docking

[Guest THE BEATNICK]

  On 19/07/2011 at 17:42, unlacedgecko said:

Thanks for your response. I thought the lack of space in the tube was what damaged the tail of the terrier when it wagged its tail? I still prefer the look of a dogged dog. As I said, my preference for the docked dog is mostly down to personal snobbery...

 

the lack of space means it has very little movement, put a stick up a small bore tube and try waving it from side to side then take it out and wave it. lets agree to disagree

[unlacedgecko 1,467]

Yeah no worries. If you ever need a hand digging one of your undocked dogs in the Lincoln area, drop me a pm.

[fat man 4,741]

  On 19/07/2011 at 17:31, patterdale89 said:

at what age do u put a ring on???

Ive seen them used from a week old onwards.

[the patterdale man 0]

Years ago an old man told me they are docked because if a young terrier gets in behind the other they have habbit of grabbing hold of anything that moves like a tail. That need not worry many of us now. Most dogs work on their own. But it always sounded like good sense to me. Shake a fox tail for any terrier pup they will be mad for it. Nip them off at four days old. No mess no fuss. Just thought I would share that. Happy hunting lads

[ivebeen 176]

How possible is it for a undocked terrier to be wagging its tail underground and knock the tunnel hard enough that it causes the tunnel to collapse on top of them? I would think thats a valid reason. I was surprised to not have read that yet..

[Tsayad 88]

Docking is illegal in this country, too, and I agree that the ban is bullsh....

 

Reading and personal observation indicate that there are two good reasons for docking. One was that in working spiney cover such as gorse of heavy thistles, a long tail ends up bloody after every day of such activity and, as noted, they take time to heal. The second, and in my opinion equally cogent reason, is that a longer tail is more likely to limit a terrier's ability to move backwards in a tight den. This is partly because a tail has the potential to catch on roots or projections, and partly because in really tight holes, the tail can jam alongside the hip, hindering the dog. You may draw your own conclusions, but I've seen caught tails hinder a dog in this fashion, and the penalty may well be an unneccessarily bitten face if it cannot manuouvre in the face of an agressive opponent.

 

It's worth noting that the old breed society standard for JRTs was not the stub tail that seemed far too common, but a tail that - when the dog was standing alert with both head and tail up - was level with the top of the head. It also meant that the tail could be grasped if necessary.

 

I have limited experience in docking pups, but what I have tells me that the welfare argument is unmitigated rubbish. I did Shortie and her litter-mates with a pair of shears. None of them vocalised distress for more than 20 seconds. As I had woken them from a sleep, the first thing on their mind was food, and within 90 seconds they were all feeding. Within 5 minutes they had finished their feed and were all playing. (They were a little older than was recommended, but even at that age seem to have not suffered.) The funniest thing was watching these pups fighting while their mother tried to clean up the bloody stumps waving in the air!

I believe that docking at home is more humane than having it done by a vet. At home they are secure and otherwise comfortable in familiar surroundings. Taking them to the vet requires unpleasant experiences - probably including car-sickness - strange faces, strange smells and a strange environment.... all of which are threatening to a young animal. Do this to them and even the mild pain of a docking operation then becomes far less tolerable than it is at home.

 

The ban is yet another example of busybodies interfering in something that they don't understand.

 

Peter