Originally posted by K9soul
There are some legitimate reasons for tail docking, I guess especially on some sporting/hunting breeds, but if it isn't going to serve a specific function I would rather see a natural tail.

Ear cropping I totally don't like or agree with.

I agree.


The old docking/cropping debate again. Here's my two cents worth ....


Tail docking is done at a VERY young age. I've seen it done, plenty of times. It is done before the cartlidge in the tail hardens. It is NOT torture or agony. It is just like getting a human baby boy circumcised. Not totally medically necessary, but not cruel and evil, either. And done so quickly at such a young age that it is forgotten in less than a minute.

There ARE legitimate reasons for docking tails, although most is done for cosmetic reasons. Some hunting dogs, terriers, some herding dogs have all traditionally had their tails docked for real, working reasons.

I own eight dogs that "should" have their tails docked, according to tradition or breed standard - a cocker spaniel, an ACD, and six terriers. Of the eight, only four have actually had their tails docked, all before I got them. I like the look of docked tails on my terriers MUCH better than natural tails. However, I don't like it so much that I would cut off one of their tails as adults. I'm glad they had it done as puppies, though. And I'm SO glad that my cocker had her tail done. Sorry, a cocker with a tail looks like a mutt to me.

And another thing I'd like to mention ... tail docking does NOT mean cutting the dog's tail completely off. It mean shortening the tail. My dogs with cropped tails all have tails, they are simply a few inches shorter than the dogs with natural tails. If you ever see a dog whose docked tail is pretty much gone, then the vet doing the crop did not know what he was doing. Dogs with docked tails still have tails, just shorter tails.

Getting a puppy's tail docked is like getting a baby's ears pierced. It's purely cosmetic, and the baby cries for a minute. Right? Same with puppies. Are you a cruel and mean parent if you get your baby's ears pierced? No.

Now ear cropping is a different story, IMO. It is a much more involved, painful procedure with a much higher risk of infection, done when the puppy is much older, or even adult. There is NO legimate reason for cropping a dog's ears, except for them to be a fighting dog. And that is the most horrible reason of all.

Where I made an analogy between docking a puppy's tail and piercing a baby's ears, I believe I could also make an analogy between cropping a dog's ears and having half of your baby's ears cut off so she could look like Spock on Star-Trek.