What's Your Opinion?

 I have mixed feelings about it. I LOVE my no tailed aussies. I like not having tails around to get in things, knock things over, etc. But I do admit that it seems pretty unnecessary and cruel.

The AVMA opposes ear cropping and tail docking of dogs when done solely for cosmetic purposes. The AVMA encourages the elimination of ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards.

I'll just say I'm lucky that my breeds of choice have naturally erect ears and keep their tails, so I've never really had to decide.

The problem I have with this statement is that most of the standards have NON-cosmetic reasons for cropping/docking.  Yes, I agree that doing it for cosmetic reasons should be discouraged, but that's not really why most people do it in the first place...

Eh.

I like Rotties, Aussies, Dobies and a few others without the tail. I just think it makes them the breed they are. Pointless? Yea. Clean, sharp, great looking on the right dog? Yep.

I like **some** Pitties, and Dobies with croped ears too. Along with Min Pins and Danes. It just looks good on some dogs, and some dogs it does not.

I think it's a personal choice of the breeder or owner.

And, I completely disagree with Vet's doing a fighters crop of the ears of ANY breed.

misstrouble

I think it's a personal choice of the breeder or owner.

  I agree with this or that it should be the choice of the dog's owner or breeder. The questions isn't really one of "do you personally, like cropping and/or docking?" but what the AVMA's statement means for dog owners and breeders. And what it means is that the Animal Rights movement has gained even more ground, getting AVMA to side with them on this issue. Our rights as dog owners and breeders are slowly but surely being taken away as the AR movement gains momentum. The groups are being looked as more and more as legit organizations, instead of the "bunch of whackos" they were viewed as years ago.

  I personally have found it strange that people (in general) are ok with removing a dog's reproductive organs but removing part of the tail or ear or having a dog debarked is thought of as being "cruel".

AgileGSD

I personally have found it strange that people (in general) are ok with removing a dog's reproductive organs but removing part of the tail or ear or having a dog debarked is thought of as being "cruel".

And I agree to that! Removing a tail or ears is probably a heck of a lot less pain full for the dogs then getitng spayed or neutered.

I love animals, I think animals have rights in they're own sense. But they're is a HUGE difference between animals actually being considered animals and animals being considered people. Which is why I always want to slap the bonde out of those idiot carrying, and dressing a Chihuahua(or other small dog) aroiund like its a baby doll - THAT is cruelty IMO. No offense to anyone, but thats my opinion.

 I'll chime in since i am working on getting a dobe right now who will be docked and cropped. The docking is done at like 3 days old, i saw it done when i worked as a tech at the vet clinic. It didn't seem to hurt them, they whimpered a bit. Undocked dobes have very thin whip like tails, so i think i would prefer them docked than to be injured a lot, those tail injuries are nasty.

The breeder i'm most likely getting a dog from has the puppies cropped at around 8 weeks and doesn't let the puppies go home until the ears are healed- so at around 14, 15 weeks. If a breeder didn't do the ears, i woudln't take the dog to get them cropped, although i prefer the look.

 I lvove Tootsie with no tail. It was done at three days old,a bit of whimpering and that was it. We had dobies growing up and they were both cropped and docked. IMO, this is how a dobe should look.

I have to say I am pretty ticked off about this statement. Namely, because most changes are not cosmetic but to prevent injury.

While my GSP mix doesn't hunt, her tail kept ripping open whenever she hit it against something hard -- walls, crates, etc. For a dog that wags her tail non-stop, that caused constant injury. After trying to heal her tail for a long time, it was amputated. She was three years old, and it was a terrible, painful process because she was full grown and fully developed. However, it was still a better choice than having her go through life with a tail that was always taped and painful. In my opinion, leaving dogs prone to injury to go through what our Lexi did is more cruel than docking a whole litter of dogs' tails the day they are born when the tail/nervous system isn't even fully developed to prevent injury.

According to an e-mail I got (not stating that this must be correct, but if the stats are even close to real, then I think it's important to consider)

"Since docking was banned in Sweden in 1989, there has been a massive increase in tail injuries amongst previously docked breeds. Within the 50 undocked Pointer litters registered in that year with the Swedish Kennel Club, 38% of dogs suffered tail injury before they were 18 months old and in 1991, the number of individuals with tail injures had increased to 51% of the group."

If the breed wants to change their standard, then I think that's a different story, but for this group (who has presumed authority on the matter because they are vets) to make a statement without really considering what the alternative will be, is irresponsible.

tiffy

IMO, this is how a dobe should look.

THANK YOU!! I **do not** like the Rot's that are being Imp. from other places due to the fact that some other country has outlawed tail docking(read it on a Rottie site somewhere). I like my Rotties with no tail and natural ears, Dobies with no tail and nautral or docked tails, Corgi's - No tail, Aussies - no tail(because, honestly, I can't tell the difference between an Aussie with a tail and a BC some days). Some dog breeds just look better tail-less, it makes them the breed they are.

IMO a Rottie with a tail looks like a glorified black and tan Lab.

Namely, because most changes are not cosmetic but to prevent injury.

not in most breeds of dogs. Dock/crop has been banned in Europe for some years, and the only dogs who seem to have suffered from it is boxers and certain hunting breeds (vizlas, GSPs) who suffer high rates of tail injuries.

And I disagree this is a matter of "owner choice". Most people agree owners don't have the right to choose to abuse their dogs; most people agree cutting body parts off of a dog for non-medical reasons is abuse; thus owners have no right to choose to have their dogs body parts cut off for non-medical reasons.

Pit_Pointer_Aussie

"Since docking was banned in Sweden in 1989, there has been a massive increase in tail injuries amongst previously docked breeds. Within the 50 undocked Pointer litters registered in that year with the Swedish Kennel Club, 38% of dogs suffered tail injury before they were 18 months old and in 1991, the number of individuals with tail injures had increased to 51% of the group."

Thank you for reminding me that it was the Swedish Rotties that had tails - and I think some Germen lines too.

mudpuppy

Most people agree owners don't have the right to choose to abuse their dogs; most people agree cutting body parts off of a dog for non-medical reasons is abuse; thus owners have no right to choose to have their dogs body parts cut off for non-medical reasons.

But how do you feel in the case of those breeds that do have high rates of injury? Is docking as a practice more humane than a large portion of dogs suffering throughout their adult lives? For me the answer is that docking is the more humane choice, and if I have that choice with my breed, how can I say others do not?

i dont think cosmetic reasons are reason enough to dock/crop... comparing it to spay/neuter is really not a valid argument for so many reasons.

i do think that some breeds are probably better off being docked. but i also think that for others it is really unnecessary. when i went to germany i saw a few undocked cocker spaniels and their tails really didnt seem very fragile at all... on top of that they are covered by a lotta fur for cussioning, so whithout knowing many facts about cocker tails (moca is docked, i got her when she was about 7 months, so it wasnt up to me) i'd think they'd be ok with their tails...

if only we could breed those fragile-tailed breeds to have more robust tails, huh...

also, what is the reason for cropping ears? as far as i can tell it seems only for looks, no?

janetmichel3009

also, what is the reason for cropping ears? as far as i can tell it seems only for looks, no?

Mostly - other then the old wives tale that dogs with upright ears could hear better, and therefore follow comands better and gaurd homes/livestock better.

Deffiently for looks now thou.