Cut off tails and croped ears

    • Gold Top Dog
    I hate to ask this because I am afraid of the answer, but how do breeders remove the dew claws from the pup?  My littermate sister Great Danes came with their claws removed. On one of the dogs the vet had to regrind them because of what she called a "regrowth".
    • Gold Top Dog
    Original: DPU
    I hate to ask this because I am afraid of the answer, but how do breeders remove the dew claws from the pup?  My littermate sister Great Danes came with their claws removed.

    I was kind of wondering the same thing actually.  Im still in awe that dogs have Hind dewclaws!
    • Gold Top Dog
    Breeders remove them the same way some vet's would (I say some because there are about as many different methods to remove dews as there are vets LOL)...with a sharp instrument followed by some sort of cauterization (some vets use suture...I don't like that because suture is something that worries the dam and she may pull them out). 
     
    As to sports...I have seen quite a few agility dogs in pics and such with their forelegs wrapped so they don't tear them on A frames etc. In fact some folks sell a product just for that...I guess a niche for everything! Some fronts are tight to the leg...and some stick out towards eahc other.
     
    I've had a litter with all pups but one having rears. In fact I've seen more with, than without.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Geeze i feel sheltered now! lol
    i wonder if they have pics of rear dews on google? - trops to google to see-
    • Silver
    Kodi, my Pyrenees pup, has extra dewclaws in the front and back.... My vet wants to remove them when he neuters him. He said they could cause him problems. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Pyr's that are shown are required to have a double set of dewclaws on each hind foot. So it is a breeed trait. They and a few others breeds have this in their standard. For a pet dog one should do what fits the situation best...but I did want pass on a snippet of interest about that lovely breed!
    • Gold Top Dog
    WOW!
    no one even once mentioned tax purposes!!
    lmao!
     
    ok seriously ... these days there are some cosmetic reasons for it, and some health reasons. i had a dobie mix that had four dew claws on his hind legs. the vet worried they would grow into his leg because they were so curly.. he trimmed them back and the dog bled horribly.. why? because the quick was the whole length of the nail, which had the circumference of a penny (as in it was as round as and same size as a penny) since that one incident Franky, the dog, would try to bite if you came near him with nail clippers. he had to be muzzled and held down... finally i gave up onhim... his nails werent hurting him and were worn down on their own because he was so active.
    i never had his dew claws removed but it crossed my mind only once, when he was following me through the barn and snagged his dew on something, which shaved part of the nail which caused him great pain.... again he would not let me get near his foot or touch his nails.. i had to muzzle him and hold him down to look at his foot to even find out what was wrong. it was pretty much the same thing that happens to you when you tear off your finger nail accidentally. but that doesnt mean you cut your finger off... so i left it alone. my thoughts were.. if it happened again then i would do something. but it didnt happen again so i did nothing.

    honestly think of me what you will, but i like dobies that are cropped and docked. its my own preference. but i've owned both cropped and uncropped.. i just prefer it one way as opposed to the other.
    i think most dobies have their tails done when they are new born anyway. something to do with the nerve endings not having any feeling in that area AT THAT POINT.

    there have been times where i've been tempted to get my bulldog's tail docked... when she wags it its like being hit very hard with a cane..... i have had many many welts from her happy tail.. but no. i dont think i'll ever have it cut off. there was one time i was worried it might have to be because she was paralyzed for three months.. the tail was the last thing to come back to normal..... if it didnt it would have to be removed for health purposes.... thankfully she is back to flogging people with it again.
    • Gold Top Dog
    From the aussie website:
     
      
    Why Dock Tails?
    1. To avoid tail damage - This is the most important reason for docking a tail. Australian Shepherds were raised in the rought Western areas of the United States, which, if you have never visited, have tough weeds, tall grasses, and plenty of other hazards. Working in this condition will easily lead to torn and bleedin tails, which, of course are very painful and hard to treat. If the tail is docked, it eliminates the rist of injury. it also lessens chances of matting.
    2. For reasons of hygiene
    Dogs with thick hair have a good chance of getting feces on themselves and caught in the tail. Docking can greatly reduce the hygiene problems.
    3. To maintain breed standards
    Should the docking of tails be eliminated, hundreds of otherwise good breeding animals wouuld be removed from gene pools and this could be a huge downfall for the breed.
    There are numerous other minor reasons, but these are the BIG THREE. :)



    How is Docking done?
    There are two methods of docking. The majority of breeders used the technique known as "banding", in which a ligature, normally an orthodontic band, was placed over the end of the puppies tail at 24-96 hours old. This effectively cuts off the blood supply to the end of the tail, which comes away within 3 days.
    Most vets used to cut the tail with surgical scissors, known as hemostats. There is generally no need for stitches, but on occasions these can be used, especially with the larger breeds.



