Tail Docking Question - Page 1

A friend of mine is excited, they are getting a new puppy for their family very soon. The puppy now is almost 6 weeks old. It is a mixed breed pup, half German Short Hair Pointer and the other half, English Setter. My friend is wondering... is there a purposeful reason for docking the tail, as it should be something she should have done as soon as possible, if that is the way to go? Here's a picture of the pup.



She made out! I gave her all of Beau's out grown puppy stuff! The crate, two gates, bowls, and a few collars.  OH yeah, and the airline approved underseat airline carrier! She's got a 5 1/2 month baby girl, so it will help her take the pup to the vets for now. I doubt this pup has shots, too.

Actually, if they were going to dock, it should have been done weeks ago--generally, tails are docked when the pups are just a few days old.  I wouldn't recommend docking at this stage of the game, even if it were preferable for the dog's tail to be docked, because it's an absolute PITA to try and get the tail to heal well and correctly once the pups are old enough to be walking around & wrestling with each other.  That's one of the reasons why it's done while the pups are neonates.

Bee......What a cute little guy/gal....congratulations to your friend .

To my knowledge the docking of dogs tails is for cosmetic reasons and is usually done when they are a few days old.
IMO...I would leave it alone as it is going to be pretty painful for the pup at this age.
 

Thanks Hexe, for the quick response. I kind of thought tail docking was done very, very young, but all my dogs have always had tails! I'll tell her just what you advised.  Just curious now, why is the tail docked on a GSP?  Is there a reason or is it just cosmetic? 

I can't say the "breeder" is really much of a conscientious "breeder", sounds more like a relative that can't keep his intact animals separated for whatever reason. She said the mom was eleven! That has got to be less than ideal... .


Edited... I just saw your response Cherie... so I agree... leave the tail alone!

I agree, leave it now. It is purely cosmetic reasons to do it.
Usually the tail is docked at three days old.
I have yorkies and I do not dock the tails on them either.
It is "painful for them" even at three days old.
I know this because I used to hold Doberman pups, 30 plus years ago and the pups cried and wiggled and squiggled with pain when it was done.
I won't ever dock a tail again.

I would NOT dock it, the puppy is too old!

Bee -   "reason" for docking :
In GSPs, other H/P/R breeds, and some Spaniels and Terriers,
docking has been done traditionally due to them being 'working'
breeds of one sort or another.  It was (traditionally) felt that the
short tail would not be so likely to get wounded - or in the case
of dogs with longer coats, so tangled & caught up - on bushes,
etc, while the dog was locating game.

There are pros and cons to this argument.  Many dogs of working
hunting or retrieving ancestry never go near prey, and living as pets
or showdogs still had their tails removed.  It is true that accidents
happen to long tails that do not happen to stumpy ones, but that is
true of all breeds, not just the HPR sector.

Since the wind changed in the UK and docking was banned by Law
only a few dogs, mostly those in HPR litters which have 'proved' to
the authorities that their pups are exclusively produced for a working
life have continued to be docked;  and the showrings have had to get
used to seeing dogs with full tails.  So breeders are now trying to
breed for better tails, something they had not had to do when they
were docked as they would never be seen.  So from that point of view,
it is just cosmetic.  Gave exhibitors something to bitch about if they
felt their tailed dog wasn't being judged fairly against docked competition
for a while during the transition,  no longer so much an issue due to time
healing everything (except sore tails).  I have had to manage dogs with
tail injuries, although I've never had docked breeds except a Boxer or two
a very long time ago, and it isn't easy or pretty.

Have always been 'on the fence' about how 'cruel' it is to take a dog's tail
off.  Some might say what you never had you never miss;  that some dogs
are born naturally tailess;  that the problems of communicating both with
other dogs and people if the dog has no proper tail are somewhat exagerated.

Very good informative posts, thanks for sharing

Good morning Ibrahim.  How are you today ?

Beautiful day Hundmutter