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Docked or not docked?

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To be fair though, there were one or two pugs I've seen in the past that were cute, including one called Hank who was black and gogeous! He didn't have a horrible smushed up face, makes me think he might have been a cross. He was with his owner who was working in a pet shop, would love to be able to take my dog to work!!
 
Poor animals ... its just another body part....and an important one for them too
 
As for dock tails, I'm with the majority in that I can see sense for true working dogs but for most dogs definately not. With squashed faces etc I have always wondered why the breeds that have been developed to suposedly look apealing, to me never look as good as the ones bred for some real purpose. Like sight hounds, bred to run and chase, to me look beautiful.
 
Biker John said:
With squashed faces etc I have always wondered why the breeds that have been developed to suposedly look apealing, to me never look as good as the ones bred for some real purpose. Like sight hounds, bred to run and chase, to me look beautiful.
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It's the 'cute' factor, I think. The Disney-cartoon style appeals to many, in the same way that babies are cute, Dumbo with his big ears is cute, and so on. Google 'Munchkin cat' and prepare to be enraged. Dumbo rats, which have a mutation making their ears large, round, and low-set, are popular because they look 'cute', i.e. a bit dumb. I'm with you though, I love the look of an athletic dog.
 
Reading about uppy tails. Dudley has an uppy tail but both that and his bum are quite hairy. The groomer shaves around his bum but it grows back quickly. The hairy tail covers most of it. When they show it always looks like the rubber thingy you push towels in
 
When I was a child we had a boxer with a docked tail. His face was not as squashed as they are nowadays but it was late fifties early sixties
 
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I don’t like docked tails, nor cropped ears -
whether for show or supposedly “working”, I think both are completely needless.

I have OTOH seen dogs who’ve inherited ‘happy tail’ as an unconscious involuntary behavior, & if they rupture the skin while madly wagging, it’s very bloody, & it’s extremely difficult to close the wound, get it to heal, & have it STAY closed. Once it’s open, the skin of the tail is very difficult to bandage, & stitches or skin-glue will not hold when the dog wags the injured tail against some object. :(
Sometimes enclosing the injured tail in pipe insulating foam works, particularly on skinny tails, such as the beesting tails of Engl Pointers, & the rat-tails of smooth-coated sighthounds.

With happy-tail dogs who have recalcitrant injuries that won’t heal, or recurring tail injuries that are co$tly & difficult to heal, docking a portion of the tail - usually the thinner bony final 3rd - may be the only long-term solution. BUT... I still expect the vet & owner to conserve as much of the tail as is possible, not just whack the entire tail off at the rump, leaving a useless stub that cannot be used for communication. :mad:
It is still IMO cruel & excessive to dock the entire tail, when only a few inches of its length are problematic.

Dogs who cannot communicate with conspecifics, or to a lesser degree, with humans, due to amputations of tail & / or ears, are hampered in their social interactions, & this can cause serious problems for the dogs themselves, their owners or families, & the community they live in.

Plus IMO docking or cropping at any age is a matter for a vet, not a job for the breeder with scissors, let alone for the amateur dog owner with a razor blade (& yes, it happens, it is quite common, & legislation alone will not stop these DIY attempts at making their puppies “more sellable”).

If it was possible, I would happily see all docking & cropping illegal except for medical necessity, & such medical necessity would be clearly defined, to prevent retrogressive arsewipes from having entire litters, or all the “show quality” pups from a litter, done wholesale on the flimsy pretext of medical need. :confused:
And U know there are breeders & even bunchers, who buy whole litters & resell the pups to retailers, who will exploit any crack in the law that their slimy tentacles can find. :mad:

- terry

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I am anti-docking with medical exemptions. With regards to the uppy tail, my ex's sister had a bichon and it constantly had it's bum hole on show. Ted is very leggy and rangy, almost like a mini-setter. He would look odd without a tail.
 
All the 'seeing bum hole' comments really funny! :D But tail docking or ear cropping not for me, unless medical reasons/ or prevention of problems in working breeds.
Just going back to the bum hole thing, and this maybe a bit more information than is necessary, but has anyone else noticed that unneutered males have big doughnut bums as opposed to neutered males that are a bit more tidy and discreet? Why is this? Or do I just spend way,way too much time with dogs that I actually ponder this??:eek::eek::eek::rolleyes:
 
JudyN said:
This raises the question, which I hope isn't too far off topic, of whether dogs should be bred to have 'uppy tails'. For OH, having an uppy tail would be a deal breaker when choosing a dog, as he doesn't want to be looking at its bum hole half the time, but does it also affect how other dogs respond to these dogs?
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Well uppy tails have some distinct advantages! They don't pick up leaf litter, mud and other nasties and they don't get caught in things. Tie a flag to it and you can spot your dog a mile off:p The bum hole is normally covered by the fur in the longer coated terrier breeds. Harri's certainly is!

Docked Welshie tails were purely cosmetic. The breed standard was to have the tail as high as the head to give an overall square shape. Generally about 1 1/2 to 2 inches so no real difference for a tail carried vertically.
 
All this bum hole talk is making me laugh :D
 
@Flobo ,
I have never noticed or inspected the size or shape of dogs bum holes:oops::rolleyes:
I have noticed that the boys who have been castrated early in life have very tiny willies though, it looks like they just stopped growing, unlike the rest of the dogs body. :oops::(
 
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Im not even going to mention this to OH it could start a whole new trend !
 
Oh dear hahaha! I haven't noticed the entire male donut bums either, only with pugs! We had a pug X Jack Russell, she had a huge donut bum! And I certainly haven't noticed the willy thing! Lol.
I have noticed that uncastrated males have foul smelling wee, and castrated ones don't.
Luckily Roxy's uppy tail is fine because she has a hairy bum even though she's a JRT!
 
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