Tail Docking

[PlatinumYorkies]

Originally Posted by alisonJ

oh--glad you mentioned that....I think most docking is done for cosmetics, but there are 2 other "excuses"...to avoid tail damage and for hygiene reasons....Here are the arguements against those reasons. I didn't write all of this, but it makes sense to me....


Is avoiding tail damage a good reason for docking?? Any dog can damage their tail but not all dogs are docked. Why are some ‘working’ dogs docked and not others? Why aren’t any of the Retrievers or Setters docked? They’ve got waggier tails than most breeds I know. Why not the hounds? They were bred to hunt over all sorts of terrain, and yet they’re allowed to keep their tails. It doesn’t make much sense to me.

The BSAVA states that they do not believe there is any scientific evidence to show that undocked working dogs damage their tails any more than undocked non-working dogs and therefore see no justification for an exemption for working dogs. Surely this says it all?

Are Reasons of hygiene a reason to dock tails? Call me crazy but isn’t it more humane (though less convenient and time consuming obviously!) to wash or clip the hair away from a dog’s bottom than to chop off his tail? If a dog is regularly groomed, healthy and eating good quality food then there shouldn’t be a lot of muck around his bottom anyway.

The RCVS says that fecal soiling is not a disease or injury and so cannot be a justifiable reason for docking a dog. I agree.

So, since you believe it is cosmetic, you will be out there protesting also...I think if you feel strongly about this and have a lot of answers, you should do something about it.

[lily's mom]

Great discussion!!!! I think if we make the point of docking being cruel, then we also have to throw dew claws and ear cropping in the mix also. I would think ear cropping would be the worst! Glad I didn't need anything chopping or removed when I was born.
Yorkies used to hunt in places that could be a hazzard to them having a tail. However, I think a long coat would have also been a hinderance. Don't know how they escaped getting short cuts and that being the breed standard.

[YorkieRose]

I think everyone here can agree to disagree. I will continue to dock tails until it is banned.
We circumsize baby boys and pierce baby girls ears..what is the difference?

PETA do more harm to animals then help them..it is a proven fact.

[YorkieRose]

You can show a Yorkie with a tail in AKC shows. Itis not forbidden..you won't win, but you won't be thrown out either.

[feminvstr]

Originally Posted by YorkieRose

You can show a Yorkie with a tail in AKC shows. Itis not forbidden..you won't win, but you won't be thrown out either.

LOL good point if you want to throw good money away why not throw it in showing a dog that will never finish. NOT!

I too agree until they ban docking and change the AKC standard I will continue to dock tails.

[YorkieShadow]

Originally Posted by YorkieRose

I think everyone here can agree to disagree. I will continue to dock tails until it is banned.
We circumsize baby boys and pierce baby girls ears..what is the difference?

PETA do more harm to animals then help them..it is a proven fact.

I agree. If we have a litter of puppies they will have their tails done. But I do think the longer tails are cute too. and Im glad that they do it at an early age. it would be more painfull when the tail is bigger.We use to breed boxers and we always had their tails docked.

[lily's mom]

Originally Posted by YorkieRose

I think everyone here can agree to disagree. I will continue to dock tails until it is banned.
We circumsize baby boys and pierce baby girls ears..what is the difference?

PETA do more harm to animals then help them..it is a proven fact.

I totally agree with you Pat. I was just trying to make a point that dew claws, ear cropping and anything else that I can't think of should also be considered too. Would those who want docking to be banned also want these things banned? I think that docking would be the least painful.

[whispersmom2]

I have a Yorkie with an undocked tail. When the litter was brought to me to dock she was 2 ounces and I said "take her to the vet and have him do it" He refused for the same reason I did,,too small. I have Biewers imported from Germany who are undocked. Dewclaws are intact-that is not good as they get caught in stuff. I have a standard color Yorkie whose tail was docked so short that when she has a BM the stool hangs in the hair. It is terrible. I have Remi, an AKC parti male-docked short--don't like it! AND I have a wonderful, beautiful litter of what I jokingly call Biewtis (Biewer/parti) whose tails are intact..My little standard color with the tail looks so funny when she is relaxed, the distal 1/3 of her tail hangs down. When she is excited it waves just like the shorter ones do.
If I dock a tail, I like to dock it long-at least try to judge the adult length. Supposedly, ONE of the reasons for docking the tail was to reduce the chance that a varmint might grab it. Also, it needed to be long enough to be
grabbed with the hand and pull out the dog if it got stuck. So,I try to figure how long it might be as an adult and I use the width on my palm as a sort of gauge. Does that make any sense??

[Itspuppyluv]

Originally Posted by alisonJ

Are Reasons of hygiene a reason to dock tails? Call me crazy but isn’t it more humane (though less convenient and time consuming obviously!) to wash or clip the hair away from a dog’s bottom than to chop off his tail? If a dog is regularly groomed, healthy and eating good quality food then there shouldn’t be a lot of muck around his bottom anyway.

The RCVS says that faecal soiling is not a disease or injury and so cannot be a justifiable reason for docking a dog. I agree.

I have one with an undocked tail. Hygiene is no more of a problem than one with a docked tail...they lift the tail out of the way. It is more important to keep the hair trimmed around the rectum. That is were the poo gets stuck.
I don't see why people question this about yorkies. When it comes to hygiene, why would it be any different for yorkies than any other breed? My sister has a Golden Retriever with a long, full tail. No problem with hygiene there either.

