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Tail docking means cutting a dog’s tail and reducing it to a stubble. This practice has become so common that many people think that Rottweilers and Doberman have no tails at all! At birth, the puppies have their tails cut. The same goes for ears in some dog breeds and this is known as ear cropping. Although working dogs have their tails cut to prevent injuries, for pet dogs both these practices are not only cruel but outdated. Let us examine some reasons tail docking and ear cropping must be avoided as far as possible, especially for pet dogs.

1)     Tails are indispensable for a dog to communicate not just with other dogs but also with humans. Dogs use tails to convey a variety of emotions, such as submissiveness, happiness, curiosity, and aggression. It is a severe handicap to a dog when its tail is cut. Often, many pet dogs such as boxers without tails are attacked by other dogs because of lack of communication. A dog with a docked tail cannot communicate friendliness to other dogs and thus gets attacked.

2)     In the olden days (since the Roman empire), Rottweilers were used to pull wooden carts with goods and their long tails used to get stuck in the wheels and rigging, injuring the dog. As a result, their tails used to be docked to prevent the dog from getting hurt. In modern times, Rottweilers are no more used for pulling carts, but this unnecessary practice continues in many places.

3)     Tails help dogs in swimming. Some dogs, like the retriever, use their tails as a rudder.

4)     Some dog breeders and owners dock the tails and crop the ear solely for cosmetic reasons—this is not just shallow reasoning but also cruel. You should accept your dog the way Mother Nature has made it and not for your ego’s appeasement. A dog is much more than its appearance. In my opinion, Rottweilers and Dobermans will fully grown tails look more majestic than the ones with docked tails. Check up on Google images!

5)     Dogs with docked tails and cropped ears often look intimidating and if you live in an apartment, you might not want a fierce-looking dog.

6)     Tail Docking in dogs makes the animal more prone to perineal hernias and urinary problems.

7)     The argument that tails can get injured is not valid because a tail is another part of the body and can recover from injuries just like any other body part. Moreover, tail injuries are rare. Even human children get hurt while playing so does it mean their body parts should be amputated? The logic should be the same for both animals and humans.

8)     Docking the dog’s tail keeps the anal region always exposed and this is not a pleasant sight.

9) Without tails, the anal region is susceptible to flies, maggots and other insects, and this can lead to serious infections.

10)   Ears are cropped mostly to prevent and injuries during dog fights, which is a cruel sport and is banned in many places. Other than that, ear cropping has no use at all, so spare your pet the agony of having its ears cut.

11)   Some breeders favor ear cropping and tail docking to maintain ‘breed standards’. Again, this is a shallow argument because it relates only to the appearance of the dog. It is high time that a dog with a normal body is accepted as a breed standard just like humans.

In conclusion, docking tails and cropping ears is completely unnecessary for a pet dog. Both these practices are banned in many parts of Europe and Australia. If you do not want to dock your dog’s tail, you must alert the breeder beforehand because many, by default, dock the tails of breeds like Doberman, Rottweilers, etc., when the puppies are a few weeks old. If, however, despite the reasons stated above, you still want to dock your dog’s tail and/or crop its ears, please ensure that a qualified vet does it.

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Photo by Laith Abushaar on Unsplash

Manish Jaitly

I am a dog lover and creator of this site. I am also the author of ‘Keep Sleeping Keep Missing- if only you knew’ (available on Amazon, Flipkart, Kobo, Google Store, etc.).

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