For those of you who come by sansanpups, you will see I am a pretty active Twitter pup! I love reading what other pups have to say, and humans too! I was very fortunate to have met up with Pete Wedderburn on Twitter and asked if he would like to write a guest post here. Hehehe, no one can refuse a cute corgi kid!
Pete Wedderburn is a vet in Ireland for ‘companion animals’ which means us pets! He writes a very cool blog with lots of info about taking care of us companion animals. Pete lives in Ireland with his wife and two daughters, as well as a menagerie of animals and birds. Sounds like my house.
Mum and me listened to his guest appearance on Pete the Vet on Irish TV3 about tail docking and thought, hmmm, how perfect a story for a corgi kid to relate to and share.
ps, of course, you know i have no tail, docked at an early age, way before mum got me. That is how us Pembroke’s in the United States normally are when we go off to our new homes!
Nice pic of Pete and his pup, Spot…he has a tail!
Here is Pete the Vet’s Guest Post. (the pics are mine)
The tail of a dog is an under-rated appendage. In fact, the tail is often treated with such contempt by humans that a large number of tails are lopped off when a puppy is just a few days old.
The procedure of tail docking is painful. It is carried out without anesthesia when the puppy is only a few days old. The puppy is forcibly restrained while the tail is stretched out backwards. A pair of scissors or a box cutter is used to cut through the tail. The puppy squeals loudly and wriggles, but we are told that ‘they do not really feel it’. How do we know? They certainly seem to be feeling pain, although because of their diminutive size, they cannot escape. Just because they are quiet again five minutes later does not mean that they did not feel pain at the time. If you used a sharp pair of scissors to cut off a new born baby’s little finger, they would cry for a while, then they would stop and return to suckling their mother. Does this mean that they would not feel their finger being amputated?
Veterinary surgeons are officially prohibited from carrying out ‘cosmetic’ surgery on pets in Ireland, which means that if a vet carries out tail docking, they are guilty of unethical behaviour. If this information is passed on to the authorities, it is likely to result in formal disciplining of the vet by the Veterinary Council, which regulates the conduct of the profession.
If a member of the public carries out the procedure, he or she must surely be guilty of cruelty to animals. Yet tail docking is still carried out routinely in every county of Ireland. In the UK, it’s now illegal to dock a pup’s tail, which means that people are even travelling to this country to source docked dogs.
mum met this corgi kid with a tail…how nice…white tips, just like his lil socks! He was a corgi pup in Amsterdam
He was an old pup! —but his tail sure looks nice!
I cannot understand why Jack Russell Terriers, Boxers, Doberman Pinschers and many other breeds are deemed to have tails which are in some way offensive to the eye. When you see the fine, swishing, expressive tails on individuals of these breeds who have been left undocked, you wonder why some people insist on their removal.
There are two main arguments used to justify tail docking, but neither argument is persuasive.
The first excuse is that working dogs are claimed to have a high incidence of tail injuries, caused by the tail being damaged as they run through dense thorny undergrowth. The argument states that it is better to remove the tail before it causes any problems. However, there is no proof that such dogs do have a high incidence of tail injuries.
As a vet, I would almost never see a dog with a tail injury due to charging through bushes. I do see tail injuries, but not in working dogs. The injury which I see most commonly is in indoor situations, when dogs wag their tails so hard that they bash the tip against a wall, causing bruising and sometimes bleeding. Cheerful breeds such as Labradors or Golden Retrievers are most commonly affected, yet nobody ever suggests docking their tails.
The second excuse for tail docking is that certain breeds ‘look wrong’ with tails. This is a purely cosmetic, nonsensical reason. If every Jack Russell Terrier had his right ear chopped off at birth for the next twenty years, we would become accustomed to this bizarre appearance. After twenty years if a single dog was then left with both ears intact, we would feel that he looked most peculiar.
It is time for tail docking to stop in this country.
When you buy a puppy of any breed, look for one with a tail. Refuse to buy one whose tail has been cut off. If the demand from the public is for dogs with tails, breeders will soon stop cutting them off.
- Tail docking is a painful, unnecessary procedure
- It is only done because people are “used to” seeing some breeds without a tail
- If you are getting a puppy, choose one with a tail.
Thanks, Pete. You said it well.
I thought it would be interesting to hear strongly what one has to say against tail docking. I know corgis in some countries have tails, due to the illegal to dock rule. Quite frankly, I do not see a reason to dock a corgis tail! Not sure why we need them docked if we are working herding dogs….???? I know my butt is cute, but gee whiz, so would my tail…if i had one! Hehehe, give the kid here something to grab other than my ears! Yes, my tail would serve a purpose!
So there you have it , a professional opinion, and a corgi pup’s opinion….and quite frankly, my mum who helps me write, feels the same way!
okay, so you gonna ask for your tail back?? and what do i ask for, kaley corgi?……oh yes, i want to fly!
kaleycorgi kisses : ) —oh i wish i had a tail!
Dear Pete the Vet (Dr. Wedderburn).
I am currently doing research on docking. I am contacting breeders in many countries in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the USA to inquire about injuries reported and the shift in some of their litters to breeds ‘with tails’. i lived in japan and Germany and Belgium altogether 30 years and just ‘returned’ to the US, so this issue became of interest to me.
If you can provide me with any information or background material you have…I would appreciate it and I would be glad to summarize my results and send them to you. I have started with the Australian sheperd, because I have one and I was perplexed that the Aussie was a docked breed historically, whereas the border collie wasn’t….an author of a breeding book said it had something to do with the difference in herding…This I still need to investigate. I assumed it was a tax exemption necessity…I could be wrong… I also chose this breed to research first because pups are born with varying lengths of tail…and some are NBT…Could it have been done to maintain congruety in the breed?
