And she was appalled to learn that someone had amputated her dog’s tail …
From Scott Nimmo BVMS
I had a nice lively boxer puppy in my consulting room for its first vaccination recently, full of life and inquisitive, a splendid animal, but no tail. When I engaged the owner in conversation it transpired she had thought that all boxer pups were born with short little stumps and was appalled to learn that someone had amputated her dog’s tail when it was about three days of age. Why we should still be seeing docked puppies in this day and age is beyond me. For some time now it has been a criminal offence for lay people to carry out this act and the Royal college of Veterinary Surgeons regards it as an unnecessary mutilation and has made it an unprofessional act for a vet to carry out tail docking at all except in a few rare situations such as for working dogs and to surgically correct grave tail injuries. I find this procedure particularly distasteful since some time ago I was involved in treating two pups which subsequently died following tail docking by another vet practice in Essex, needless deaths.
Now what are the pros and cons of the argument? A vet called Robert Wansborough wrote a paper in 1996 which was published in one of the veterinary journals, he listed the following adverse effects associated with the practice.
He lists the following problems which might occur in young pups :
1. Haemorrhage or ischaemia.
2. Infection, gangrene, toxaemia/septicaemia.
3. Meningitis.
4. Hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia.
5. Amputation neuroma formation.
6. Caudal adhesions with neurodermatitis.
7. Deafferentation, causing loss of sensory perception from the tail.
Many of these can potentially produce a state of shock which may prove fatal to the neonatal puppy.
He lists the following problems which may occur in later life associated with tail docking.
1. Acquired urinary incontinence.
2. Perennial hernias.
3. Faecal incontinence.
4. Problems with movement due to the lack of the counter balance effect of the tail.
There can be no argument that the tail is a means social expression to dog. To derive a dog of its tail may impair its ability to communicate happiness, fear or aggression to other animals or man.
Now the other side of the coin, what could the benefits of tail docking be? I have spoken at length with people who are in favour of this procedure. The main reason they want to have it done is because they think their breed looks better without a tail, or because they want to show the dog at some later date and think they may prejudice their chances of winning if the tail is left on. Such people also generally believe that that removing the tail of a three day old puppy without anaesthetic causes it no pain, a point I would dispute. Another group of breeders take the view that as this practice has gone on for centuries it is an infringement of their civil liberties to prevent them from carrying on with it. I rather think that the same type of argument was put forward when the binding of women’s feet was abolished in China. The only argument which in my view holds any water at all is that tail docking prevents accidental tail damage later in life. However at my clinic I see very few tail injuries in breeds which traditionally have their tails left on. In any case I have never had a an adult dog die following a tail injury but I have certainly seen deaths following inept tail docking of three day old pups.
What is my personal stance on the issue? I welcome pet owners of any breed of pup at my clinic whether it is docked or not, but I am reluctant to have breeders who have their litters docked as clients..
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