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

Originally Posted by PlatinumYorkies

Can, I ask you a personal question...When you were looking for yorkies, did you ask the breeder did she dock the tails? DId you look for yorkies that tails were still attached, or for a breeder who just had her litter so you could have a say in the docking of your yorkies tail. In dog's where the breed standard calls for docked tails, it's not Cosmetic.

PETA isn't a great representer of anything, but fur. Even, that is questionable.

I disagree. The "breed standard" for the yorkshire terrier is almost entirely "cosmetic". There is no functional reason to dock a tail. It is purely for outward appearance and aesthetics at this point. The entire standard speaks almost exclusively about outward appearance and conformation. There is nothing more cosmetic than that in my opinion.

Our countyr needs to catch up and ban this barbaric and cruel practice. Talk about breeding tiny females being cruel....it is so much more cruel in my opinion to dock a 3 day out infant's tail.

Talk about trauma. I wonder how many babies have died as a result of this? Whispersmom told the story of the vet who refused to do it to a tiny baby. We just had two little ones on here die after docking tails and it may not have been what caused them to perish, but we don't know for sure.

I think all breeders need to think long and hard about this practice especially if they are only producing pets and not show dogs.

[YorkyKids]

If anyone does not like the Yorkshire Terrier as it is currently bred according to the breed standard.....then why not purchase another breed. NO ONE is forcing anyone to accept tail docking. Doesn't matter if it's cosmetic or not.....it is the standard as written today. History tells us the tail was important to the Yorkshire Terrier.....they were bred to "go to ground" grabbing a tail to withdraw the dog from the hole/tunnel was the only way to retrieve them.....so the tail was docked in order to not damage a long tail by pulling......it may sound cruel.....but that's the way it is. The Yorkie still today maintains those qualities of going to ground....they are still very much varmiant killers....they still have an independent nature. These are the qualities which endear them to us.....this also includes a docked tail. If one doesn't like that.....GET ANOTHER BREED.....no one is forcing anyone to own a docked Yorkie. JMHO

I will always dock tails....as long as the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America maintains the docking requirement in the standard. And anyone calling me to demand or even to ask for an undocked Yorkie will not get one of my dogs....period. Docking a tail is just that.....docking.....the tail at 3 or 4 days is cartiledge not bone. I've never seen any bad effects from the proper docking of a puppy tail. All of my pups just go back to nursing mamma with no ill affects. Now I do have a Yorkie with an undocked tail....she was way too tiny at even a week old to dock....so we just left it.....yes she is cute.
d

[wendybee]

Originally Posted by YorkyKids

If anyone does not like the Yorkshire Terrier as it is currently bred according to the breed standard.....then why not purchase another breed. NO ONE is forcing anyone to accept tail docking. Doesn't matter if it's cosmetic or not.....it is the standard as written today. History tells us the tail was important to the Yorkshire Terrier.....they were bred to "go to ground" grabbing a tail to withdraw the dog from the hole/tunnel was the only way to retrieve them.....so the tail was docked in order to not damage a long tail by pulling......it may sound cruel.....but that's the way it is. The Yorkie still today maintains those qualities of going to ground....they are still very much varmiant killers....they still have an independent nature. These are the qualities which endear them to us.....this also includes a docked tail. If one doesn't like that.....GET ANOTHER BREED.....no one is forcing anyone to own a docked Yorkie. JMHO

I will always dock tails....as long as the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America maintains the docking requirement in the standard. And anyone calling me to demand or even to ask for an undocked Yorkie will not get one of my dogs....period. Docking a tail is just that.....docking.....the tail at 3 or 4 days is cartiledge not bone. I've never seen any bad effects from the proper docking of a puppy tail. All of my pups just go back to nursing mamma with no ill affects. Now I do have a Yorkie with an undocked tail....she was way too tiny at even a week old to dock....so we just left it.....yes she is cute.
d

been on here reading all this and saying nothing, but now im going to, everyone must know that the yorkshire terrier comes from the uk were tail docking is now forbidden and rightly so, yes the reason they docked yorkie tails was because they were pulled from holes by there tails when they were working dogs, but as they arnt anymore there is no reason to dock the tail is there? yes my rosie digs holes but i wouldnt pull her by here tail and if i saw anyone doing it to a dog id have plenty to say.
i agree ear docking (i never new happened) and dew clawing should also be banned, id be most pissed if someone did it to me.
heres a pic of my rosie with her tail on show.


http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/6...500x3759eb.jpg

[suz]

Originally Posted by YorkieRose

I think everyone here can agree to disagree. I will continue to dock tails until it is banned.
We circumsize baby boys and pierce baby girls ears..what is the difference?

PETA do more harm to animals then help them..it is a proven fact.

Funny...I was just thinking the same thing!! And if anyone has ever had a full grown dog get their dew-claws caught in something, and ripped off their legs, they'd understand why it is important to remove them!! Ear cropping is a no-no (JMO). I will continue to crop their tails until someone convinces me that it is harmful to them.

I do have a male thats tail is so sort, you don't even think he has a tail. My fault tho. I didn't tell the vet how long I wanted it cut. He does get some days of "The Poopy-Butt Syndrome", but a little soap and water does the trick. And when he wags his tail, it looks like he's wagging his little tush!!

Suz

[Chelsey]

Here are some random pics of my girls, here in Holland they have made it illegal to dock tails in 2000 - in Belgium the same law will go in 1st Jan. 2006

[alisonJ]

Platinum Yorkies--Your tone is very confrontational, sarcastic, and somewhat mean. I am bringing up a valid point, and from what I have found, most veterniarians agree with me. I am more apt to agree with vets than breeders. I will continue to bring up these issues and provide information as I find it. If you are offended by this, at least please keep your comments constructive.