As you can see, I am just in the beginning stages of my research…but I have already quite a few responses from breeders in Germany and most of them say the only problems they have encountered now is keeping ‘things’ on their coffee tables!! Most of them are glad to no longer have to dock.
Well, if you have any chance to respond, I greatly appreciate it!
Sincerely,
Eileen Kasai
kasai3@aol.com
P.S. I am Irish on my mother’s side!!
Dear Dr.Wedderburn,
How long should puppie’s tails be cut? My father wants to cut my dog’s puppie’s tails. Im afraid that he might cut them to short and hurt them. Im really worried about the puppies. Please get back to me as soon as possible I don’t want the puppies hurt they were just born on 3/16/11.
Sincerely,
Cortni Frankhouser
I always wondered about this. My grandfather had a Bouvier whose tail was docked. While historically it has been done because they were working dogs, I never saw how that translated to the home. Most dogs, at least here in California, are pets, not working dogs so even if you used that excuse, how would that translate to the home? Maybe people are buying corgis to herd their children?
yes, corgis in America are normally docked and certainly in the show ring, they must keep to standard with a docked tail. Old habits and traditions are hard to change so for the time being, many corgi tails are docked, but in many countries, this is not the practice and in the show ring, docked corgis are not allowed to be shown.
Personally, i think a corgi is cute, with or without the tail. I am used to not being with a tail, but it sure would not be a bad idea to just leave us corgis alone to keep our tails.
kc kisses!!!
I was wondering what should b latest age to dock my puppy`s tail????
shes a jack russel fiest mix
Dear Danny,
First of all, what is the age of the pup now? Please note, that the older the pup is, the harder it is on the pup. Docking of the tail is best done with out as much trauma, within only a few days, banding the tail and it slowly dies and falls off. The older the pup, the thicker the tail. It is best if you have the docking done, to seek a vet to insure it be done properly.
PS…why do you have to dock the tail?????
Pembroke corgis are bred to have bobtails. They are not docked.
Cardigan corgi tails are not docked, so I don’t see why corgis are brought into this. Just because Pembrokes have no tails, you assume they are docked.
The reason for the bobtail is because they are short herding dogs built for nipping at heels of cattle, and therefore, they do not want something for the larger animals to step on.
Allyson,
While yes some pembroke corgis are born with short stubby tails, many many many corgis are still docked.
If you do a quick google search for Pembroke Welsh corgis with tails, you will find many images. In fact if you read the article you would have seen a picture of such.
Thank-you,
I was thinking I was doing something cruel by keeping my Jack Russell Terror’s tail intact.
I was thinking maybe it would hurt her or become cancerous in her later years. I think her tail is absolutely beautiful and balancing to her features.
Thanks to your Blog She will always have a tail. It also is great to see it raised high and proud when she is in a good mood.
Your blog was read and affected thinking in Toronto, Canada.
Cheers!
I commented previously in support of not docking tails.
I still have no intention of docking, but my Jack Russell Terror is often distracted by her own tail as if it was a mouse. She will run in circles chasing her tail.
It does look very silly.
One concern is she will often chew on her tail. I know hair in the food of people and chewed hair can cause serious medical conditions. I even saw an ancient method women would harm their husbands by putting small amounts of hair in their daily food.
So I must admit Docking may have its place.
I have a jack russell imported from ireland 16 years ago. He came with a tail, as he was born with one, and I loved his tail and kept it. I had so many people approach me that they would offer to cut his tail off and some people were embarassed by my dog, believe it or not, because God forbid he had a tail that God gave him.
Reasons for docking showed the utter stupidity and nonquesioning gullible follow the crowd mentality, that is the norm in most aspects of society. One major one that did not hold to logic whatsoever, was it is easier to pull the dog out of hole with a docked tail because it is like a handle. My reply was your hand can slip off the handle and then the dog is free. My dog has been pulled out of a hole several times and removed from a serious groundhog fight or fighting with another Jack Russell, by grapping his tail quickly at the base and lifting him up. If my hand slipped or the dog moved, the dog was not back in the hole or back in the fight,
I only did this when absolutely necessary and the dog gave no indication of pain.
It is just the fashion, which has no reason, and the differing lengths of docked tails, from tiny stubs to distorted handles, does not create uniformity. My jack russell had two litters and and I kept the tails and people have commented they liked my dogs with the tails and if I would be breeding more ( I had a list for future litters, only because I did not dock the tails.)
It basically relates docking to a very unfortunate, sometimes extrememly harmful trait of human beings,
to not question what is being done, and just do what has always been done without introspection or questioning. No one wants to stand out and be different, most people are crowd followers, not trend setters.
I had a logical reason for keeping my dogs tail, and eventually from 1997 to 2006 other countries caught up with my attitude. Everyone is encouraged to think outside of the box, but don’t do anything outside of the box or you will be noticed opened to ridicule, insult, etc. I actually had people pestering me to do my dogs tail and friends telling me they were embarassed to be seen with my dog. Well, they are no longer my friends and if that bothers you, I told them, you need to get a life with real problems.
I love my Jack’s tails, and when looking at some JR puppies, did not get one for one of the main reasons the tail was docked. I do not want a JR with docked tail. My dog still stands out in America, where plastic surgery is encouraged for dogs and people alike.
http://www.change.org/petitions/governor-rick-perry-make-tail-docking-and-ear-cropping-illegal-in-texas?utm_campaign=petition_created&utm_medium=email&utm_source=guides
So long as a binary choice settles in-the-cash by even one tick, the winner receives the
entire fixed payoff amount.