To Dock or Not Dock the Yorkie Tail??
 

I have never seen a yorkie without a docked tail, is that part of the breed standard? Do any of you have pictures of what a non-docked yorkie tail look like??

At what age are yorkie's tails docked?

Docked is the standard here. It is done when they are just a few days old. I think the tails are cute but I like the docked look better.

I didn't have any choice - mine came with a short tail. :aimeeyork

Thankfully banned here in the UK:D..if the 'Home' of the Yorkshire Terrier right here in England can accept the undocked yorkie then hopefully the rest of the world can!;)..to me there's nothing cuter than a Yorkie with a full tail..Pixie has wonderful balance and can dance brilliantly on her back legs..she expresses herself with it and carries it high over her back when she is out walking..a sign of confidence:thumbup:..she might only be 3lb's but she is full of it!;) she wags it constantly..hers looks so pretty with all the long hair..like a feather!:aimeeyork

It is personal preference but if you are breeding and selling Yorkies in the US and want to stay with the standard, they need to be docked. It is done between 3 and 5 days old.

Dogs can do just fine without their tails and if it is done correctly, it is safe. Since the bones haven't calcified by the time it is done, it shouldn't be too painful.

I prefer the look of a docked tail on a Yorkie.

Noah has a long tail and I love it. I don't have very many good pictures of it though.

The first three pictures were taken the day I got Noah. He was 6 months old.

The last picture was taken a couple of months ago. He was about 1 1/2 years old. It's not a very good picture of him, but it shows his tail.

Just my opinion here, but I vote against docking. It does hurt the puppy, and I've seen it argued that it limits the dog's ability to communicate with other dogs, since dogs rely on their ears and tails to express themselves.

That being said, if you plan to show him, you will need a docked tail.

I inherited my guy, and he has a docked tail.

Mine is a mix and his tail is docked.
GMO I think docking a Yorkie's tail is silly. There is no reason too.
I am not against it for all dogs though as there is real reason to dock some working dogs tails.

My Keegan has his docked...we call it "the nubber". "Someone" was to generous with the tail clippers. Ah, we don't care he's a punkin'!!!!

You are correct. In addition, at 3-5 days when the docking is performed, the nerves in the tail have not reached full function, so the sensation is not felt the same way it would be with an adult dog.
If done PROPERLY, it does not cause the pain that some people like to imagine that it does.

Yes, as we are informed everytime the subject arises, the practice is banned in Europe. However, it is still allowed here. I prefer the docked look and will continue to follow what the standard calls for as long as it is still allowed.

Sapphire's tail is docked and I think it looks cute. My uncle has a yorkie/lhasa apso mix that has a long tail, I'll see if I can find some pictures.

These are [I]just[/I] my thoughts:D
 

I have lots of pic's of Mika in my albums if you want to see a full tail yorkie, everyone is welcome to check them out.

Just out of interest I was wondering how many of the DOCKED yorkies are standard? This was taken from the AKC standard for the Yorkshire Terrier

Most of the docked Yorkies I see have very short docked tails, undocked yorkie's tails are quite long, so mid-length is about 4-5"" on a 7lb dog(approx, just to give you an idea of the proportions) IMO it looks silly. I think the "nubby" as many call them is cute but that's not standard either and totally unnecessary. Its only still standard there because of fashion, the YT today is NOT fit for its original purpose in many ways so why hold onto the docked tail? There are ALOT of working terriers around the area where I live and the main (I would say ONLY but I'm sure some would argue otherwise:rolleyes:) reason they dock the tails is so if the dog goes down a tight hole after its quarry the owner can grab the tail to pull them out. If its too long it may get damaged, if its too short then they can't get a grip of it. It needs to be hand width which is average 4-5". Some resources may say its for hygiene reasons, but working terriers are kept trimmed down (esp. round that area) so that would never be an issue.
I realize that not many of us if any, would take our babies out working so why dock the tail in the first place? The YT is in the TOY group NOT the Terrier group, its purpose today is as a pet not a working terrier. IMO there is NO reason good enough to *mutilate (and whether you agree with docking or not lets face it, that's what it is) a breed of dog whose main purpose in life is to be a loyal and loving companion.


