This is obviously a contentious issue, but I think healthy debate is a good thing, and everybody has an opinion and a right to voice it, so in the spirit of healthy debate, and not in the vein of poking the bear with a pointy stick, I wondered what you all think of this...

http://anti-dockingalliance.co.uk/page_4.htm

I am waving a white flag here, and adding a disclaimer; I am absolutely not making any judgments; if my BB's had been docked as pups, I would have had no hesitation in still buying them, one of their litter sibs broke his tail a while back, and the vet told his owner the removal at his age would be inadvisable; all the pups had very different tails, Kaiser has a thin and whippy tail, while Sugar has a thick and deadly weapon that REALLY hurts when it wacks you!

This link is purely to 'present' the other side of the argument, the argument that brought the practice of docking to court and had it banned.

I believe that informed personal preference should be the main factor in making the decision. I have grown up with "blue heelers", ACD's, and it was normal to dock the tails in the first 3 days of being born. Years later I learned that they were orginally docked to prevent them being grabbed by a hog. Not sure the truth in that but I now see more with the tail intact and an Aussie friend said docking has been banned in his country. I personally see it as a balance issue in our working dogs. I want my girls to be able to stop and turn on a dime when facing a mad 1500 lb cow protecting her calf.

Our Aussie was already docked when we got her but still wags her stump vigorously when she sees us!

As for neutering/spaying, as long as I can prevent my husband from breeding our females because someone asked for a puppy, I choose not to spay. I am able manage our dogs to prevent pregnancy but some people can't/won't and I think it is okay in those situations. Our neighbors have puppies year round out of their mutts which get bred by mutts. Of course I think our neighbors should have been spayed/neuterd themselves.

At one point I was more neutral than I am now and I have two breeds that are a-typical docked and/or cropped breeds. While I still think it's a person's right to go with whichever they like best I do not condone wanting to reinvent the wheel because someone made the decision to go against written breed standards.

I know I made the conscious decision to acquire natural dogs, against AKC breed standards but I'm not going to cry the poor me blues because I might not get a fair shake.

Obviously, I am pro-choice on this matter, but just have two thoughts to share.

One, as was stated, there are breeds that have been traditionaly docked and so no thought was put into breeding for reasonable tails. Yorkies are one breed and also many MinPins whose natural tails are so skinny and long that there is a real danger of breaking if left uncropped. I have observed My dogs breeder docking two day old tails without the puppy even flinching...

The other interesting point I have read about is the fact that in nature, no mammal (or even vertebrate for that matter) has drop ears. They are either erect or completely open as in humans, whales etc. So drop eared dogs and any problems associated are a man made condition to begin with, and one could say that cropping the ear is correcting that condition. An interesting thought that leads one to question all the accepted genetic manipulation we humans do...

Thinking a bit further about this - I'm amazed at the fact that people an be in arms about cropping/docking (to the point of banning, but say nothing about BREEDING dogs that as so misshapen that they can't possibly live a normal life (English Bulldog anyone?)

I sorta put this in the same category as (male) circumcision...a minor surgical alteration of the body on aesthetic or traditional grounds. Any surgery comes with some risk--but ear-cropping and tail-docking seem pretty safe as long as it is being done by somebody that knows what they are doing. I'd say it's a personal choice to be made by the owner/breeder that doesn't need policing nearly as much as lots of other much worse things people do to dogs.

I will admit that I'm very bothered by the hatchet-job ears I see on some unfortunate pitbulls that I'm sure were done by a bozo with a kitchen knife. I've seen some where the entire pinna has been removed, clearly for some dog-fighting reason. That is cruel mutilation. Not in the same category at all (IMO).

Concur completely, the UK Kennel Club, (for what it's worth, which isn't a lot atm,) on the back of the pedigree Dogs Exposed, has proclaimed it is backing the breeding out of roach backed GS, Bulldogs, KCC, etc, because of the exaggerated appearances for whatever reason they were bred in; Dog World is reporting very heated and differing opinions on the debate at the moment.

The whole docking/cropping debate is just as divided, and I imagine that those 2 VERY divided camps passionately believe in their arguments, it's horses for courses, and maybe both camps have valid points, because at the end of it all, who is to say who is right or wrong??

Cindy & Mara- thats a really interesting point, I think its extremely relevant too. if people are going to get the third degree for cropping or docking what should those people who are breeding those dogs whose cranial cavities are smaller than their brain and are in constant pain?

^^^agreed here

Personally, (I love beaucerons) and one day if I ever get one, I probably would at least consider cropping because of the look, I don't know if I would have it done though. I think when these procedures are done properly and at the right age (and considering the temperament of the dog) it doesn't do horrible harm like peta says it does. Seriously, as its been said, feeding a crappy diet, over vaccinating, not training, chaining the dog, early spay/neuter....are all far worse.