter that I decided I was NOT going to dock the tails....I almost NEVER got those babies homes! So, until the mind set changes with the majority of people, I just cringe and breathe deeply and do it.... (I learned how to dock tails when I worked for a vet in the late 60's- early 70's) |