[Cha Cha]

Originally Posted by SirTeddykins

Fair enough.


However, how would you respond to the following:


Opposition to this practice began very early in the history of the breed; Hugh Dalziel, writing about Yorkshire Terriers in 1878, declared that "There is no reason for mutilating pet dogs, and perfect ears and tails should be bred, not clipped into shape with scissors."


source:PETS: Yorkshire Terrier




I ask because, I wonder, if the practice was frowned upon even at the beginning of the standard, why have breeders not bred to conformity as an alternative to docking? Is it incompetence, challenges associated with natural conformity, no requirement; so no need? or some other reason I have not mentioned?


Keep in mind - this question is not an indictment or judgment (although I admit biased in my opinion as I do not agree with the practice) but genuine curiosity. If the breeder wants to conform to standard, why not breed for it as is done with color, size, teeth, coat etc?


For clarification, Hugh Dalziel was an expert in exhibition, breeding etc of British dogs and wrote many books, some of which can be found here:


http://www.amazon.com/Hugh-Dalziel/e/B00IRHRFP6


Obviously, I have great respect for breeders and the breed. Without breeders, I would not have my Teddy! So, please educate me! If there is no answer, fair enough. If you want to pm me and answer, fine. But, if I don't understand, I will question and I hope that is ok!

I speculate, and this is pure speculation, that it is incredibly difficult to breed for a specific tail trait, and this is as big a reason as any that the YT has a docked tail to begin with, as it is impossible to tell in a new puppy how they will carry their tail and if it "meets standard" or not. I don't believe it was always about what the dog was bred to do as a reason for the docked tail to begin with. Just speculation on my part, but when creating a standard, and the only variable seen over and over is the differences of the tail and trying to come to terms on a standard, would be to eliminate the problem.