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Originally Posted by gracielove  Each breed has its own history. The people that docked ears and tails when the breed was first developed did it for a reason, not as a matter of preference. Tails were often docked on terriers to prevent them from their tails from being bitten and then infected by the rodents they encountered inside walls and holes in the ground. I suppose they decided it was better to remove the tail early rather than have it infected and amputated later.
Most of these breeds existed many years before the advent of dog shows. Standards were written as the show business progressed. Those first shows were far less opulent than they are today. The original standards were written according to how the dog was used at that time. People who joined the show ranks later on may well have protested having to dock their pet's tails and ears but the standards were already written for the dog as it was originally intended to be used. The terrier was once a working dog unlike today where the Yorkshire, in particular, is made to be a pet rather than the ratter it was intended to be.
Today show/breeders maintain the historical characteristics of their dogs. I'm sure people who did not use their pets for ratting may have protested the docking and certainly did not have to do it back then anymore than a breeder has to do it today.
Would you not give vaccinations to your puppy because it may hurt it or cause it to develop a fever? No. People who choose to have their litter docked are not doing anymore harm than that to the pup. The puppy suffers no more than getting injections at 6 weeks of age, less really.
Certainly docking is not necessary for most terriers today but to say it is doing harm to them is taking it beyond the reality of the situation. Historically it was done to prevent harm to the breed. Today it is done basically to maintain the tradition of the breed. It seems unnecessary but it is not cruel when done properly.
Dew claw removal was done for dogs in the field to prevent them from ripping them as they ran in rugged terrain. I suppose any dog that runs in a field could harm its dew claw. It is also a pain for the owner to try to keep that dew claw trimmed properly. Having them removed a few days after birth is much easier and less painful for the pup than having it done months after birth when the connective tissue has formed and the claw is tightly attached to the paw. If the dew claw is not removed as a neonate it is probably best to leave it and just deal with the keeping it trimmed. |
Fine, your go right ahead and cut off tails and dew claws for whatever reasons you think are valid, and we'll leave them on for our own reasons.
I'm not terribly inconvenienced to trim my Yorkies' dew claws as part of regular grooming, and since I don't allow them to run in rugged terrain, that's a moot point in my situation. I also would never dream of selling a puppy to someone who was too busy to trim dew claws or who would consider letting their little Yorkie run around in rugged terrain.
Are you a breeder?