by Rena Sherwood

Created on: August 26, 2008   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

A dog's tail is a fully developed body part, with nerves, blood vessels and bone going all the way through it. A dog also relies on the tail as part of communication with other dogs. Docking a tail is the equivalent of amputating a limb. There is no point or purpose to docking a dog's tail other than to fulfill fashion statements imposed by human owners and dog show judges.

Make no mistake - docking a dog's tail is cruel and, depending on what country you live, illegal. One day, it would be nice to see the United States and Canada join the more civilized countries of Great Britain, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand and Australia in banning tail docking. This practice is not endorsed by the American Veterinary Association.

Unnecessary Surgery

The position of the American Kennel Club is that tail docking and ear cropping are supported "because it retains the character of the breed". By that reasoning, foot-binding retains the character of the Chinese and so should never have been discouraged. Although the AKC claims to be the dog's champion, this is not true. They are the champions of fashion, even if that fashion mutilates dogs and puts them at unnecessary risk with ear cropping and tail docking.

Most tail docking is not done under veterinary supervision, but the results and repairs to the original docking procedure often are done by the breeders when the puppies are two to three days old (and the bones are still soft). This operation is done with a very sharp knife and not much else.

But even when a breeder gets a veterinarian to do the job, they are putting their newborn puppies at a high risk of getting an infection. Also, if the stump doesn't heal right, then the pup has to go through another costly and painful operation to fix the first one. They can have problems with the stump for the rest of their lives.

Tails Are Beautiful

There are very few dog breeds in the world that have naturally short tails. So why did the practice originate? Some say that for hunting dog breeds like the Weimaraner and Brittany Spaniel, the tail would get caught in brush, so docking helped the dog to slip through the brush. But dogs can get any part of their bodies caught in brush, so this argument is nonsense. Should a leg be docked because it could potentially be broken someday?

Most adult dogs with short tails have had their long, graceful tails docked as puppies. In some cases, like the Pembroke Welsh Corgi and the Rottweiler, the tail is beautifully plumed. Other dog breeds that naturally grow long tails include such popular breeds like the Boxer, the Doberman, the Schnauzers, the Australian Shepherd and the Jack Russell.

Learn more about this author, Rena Sherwood.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.