I've been part of a discussion on Facebook in the last couple of days regarding docking tails on one of the breeds I raise, show and love - Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Both of my breeds have docked tails. One much shorter than the other, but both docked.
This isn't going to be about WHY they are docked. Frankly, I'm tired of having to justify why I dock tails on my dogs. I have Sussex Spaniels and Pembrokes - both call for docked tails, there were sound reasons for doing so when the breed standards where written and I bow to the expertise and knowledge of those who were the foundation of those breeds! We use rubber bands and tie off our tails at between 24 and 48 hours of age. For those of you reading this that have never seen or been around a newborn pup, it is important to know that they aren't "fully baked" when they are born. It's how mother nature intended it. Predators have multiple offspring that are born with closed eyes, closed ears and neurologically not "finished". In many cases, not all of the litter live. Predator pups, or cubs, take weeks to become actively mobile and able to function alone. PREY animals on the other hand are usually one or two and are able to be up and about with an hour or so of birth. It's that balance of nature.
When we (breeders of docked breeds) tie off tails there is very little if any response to what we are doing. 24 hour old pups squirm and wiggle when picked up period. Several European countries, as well as the UK have banned docking. Let's be very clear - the animal rights movement has it's roots in the UK and some of the most radical of the AR leaders come from the UK. Several European countries have banned battery cages for poultry (I'll address this lunacy in a separate post), there have been lawsuits brought to court to afford rights of personhood to apes. The banning of docking and cropping has EVERYTHING to do with animal rights and nothing to do with animal welfare.
Two years ago a "documentary" was released in Britain titled "Pedigree Dogs Exposed". It was supported by the BBC. It was as one sided a film as has been made. The maker of the film basically slammed the entire world of purebred dogs. The RSPCA, a singularly serious animal rights run group, and the BBC supported the film and went after the Kennel Club big time. The BBC went so far as to stop airing the Crufts show unless the KC agreed to some pretty heinous restrictions regarding the breeds they (the BBC) felt needed to be "repaired"! The KC refused.
We are now being handed our version of this via the HSUS. This is direct from Mr. Pacelle's blog:
"On April 28-29, at its inaugural conference, “The Purebred Paradox,” the Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy (HSISP) will tackle the subject of purebred dog health and welfare with the help of a distinguished group of scientists, veterinarians, and others with outstanding expertise in the field of canine genetics and health.
The HSISP conference, co-sponsored with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, will focus on the health and welfare problems stemming from poor breeding practices. Inherited diseases, disorders, and body malformations produce shortened life spans, chronic pain, and a diminished quality of life for dogs—and they land the animals, if their owners have the resources, in the hospital for multiple veterinary procedures and for the convalescence required."
This is so much more than a discussion about docking and why we should or shouldn't allow an undocked dog to show in the US. This is about our passion being taken away from us. There will be little said at this "conference" regarding what the individual breed clubs in the US have done toward isolating and working to diminish health issues in their breeds. There was a brief mention in Mr. Pacelle's blog about the AKC Canine Health Foundation, and it was used to lead into a discussion of PUPPY MILLS and the evils of purebred dog breeders. This conference is going to be the US version of Pedigree Dogs Exposed and will be as one sided.
Another quote on the conference from Mr. Pacelle: "But this is a dog welfare crisis of the highest order, and now we must see not only the application of this research, but also common-sense principles and an end to unacceptable conformation standards. The AKC has to begin to sync up its rhetoric about caring for dogs with its actions. "
Wayne is finally showing his true colors - all breeders are bad breeders, we are all puppy mills. We need to stop the endless bickering about things like docking tails and why we should just give in and accept it. The day we, as breeders, say it doesn't matter whether we dock or not is the day the ARs will run with it and turn it to their advantage. If we cave in on this one it's just going to go further and further. READ the words of Wayne - he doesn't think any of us are truly responsible and he believes that "conformation standards" are UNACCEPTABLE!
So, I will continue to support the written standards of both of my breeds and I will dock my dogs' tails! If I were to find a dog from a country that does not allow docking that I wanted to import, I would do so, but I would NEVER put an AKC or UKC judge in a position to have to make a moral or ethical judgement about a TAILED dog in the ring. Our written standards plainly state the dog is to be docked - not maybe docked or docked if it comes from a country that allows it. Some may see this as a silly thing to take a stand on - a TAIL? But it's more than a tail - it's about our future as owners and breeders of purebred dogs!
MA already has banned debarking and Rhode Island is trying to do the same thing. Why is it okay to push MANDATORY spay/neuter (major surgery) and not okay to have a simple procedure performed by your vet? We must stop arguing about tails and ears and we must start working together to stop HSUS and PETA and the ASPCA from eliminating animals from our lives. That is their goal - not animal welfare, but complete animal liberation even if it means they all go away forever!
Thank you for this post. I agree with you 100%. I have a Parson Russell Terrier, and in this breed, I would say about half of the main show breeders in the US have stopped docking their dogs, and they get very angry when judges don't put their dogs up. The breed standard clearly states that the tail is supposed to be docked level with the top of the head. I on the other hand, have the opposite problem, because the lady who bred my dog had the vet dock the tails and he took them all way too short. I still think that between docking and not docking, taking the tail too short is the lesser offence.
Posted by: Food Freak Frank | 03/02/2012 at 03:53 PM