Do you Dock the Dog?

Hey guys, I'm back with yet another post on docking. Yes, another docking post. Sorry if I'm boring you, but you can skip this post if you've already read the first one, but this post is more detailed and describes more cons about docking.

Do you know what docking is? If you’ve ever seen a Doberman, you probably do. Their tails are unnaturally short and stubby, and their ears are tall and pointy since they’ve been cropped. Docking is when you cut off most of the dog’s tail, usually when the puppy is only a few days old. Most people use knives, scissors, or even nail clippers to dock the tail. Sometimes, people will use a tight rubber band to tie around the base of the tail—so tight that it completely cuts off circulation to that part of the tail and it dies off. But whichever way is selected, it’s not pain-free. But why do we even do it? And is it even necessary?

A group of scientists with the journal Behavior and Brain Functions decided to explore how other dogs respond to each other’s tails. To do this, they created a model robot that resembled a labrador retriever. The researchers found that when the tail was wagging, the dogs were more likely to approach it. So they tried it with a shorter tail, but when they did, the story changed. There was no difference between the short wagging tail and the short still tail. It seems shorter tails are harder to read, and dogs can’t tell whether it’s wagging. Ear cropping, or cutting off the floppy part of a dogs’ ears, then taping them to a stiff surface to mold them into a pointy shape. is similar. The cropped ears make the dog look alert and on edge, so the other dogs will avoid them. Essentially, you’ve handicapped your dog. Dogs without tails can’t communicate play, fear, or even aggression around other dogs, causing serious miscommunication or fights. Your dog can’t socialize with other dogs if they don’t know what he’s saying.

Some say that docking doesn’t hurt the puppies since they never cry out in pain, but this isn’t sufficient evidence. Most, if not all dogs, are born with an inherent preservation instinct, which means they can’t cry out in pain because it could attract predators.

Others point out that the newborn puppies’ nervous system is underdeveloped and doesn’t let them feel any pain. The Department of Companion Animals carried out a study disproving this very theory. They docked 50 Rottweiler, Doberman, and Bouvier des Flandres, a type of herding dog. After being docked, the puppies were “stumbling and whimpering for some time.” Cutting through muscles, tendons, bones, cartilage, and nerves would cause an amount of pain that would never be allowed if the puppies were humans! Dog docking advocates prefer to dock the puppies at a young age since their tissues are soft and easy to cut through.

Pain isn’t the only negative. Docked tails also run the risk of infection or even nerve tumors. And with the correlation between the spinal cord and tails, docking the tails can cause even more injury.

Other negatives for docking and cropping include risks of going under anesthesia or misshapen ears. There’s also been evidence for hyperalgesia (hyper-al-GEE-zee-ah) in tail docking—that is, a heightened sensitivity to pain. Docking your dog will make them extra sensitive to pain for the rest of their life.

If your dog has a tail, they have it for a reason. Take a Samoyed, for example. Their fluffy, white coats help them withstand cold temperatures. Their bushy tails can cover their noses when they go to bed so they don’t get frostbitten. Dock the tail and you run the risk of frostbite and hypothermia. Not only do dogs use their tails for communication, but they also serve important purposes and are used for balance as well.

So why do people dock tails? Well, many reasons. Dog docking advocates claim it helps the dog prevent injury. Well of course it helps the dog prevent injury! Taking off tails, ears, limbs, or anything on the dog will prevent injury to those parts because the dog doesn’t have them anymore. That’s no reason to dock a dog’s tail. It’s like removing your toes so you don’t stub them. It makes no sense.

They also claim it helps the dog work. Hunting and herding dogs risked tearing and injuring their ears and tail. Guard dogs couldn’t risk having large tails or ears long ago because burglars could use them as “grips.” These could have worked decades ago, but nowadays most dogs are house pets, so the docking and cropping of ears has become very outdated. Most of the time, it’s only used to conform to breed standards.

In conclusion, docking is irresponsible for your pet. Not only is it painful, but there is a mountain of behavioral and physical side effects that cannot be ignored. It's shocking how often this procedure is done. So far, the only states with regulations on tail docking are Maryland and Pennsylvania, but their restrictions are basic; only making sure dogs are under anesthesia while performing the surgery and making sure they can’t be older than 5 days of age. But as long as people continue to spread awareness about this horrible practice, laws can be put in place to prevent animal cruelty.

Other (not so fun facts) about docking:

-Some breeds, such as Pembroke Welsh Corgis and Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dogs, have been genetically modified not to have tails.

-During the study where they docked 150 puppies, they say the puppies had to be separated from the mother to prevent her from licking the “mutilated” pup.

-There are cases where docking could be justified, such as Happy Tail Syndrome, where the dogs’ tail wags so hard it hits things, breaking and bruising the tail again and again.