Why cocker spaniel tails docked

So he is going under the knife tomorrow. We are considering having another cocker next year and I will most defiantly be looking for a working puppy already docked. Reading this article for the 2nd time and its still a great article and good to read more comments. I am all for docking on working breeds not just working dogs. It is not barbaric in any way, whats barbaric is the dog having to have a major painful op with very very painful long recovery time after having the tail docked later in life.

A bored working breed is one that gets very depressed and fed up. Its all well and good a spaniel having a long fancy tail, going off to the groomers once a month and having on lead walks round the park but is that dog really happy? So its ok to put a very young dog through very invasive surgery for none other than the owners self satisfaction but its not ok to avoid serious painful injury when the pups are days old and will never know any different! If these people actually went on a shoot and watched docked working breeds work they would be amazed at the happy, over enthusiastic, very fit dogs with amazing stamina on a hard days work and brilliant balance and skill to dart and weave about doing what they are bred to do!

I will never buy another working puppy with its tail. He has a gorgeous tail and to all our friends and family is famous for his sheer happiness which is shown by the wagging of his tail and entire back end of his body. The end of his tail has just split and we now have to decide what to do.

Attempt to keep his tail bandaged until it heals then once the bandages come off there will be tissue damage and there is a high chance it will continue to break. Or we have to decide to put our much loved pet through a very painful amputation. The operation itself will be a painful day but the recovery is only 10 days whereas the healing process can take a long time and may never be achieved. Choosing to deprive your spaniel from working, running and playing just in case they damage their tails is cruel.

We now have to keep him on the lead while walking so the bandage stays on as long as possible and he is not getting the one thing he enjoys most in life. To those who say that they are born with tails so should keep them fail to realise that before docking became an option or for wild dogs with broken tails these lovely creatures would just be left to suffer with no treatment and that is barbaric.

She is equally as happy as our older one and at least we can take comfort in knowing she will never have to go through this. Any future additions to my pack will have docked tails and it will be what I look for over colour next time.

Thank you Amie for sharing your story. He has never injured his tail, but last year wore the skin on his nose out, resulting in a week off in January. My 4 month old pup has a tail that has been docked very short.

I have 2 working cockers, and as working spaniels it is a must their tails are docked, my 2 are docked, i have seen many working spaniels with split tails and it is agony for them! I am picking up my working cocker puppy next week, and he is not docked.

We wont be working him i. However I am hoping to do gun dog trianing with him to keep him active and challenged. Having read this, I presume that the extent we go forward witht he training may be limited by the environment — the conditions described that can cause torn tails will have to be avoided at all costs!

I am hope that I can work through the grades of gun dog training with him, without risking his tail being damaged. Docking was not something we looked for when getting a puppy, as he will be a pet, so I will very carefully keep an eye out for situations which might damage his tail as we progress with trainging. Hi Sarah, good lluck with your new puppy, and I hope you enjoy the grades. Spaniels have been bred primarily as working dogs, they have been bred over the years to be quick in the turn and brave in thick cover.

We have had a full and exhaustive scientific report done by Glasgow University for our Scottish Parliament, it clearly shows that working breeds are about 20 times more likely to suffer tail damage if their tails are not docked compared to docked ones.

This report was meant to have been read and the original docking ban was meant to have been looked at by our parliament…….. I have a spaniel who is undocked, never again! She regularly splits her tail while working. As for communication issues — no way! A well balanced happy bunch here. Rather like boxers who suffer a nasty cut, the damaged area is then more liable to easy subsequent damage.

I hate to see any animal suffer … and prevention seems much better than dealing with repeat injuries, pain and discomfort. I have a pet Weimaraner who is undocked…I wash blood off my walls as part of my weekly clean. She has had infections in her tail and has a rather large lump of scar tissue on the tip now. A vet in America recommended amputation while we were out visiting family and her tail became infected from repeated injury. While I love every bit of my girl including her tail, I wish for her she had been docked.

She has so little fur covering her tail that there is near no protection from hard surfaces. It is a quick, preventative procedure protecting the animal over its whole working life, leaving it with an expressive, waggy tail. It is also an offence to transport a puppy out of Scotland solely for the purpose of docking its tail.

A spaniel works his way into thick cover. Repetitive minor trauma, as well as overt injury, can lead to tail damage so if the former is the problem, less frequent work gives the skin some time to recover. If you want to try a protective bandage, be sure to cover the whole tail and use an cohesive bandage — something like Vetrap or Elastoplast, which will stick to itself.

Start by holding the bandage under the tail between finger and thumb, using your left hand if right-handed, with the sticky side towards the tail. Take the bandage straight down the tail around the tip and up to where you started. Twist the bandage and come back down the tail and back up again with overlapping turns, trapping tail feathering under each overlap to help secure the bandage.

It is quite possible of course, that a spirited dog which likes nothing better than plunging through brambles and thorny patches will return with the carefully applied bandage in tatters. Should that happen , console yourself, at least you have evidence to demonstrate to your vet that the dog is likely to continue damaging its tail. Q: Is it irresponsible of me to work a springer without a docked tail? Having spent months researching English springer spaniels, I am at the point of trying to find a reputable breeder.

I would like a show-type springer but want to train it to hunt and retrieve. Similar to whole body grooming, cocker spaniels with undocked tails should be groomed and trimmed regularly. They will need extra grooming and care to keep them clean and safe from injuries compared to the docked ones.

For others, the tails have been docked to protect against injury when hunting or working. Whether you agree with docking or not, cocker spaniels have tails, and it is your choice to dock it or not. Fruit makes a healthy snack alternative and has countless health benefits for your Dachshund. Like us, dogs are omnivores and may enjoy eating fruit as a snack alternative. However, not every Havanese dogs are known for being good with cats, as they are playful, gentle canines and will often see cats as new friends.

Cats also tend to be more tolerant of Havanese dogs than other Skip to content. Table of Contents. Survey data indicate that preventive tail docking of pet dogs is unnecessary.

Therefore tail docking of non-working dogs, even if their breed was originally developed for working purposes, is considered a cosmetic procedure unless evidence exists to the contrary. Keeping in mind the welfare of the Cocker Spaniel breed and the function it was bred to perform, and as applies to all Flushing Spaniels, the Board of Directors of the American Spaniel Club continues to support docked tails for Cocker Spaniels and all Flushing Spaniels as an important characteristic required by the …Jun 27, The skin is then sutured closed over the remaining vertebra and tail tissue.

Sutures may be absorbable or may need to be removed 5 to 7 days later. When the procedure is performed in older dogs, a temporary bandage is placed over the surgery site, and the bandage is removed after 2 to 3 days. Aug 22,