*

I think "mutilated" brings up some extreme connotations, so I don't know if I would use that word. However, I agree that if we're not using our yorkies as ratters, there is no point to docking the tail. I do think my baby's nubbin' is cute, but it would be nice if he had a full tail. Sometimes he barks at other dogs, and it would be much easier to know if he's afraid or just excited if his tail were there.

Also, the reason we think the short tail is cute is because we are used to it. If yorkies weren't docked, we'd think they look weird otherwise. Imagine a border collie that had its ears and tails docked like a pit bull. It would look bizarre!

speakin of tails
 

Petey's tail is docked. It is about 1.5 - 2 inches long. But the hair at the end grows about 1/5 inches past that. Looks kinda funny. Should I trim this hair back even with the tail?

Kerry

Sadly, most of the Yorkies I see these days don't meet the standard either, before the tail is even considered. :(

Agreed! IMO, the use of the word in this instance merely <attempts> to blow things out of proportion. :rolleyes: There are many other instances in life where if the same logic were applied, use of the term 'mutilated' would be waaaay out of line and not tolerated.
Would you consider a neutered dog to be 'mutilated?'
What about an amputee patient? Someone who loses a finger in an accident, per say? Would it be OK to describe them as being 'mutilated?'
I think not. But the principal is the same, so what would make it an appropriate term here? Oh, that's right, because it's used in the face of argument to try prove a point.:p

This looks like this little baby is in a lot of pain to me . . .




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I've already expressd my POV on the issue on a different thread but to sum it up, I love my baby's long tail and the thought of people amputating their dogs bits because its fashionable is preposterous. But then again I am in Europe, we don't do those things here, its considered cruelty.

My BUDDY was dock and the breeder to to much off did not know about until
I got him groom this summer and the grommer I had a t time told me Buddy tail was to short. But I don't care I LOVE my furbaby like he is

here is a pic of Humphrey and his tail:

I think the long tail is nice and if god didn't want the yorkies to have long tails then I think he would have made them with short tails. My yorkie has a docked tail because that is the way she was purchased. After watching the video above though, I am totally against it :(

Well that video just made me VERY angry!:mad: how can people say they don't feel it? That baby was obviously squealing with pain the moment he clamped the tail!:eek:

I agree! That video made me sad. :( I don't think I could ever breed yorkies if I had to do that. :(

honestly...it made me feel faint...my son (aged 14) was sitting next to me and he had tears in his eyes.:(

I also think it's really unnecessary and I don't understand why it still has to be done, as it does not serve any purpose other than cosmetic, IMHO. I understand that it's the standard here in the U.S., but I hope that changes soon. Other countries have banned this practice.

After watching that video I dont know how I feel about docking. I know it is the standard here b ut if I was a breeder there is no way I could do that. It is sad for me to think my babies went through that

Both of my girls have docked tails, if I had had a choice I would have asked to have them left alone. I don't see any reason for it since they are my pet's and well one of them is chocolate so it's not like she is standard anyway. I'm not against docking but wouldn't be upset if it was banned everywhere either

LOL...I can honestly say that none of the pups that have come through my home have ever acted like that when they've had their tails docked. :rolleyes: Several of them didn't even wake up when they had it done. I guess if you search hard enough you can find anything to support your claim.

I didn't even search for that topic . . I wanted to see how they were born. I searched yorkie giving birth on YouTube and that was the first video I clicked. I never even knew that I was going to see the babies getting tails docked and claws snipped.

If you say that "Several of them didn't even wake up when they had it done", that's fine. Reading that makes me feel better. I am a new member here and saw this topic after I had just watched the video, so I thought I would share it with the people on this site. It made me feel bad to see it. You don't have to roll your eyes..


The sad thing is . . .
many breeders are CRUEL and ONLY CARE ABOUT MONEYYYYYYYYY!!! So they will do whatever they have to to make it. I was just stating an opinion and showing true facts to be nice, and someone has to get all defensive, why? Oh, because deep down someone already feels bad(or if they don't they have no heart) about what they do and I have just justified it for them!!! Anyone that could do that for money is sick in the head!!! Who ever in USA says this is the standard is an idiot!

Give me a rebuttal better than that!!!!!:p