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Originally Posted by pstinard  On tail docking and pain, I trust the conclusions of the American Veterinary Medical Association and all of the other foreign Veterinary Societies who maintain that young puppies do feel pain, and that tail docking is inhumane. I think that the only good thing about doing it when they are young is that they forget the trauma and get over it. But even so, there can still be lingering health issues. Here is a link to a blog that has a link at the end to a research article by an Australian veterinarian that is informative: The Whole Truth About Tail Docking | The Smart Living Network
(BTW, I'm not an anti-tail-docking activist. I'm just presenting a body of evidence. My Bella had her tail docked before I got her and before I knew about the issues involved with tail docking.) |
The AVMA and all vets will carry a lot more clout when they stop docking tails and dews for money, euthanizing dogs for bad behavior and debarking innocent dogs that bark out of boredom and loneliness.
I've lifted neonates to look at a toenail, clear its mouth or otherwise tend it and had it yell its head off the entire time it was being fiddled with. I accidentally stepped on another's little paw in the nursery once and nothing was said by the little baby. I've seen a breeder snip the webbed toes of an infant that just yawned while she did it. When being mentored, I saw Dobie pups never stir when a tail was docked. Most I saw settled within a minute though and most just cuddled back up with littermates and went to sleep.
Older puppies in crates yell their heads off all night without worry. Vets give the okay to many breeders to release their puppies for sale and new homes at 6 weeks and people take 6 week old puppies from their mothers and stick them in pens, sometimes even in basements, and shush them when they yell. No one worries about their emotional pain or distress but frets over a neonate's pain? I don't see an AMVA statement about that subject. Vets give the okay for Bulldog breeders to breed their bitches knowing the dam will need a C-section to delivery her pups. Seems unethical to clear for breeding dogs that have to have surgery to reproduce a puppy. Vets haven't said anything about the unethical breeding of teacup and ultra-mini dogs as far as I can tell. There is a lot about vet medicine I just don't understand or necessarily agree with about breeding and treatment of young puppies and some misbehaving dogs. Don't get me wrong, I rush my dog to a vet at the first sign of trouble but that doesn't mean I agree with them about everything or even this issue.
I for one am so glad my dog came with his tail docked and dews removed and has even a 3 - 5% less chance of injuring those areas because of it! I prefer the look of a docked tail and glad I don't have to trim a dewclaw on each foot once a week!!! I'll keep looking for that type pup to purchase in the future until I see sufficient reason to change.