Every Wheaten owner loves their dogs. Oh, perhaps we get a bit perturbed when they eat our favorite pair of shoes but we still love them. We would never intentionally disfigure or maim these dogs in a painful and unnecessary act of torture. Or would we?
Of course I’m talking about the practice of tail docking. It’s something I didn’t give much thought to until August of last year. We had 6 healthy pups and it was my job to drive back from the beach to have the puppy tails docked. The vet, Dr. Jackson, came to our home and prepared the work surface. She donned her latex gloves and then proceeded to use a pair of very sharp scissors to clip the tails. With a crunch and a yelp the tails were gone and I was left with a basket of helpless whimpering animal.
If you would like to see the entire procedure I filmed it and have it posted for viewing here:
Puppy Tail Docking Video - Click Here - (Caution - very graphic)
I was appalled and disgusted. Why was I allowing this to happen to our dogs? Where had this barbaric practice come from? Why was this procedure even legal? I decided to do a bit of research.
The Council of Docked Breeds is a UK organization dedicated to preserving the practice of tail docking. They list several reasons for tail docking. The number one reason to dock a tail is to avoid damage to the tail. I laughed when I read this and was thankful that this group had not dedicated themselves to preventing limb damage. I had a mental picture of dogs strapped to skate boards all having had preventative limb amputation.
As specious as the preventative argument seems on the surface there may actually be some rare cases where it has merit. The Hungarian Vizsla is a hunter, pointer and retriever with one third docked from the tail. Although the remainder of the tail is strong, the third docked is thin and whip-like and is open to damage in the field. The Vizsla reportedly holds it's tail horizontal to the ground and wags it forcefully while charging through rough scrub and undergrowth. The unprotected tip is docked to keep it from splitting and bleeding.
Of course if you don’t own a Vizsla or if your Vizsla is a pet rather than a hunting dog then this argument doesn’t hold. In any case, the last third of the Wheaten tail is strong and the Wheaten doesn’t drag it’s tail when it runs through the brush. Rather the Wheaten tail curls up and over the back of the dog safely out of harms way.
The second reason is for hygiene. The Council feels that somehow having a longer tail causes feces to become trapped in the dog’s hair. Even if there were any truth to this silly claim, a bath would be an easy solution.
The final reason – and the real reason in my opinion – is to maintain the standard of the breed. We are used to seeing our Wheatens look a certain way. An undocked Wheaten “looks funny”.
According to an interesting article in our own Prairie Wheaten, English royalty placed a tax on dogs. A dog was thought to be useless if it had no tail so the serfs chopped off the tail and thus avoided the tax. They left a stub of a tail to provide a handle incase the dog became stuck in a badger hole.
While Wheatens are no longer taxed based on tail length there are still strong economic reasons to dock a dog’s tail. Show dogs are judged based on the Standard of the Breed. Until recently, most judges will not award prizes to undocked Wheatens. This reduces the value of the dog and affects the price of the puppies.
The European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals prohibits routine tail docking as animal abuse. As more and more European countries sign on to this convention the practice of tail docking has begun to subside in many countries.
While the UK has yet to ratify the ECPPA, public pressure has been mounting to do away with the practice of tail docking. The Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in November 1992, ruled docking to be unethical. Vets who continue to dock risk disciplinary action, including being struck off the professional register.
While tail docking is on a gradual decline in Europe and the UK, it remains a strong practice in the USA. Canada has a strong British heritage but we are closely tied to the American economy. Is it time to join the growing movement in Europe and ban the cruel practice of tail docking or should we continue to follow the American tradition? This is a choice each of us must make every time we have a new litter born.
Most breeders have a waiting list for puppies. Most of these dogs are sold as pets and will never see the inside of a show ring. Why not contact our potential customers in advance and ask them if they would prefer the dog to be docked? My guess is that most people, given a choice, would prefer an undocked dog. As the undocked Wheaten becomes more common gradually acceptance will spread. It is my sincere hope that I will live to see the day when Wheaten owners will much prefer the look of the Wheaten in it’s natural state – long funny looking tail and all.
Update: The Canadian Wheaten Breed Standard has been updated! Tail docking is now optional and an undocked tail is allowed. Hopefully some day this barbaric practice will come to a well deserved end.
Breed Standard: http://www.scwtac.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=4