    Does it hurt?
    Docking is carried out when puppies are tiny. Their eyes are not yet open and long experience indicates that carried out correctly, the procedure causes little or no pain or discomfort. Indeed, some puppies which are docked whilst they are asleep, do not even wake up. After docking, puppies will immediately return to their dam to feed, and there is no evidence that development or weight gain is in any way arrested by the docking procedure.
    Nor does a dog which has been docked as a puppy have any problems with balance or communication.
    If, however, tail damage occurs during adulthood and docking has to be carried out for therapeutic reasons, normally under anaesthetic, a dog can be seriously distressed and the healing process can be painful and protracted.


     
    So, basically tails were docked because the dogs were working. Now it's a breed standard.
     
    I like my aussie with a docked tail personally.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Cropping and docking done for cosmetic purposes is, in my opinion, 100% wrong. I hate it, and would never have it done...but that's just me.
     
    Docking a dog's tail because it constantly bangs into things and splits its tail open and bleeds (Butter does this...ugh) I can see...it prevents broken tails and bleeding and pain.
     
    Cropping the ears on say, a dog who hunts and is constantly tearing his ears to shreds while running through briar patches, I can also get behind.
     
    So basically, for me, if it serves a real *purpose,* it's fine. If it's done to fit a standard or for aesthetics, I don't like it.
     
    Again, just my personal opinion.
    • Gold Top Dog
    ORIGINAL: Ratsicles

    Cropping and docking done for cosmetic purposes is, in my opinion, 100% wrong. I hate it, and would never have it done...but that's just me.

    Docking a dog's tail because it constantly bangs into things and splits its tail open and bleeds (Butter does this...ugh) I can see...it prevents broken tails and bleeding and pain.

    Cropping the ears on say, a dog who hunts and is constantly tearing his ears to shreds while running through briar patches, I can also get behind.

    So basically, for me, if it serves a real *purpose,* it's fine. If it's done to fit a standard or for aesthetics, I don't like it.

    Again, just my personal opinion.


    I agree 100%.  It seems from the responses it is mostly done for cosmetic purposes.  There were some obvious exceptions and cases where it makes sense.  I can not imagine mutalating a dog because I thought it looked better that way.  Learning about some of the functions of the tail and dew claw makes me feel even more strongly about it.

    I do not understand why someone thinks a dog looks better without a tail anyway.  I think it looks like a dog with an injury (I guess that is what it is now that I think about it).
    • Gold Top Dog
    And you're welcome to feel that way, TH.  However, breed fanciers are welcome to feel how they wish about their breed as well.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I've always heard that doberman's ears were cropped to make it harder for "bad guys" or what not to grab onto. I've also always heard many livestock working dogs (like rotts) are docked so that their tails are not stepped on.
     
    I know i'm one of few, but i prefer cropped and docked, dew claws removed.
     
    and to a previous post (i don't remember who) i doubt a dobe's ears would stand up on their own. Most are pretty big! I don't feel like uploading to photo bucket and all that, so here's a link to dobe with natural ears [linkhttp://www.answers.com/topic/doberman-pinscher]http://www.answers.com/topic/doberman-pinscher[/link]
    • Gold Top Dog
    As others have said, there used to be valid reasons for cropping/docking and this has become standard for some breeds.
     
    I've seen fewer rear dews than I've seen no rear dews.  Removing them, as Gina said, is typically done with one quick scapel slice and a little cautory (which I can't seem to spell).
     
    When we bred cockers, we routinely removed dews and docked tails, but 80-90% of my pups were show quality and this was a number of years ago when an undocked dog would have bombed out of the show ring.  The problem is, tails need to be done by 3 days of age, and you really can't tell at that age whether they are show or pet quality.  Today, nope, wouldn't do it.  And since I love natural ears, I also wouldn't own a breed that needed cropping.
    • Gold Top Dog
    My Aussie friends tell me their tails are docked so they don't get caught in brush or fences, but then I wonder why Border Collies, who also herd lower to the ground, always have tails?  It doesn't really matter to me, since I'm not an expert on either breed, I've just always wondered why one had a tail and the other didn't.

    I really don't know anything about dew claws or whether my dog has them.  I guess I will have to check on Saturday!

    Personally, ear docking makes me kind of uncomfortable b/c I don't really see the necessity, but hey I've got two cats that don't have any front claws (removed just prior to me adopting them) so who am I to talk?

    Aesthetically, I can't really decide what I like better.  We've had several purbred Dobes at our shelter recently, half w/ docked ears and half natural.  I like the looks of both for different reasons.

    Is there a reason Rottweilers have docked tails?  Is it true it's popular to leave them undocked in Europe?  I read that they feel it's far easier to "read" a dog that has a tail, and since the breed has a bad rap, they don't want it looking any more scary or unpredictable than it already is (so people think).
    • Gold Top Dog
    Docking and cropping are banned in Europe.
    Rott's docks I thought had more to do with their non taxable status as a working dog for the tx collector upon their creation...but I'd need to check on that. It's a historical reason a few different breeds were docked...because it was a visual symbol to taxors that your dog was not taxable.
     
    eta: okay confused the Rott w/Dobe...lol...ignore me!