tail docking / ear cropping. why are these forms of mutilation accepted?

@Galena (9110)
June 11, 2007 2:36pm CST
and why would someone do it. it's a purely cosmetic thing, that looks horrible. thankfully ear cropping is illegal in the UK, but tail docking is still allowed. the excuses that working dogs can damage their tails doesn't hold up. I've known lots of working dogs with tails that have never injured it. why sever a body part, and part of the spine at that, just "in case" it gets injured. if it happens, deal with it. don't make a lot of dogs suffer because of an unlikely injury for a minority. I've seen poor b*tches trying to cover themselves from unwanted male attention with a poor little stump. and a happy, wagging dogs tail is so wonderful. how can anyone think it looks better without it. as for ear cropping, well it just looks sort of chewed. a dog with drop ears does not have the right ear structure to have an upright ear. the flap protects against debris. a dog with upright ears will have plenty of hair. and skin positioned to protect the ear canal from debris. poor, sad, mangled little creatures. the kennel club could change it all if they took "mutilated tail" out of their breed standards.
1 person likes this
7 responses
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Jun 07
That's nothing compared to a woman I know who has hoarder personality and is always getting in trouble with her landlord and constantly threatened with eviction--she has both cats and dogs....to not attract attention to herself in her apartment building, she has her dogs operated on to remove the voice box in the dogs so they don't bark...and this is considered a legal operation and not animal cruelty--you figure this one out
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@whywiki (6066)
• Canada
11 Jun 07
That is just horrible. I wish I could meet the vet, just once in a dark alley with a pack of dogs he has mutilated...
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@Galena (9110)
11 Jun 07
so sad. my deerhound barely stops barking, but I'd not take her voice away.
@derek_a (10874)
12 Jun 07
I agree that is is cruel and unnecessary, all in the name of fashion. A working dog can damage any part of his anatomy. My brother-in-law has a border collie to help with his sheep, and the dog has his full tail and everything else. Before the ban over here, my nephew rescued a bull terrior who had had his ears clipped for fighting. The dog was considered to be not aggressive enough and was going to be put down. It's tail had gone too and it was a sad creature on first site, but with the love of the family, the dog became happy again and was wonderful with the kids too. I don't know how true the saying is that there are no bad dogs, only owners is, but this little chap proved it to be true.
1 person likes this
• United States
11 Jun 07
The answers are that humans are greedy and non caring of animals basically. We are the meanest animal alive, and it is appauling that they continue to do this, especially in the USA.
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@EvanHunter (4026)
• United States
12 Jun 07
I believe there is a push to try and get the AKC to change there standards on this in america right now. The humane society is pushing for it by trying to get members to get proactive on it here in the states.
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@whywiki (6066)
• Canada
11 Jun 07
I can't understand why they allow it in this day and age either. If you don't like the way a dog looks then don't get him. It is beyond me why they allow us to cut off a dogs tail but if a baby had an arm too long there is no way they would allow it to be just hacked off. I wish people would love and animal enough to let it be itself.
@wiccania (3360)
• United States
12 Jun 07
i never understood the practice myself. although, when we got our dog (tiger), we had a few occasions where we joked that pits must have their tails docked to prevent household damage. he's part pit bull, and his tail can clear off a table. and i don't mean just the little stuff like remote controls or cups. he's knocked a closed LAPTOP off the table with his tail, and it was just a gentle wag. his excited wag can leave bruises! not that i would ever dock his tail. i hate the way a dog looks with just a stump of a tail. i love seeing him wag his tail when we get home from the store.
@Galena (9110)
12 Jun 07
our dane was like that. and we had him when I was little, so lots of bruises resulting from a whiplash like tail across the face. but hey, that's what tails are for.
• United States
12 Jun 07
Its all a matter of preferences. I prefer the look of a cropped/docked dog over a natural one if its appropriate for the breed. The surgeries performed are not causing suffering. If a surgery promotes suffering, then shouldn't spay and neuters be equally as inhumane? The ears are done under anesthesia and the tails are done before the dog's nervous system has fully developed at a day or two old. I have seen tails being docked in person. They are not a traumatic experience for the dog. I don't think any of these procedures are inhumane if they are done properly and cared from properly afterward. Animals are amazingly adaptable so even if they spend a few days recovering from the surgery, they'll be right as rain later and not dwelling on their missing ears/tails/voicebox. Humans seem to be the only species that are psychologically attached to their body parts.
@Galena (9110)
12 Jun 07
but it affects how they can communicate with other dogs, and it affects them when they want to cover themselves up. I don't think it is a matter of preference. when I was a dog groomer I used to think that the poodles that had their natural tails looked a bit silly, but I'd still rather they had ther full tail than not. what makes it appropriate for one breed and not another? it's just what people are used to. how anyone can pick up a gorgeous, wriggly, perfect little puppy and think it will be more attractive with part of its spine severed is beyond me.