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Some may find this article interesting.

How the spaniel lost his tail...and other shaggy dog stories

Next month, the practice of docking dogs' tails will - with some exceptions - become illegal across the UK. As the nation's biggest dog show prepares to open its doors this Thursday, Terry Kirby looks at what the new law will mean for Britain's canines - and their owners

Published: 05 March 2007



This week at Crufts, thousands of canine lovers from across the country will gather at the National Exhibition Centre for the biggest dog show in the world. It is both a celebration of dogs and a fiercely fought competition to find the finest examples of a particular breed, whether it's a dobermann or dachshund.
But underneath the intense rivalry to determine the best in show, there is a bigger division that has caused a fundamental split in the dog world. And it has ensured that this year's Crufts will mark the beginning of the end of an era. The controversy can be summed up in one simple question: to dock, or not to dock.
The argument over whether certain types of dogs should have their tails docked - that is, cut off near the base shortly after birth - for both cosmetic and practical reasons, has raged across the dog world, causing as much bitterness and anger as any accompanying a judging decision. The debate is as polarised as that over fox hunting, involving similar lobbying groups on both sides of the fence and, like the issue of hunting, the practice may not have been ended entirely by a change in the law.
From next month, under the Animal Welfare Act, and with certain exemptions for "working" dogs in England and Wales - although, confusingly, there are no exemptions in Scotland - tail docking becomes illegal in the United Kingdom. It brings the country into line with much of Europe, ending a practice dating back to Roman times, which opponents say is a cruel and unnecessary mutilation of the animal we like to call our best friend.
But like hunting, legislation has not put an end to the arguments. The anti-docking lobby is angry that exemptions still exist. "It is confusing, why should some working breeds be docked and others not?'' said Pauline Baines, of the Anti-Docking Alliance. Ironically, the pro-dockers claim it is just as cruel not to dock the tails of some dogs. "Many breeders will deliberately go out of business rather than breed dogs that will suffer because their tails are not docked," said Peter Squires, of the Council for Docked Breeds. So what is the practice of tail-docking, how did it come about and why does it arouse such passions?
At the heart of the debate is the inescapable fact that all breeds of dogs, whether a tiny bichon frise carried under the arm of a Hollywood celebrity, or a collie rounding up sheep on a Welsh hillside, are the creations of mankind, dating back to when primitive man first realised wolves could be bred and trained for their own purposes. Selective breeding and cross-breeding has led to the hundreds of different types which now exist. Tail docking and, at one time, ear cropping, were therefore seen as simple extensions of the idea that, having created dogs for our own purposes, mankind could then do with them whatever it pleased.
Although it has almost certainly been done in some form since ancient times, it was the Romans who are believed to have carried out tail docking of their dogs on a regular basis, mostly in the mistaken belief that the muscles in the tail were a cause of rabies. As dogs began to be used more and more in the fields, their tails were found to collect burrs and "foxtails" (spiky grasses), which caused pain and infection, while tails with long fur could collect faeces. The tails of hunting dogs were docked to prevent them becoming injured while retrieving prey in thickets or briars. In Britain, this evolved into the routine docking of those types of terriers, sheepdogs and spaniels traditionally used as working dogs.
The practice of docking for cosmetic reasons only began in the late 1790s. Desperate for funds to fight the French wars, William Pitt the Younger, introduced a tax on dogs - following ones on wig powder, servants and windows - partially also designed to curb the proliferation of domestic canines. The law, however, had an exemption - working dogs were not taxed. This led to many people getting the tails of their dogs docked to avoid paying the tax, claiming that they were "working" dogs.
The subsequent fashion for dog shows, which took off in the mid-19th century, and the arrival of the Kennel Club in 1873 as a regulatory body, led to the creation of a formal system of identifying individual breeds. It became accepted practice that certain breeds were docked and others were not docked. That system continued into and throughout the 20th century. Domestic dogs, such as poodles, Yorkshire terriers and King Charles spaniels, together with those once considered working dogs, like boxers and corgis, were routinely docked for purely cosmetic reasons, alongside working breeds of spaniel and terrier, irrespective of whether they were actually going to be used on the farm or field. Many other types, such as labradors and setters, were never docked, mainly because their tails were seen as less mobile or hairy. "The practice was perpetuated by the breeders who tried to create dogs that were symmetrical in appearance and in the belief that was what the shows would want,'' said Ms Baines.
Although animal welfare organisations such as the RSPCA have long been opposed to docking, it was not until the early 1990s that it was made illegal for anyone other than a veterinary surgeon to carry out docking, once also the preserve of breeders, game wardens and farmers. Strict guidance from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, which is opposed to tail docking in principle, instructed members that the task could only be justified for medical reasons or where the dog was clearly to be used for working purposes. The guidelines were designed to eliminate cosmetic docking.
The measures did not work. Although a small number of vets have been disciplined, the RCVS admits it can only bring cases when a complaint is made and it has sufficient evidence. Many pro-docking vets still routinely carry out cosmetic docking. "We have been able to supply breeders with the names of certain vets who are prepared to carry out docking. Naturally, we ask both parties to keep their names discreet. But there are hundreds of them up and down the country,'' said Mr Squires of the CDB, which claimed that around 100,000 dogs are still docked each year. "More than 95 per cent of traditionally docked dogs, cosmetic or working, are still being docked.''
He said that many owners who wanted to buy a dog such as a Jack Russell or a poodle as a pet might have bought from a breeder without knowing that their dog's tail had been deliberately removed.
Docking normally takes place when the dog is a few days old and there are two methods: a simple cut by a knife or surgical scissors, or a rubber ring around the base of the tail, cutting off the blood supply to the rest of the tail, which drops off after three or four days.
Proponents of docking say in neither case do puppies normally show signs of distress or pain since the nerve endings are not yet fully developed. Critics say that both methods are cruel and hurtful, with the rubber ring method prolonging the agony.
Mr Squires, a former boxer breeder, is an advocate of the ring. "Most vets these days prefer the cut, which they see as a more surgical procedure. We are trying to convert them to banding because it is less likely to leave any fragments of bone in the stump. The ring is cleaner and tends to find the point of least resistance between the vertebrae.''
The Kennel Club, as the arbiter of standards in the dog world, organisers of Crufts and governing authority of most other dog shows, found itself caught in the middle of these arguments. A spokesman admitted the club had "tried to walk a tightrope". "But we have always protected freedom of choice for breeders.'' However, aware of the growing move against docking, the club rewrote its breed standards to encompass descriptions of how an undocked dog should appear and issued guidance to judges, warning them not to show bias in favour of docked dogs. "We wanted to create a level playing field,'' added the spokesman. But even in recent years, only a small handful of undocked dogs have represented traditionally cosmetically docked breeds at Crufts.