D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D.
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If Thy Tail Offends Thee...Standardize It.

11/10/2011

7 Comments

 
At its October Board Meeting, the AKC Staff presented the following:

###
 Breed Standards for Docked Breeds
Based on a Board request, Staff presented its guidelines for description of the tail and dewclaws in the standard of a new breed. Staff also explained how it will  handle any future breed standard revisions to the ear and tail sections of a breed standard if those sections are being revised.

There will be the following two-step approach:

1. Discuss with the club the feasibility of revising the
description of the ear and tail to include a description of the natural ear and tail if these sections are being revised.

2. The most severe language that may be used is to severely penalize natural ears or tailwith the understanding that it is the judge’s discretion to
interpret the standard.
###

This seems pretty innocuous, and dare I say, even reasonable. So I was surprised to see a number of breeders on various e-mail lists up in arms about it. Now---I have to admit---I am not a cropper or docker. I have serious misgivings about "doing" dewclaws. My breed, saluki, is occasionally cropped in its native lands, and one of the breed's most famous imports was cropped, but fortunately, it has never been the practice in the west. But I digress; the subject here is docking, not cropping. And if you think cropping discussions can
get heavy, docking discussions can get downright nasty. 
 
So here's the situation: Many other countries now ban docking.  When dogs of traditionally docked breeds come to America, the AKC standards don't address how their tails should look. After all, most breeders have never
seen an adult entire tail. Nor do they want to. Docking the tail of an adult dog is not a humane alternative (although it is a reason given for docking in some
breeds; some dogs, notably working pointing breeds, suffer tail injuries that often require amputation of the tail as adults). But if the dog is shown, how should the tail be judged? Should the judge just look at the first inch or so? Ignore the tail altogether? Or ignore the dog
altogether?

The guidelines for new breed standards urge fanciers to describe what a natural tail ideally looks. How could that be bad? Those who are upset cite two reasons: 1) It's the AKC bending over backwards to the puppy millers
and backyard breeders who don't want to have to spend the money to dock their puppies. (Really? Do you think these breeders are overly concerned with how their dogs' tails will be judged in the ring they will never be in?), and 2) It's the AKC bending over for the Animal Rights movement who claim docking is cruel. (First tails, then ears, then dewclaws and next thing you know, hair
spray will be banned! Oh wait...)

Anyway, I may end up writing about this in an upcoming Breeder's Notebook column. What's your take?

7 Comments
Cheryl Reynolds
11/10/2011 11:44:51 pm

I could have saved literally thousand of dollars in vet bills if greyhounds had docked tails!!

Reply
Tiffany Zagula
11/11/2011 11:28:17 am

I own a docked breed (Pembrokes) and I am very pro-docking (when it's done humanely and at the proper age, of course). However, I believe that with the shrinking world of dogs that we need to be more open to the idea of tails popping up in the ring. I have personally considered importing from non-docking countries and wouldn't dream of amputating a tail on a dog that was used to having that appendage. I don't think what the AKC is doing is unreasonable at all...especially when it allows the standards to say a tail is a severe fault.

Reply
Brett Deutsch
11/15/2011 10:49:39 am

Sounds like we need to take a serious look at why tails are docked in the first place. Having Aussies, I can see no reason to have their tails docked yet they're traditionally done. An Aussie tail is truly beautiful. If you dock using a vet the cost ranges from $5 - $10 per tail. Vets probably make more money docking than on the rare dog with "happy tail" etc. Puppy mills are doing their own. To dock or not is still a choice here, but we really need to open our eyes to what these dogs look like before we perform surgery on them. It would be like knowing your grandmother before her 3 face lifts (or was that just mine :)).

Reply
Caroline
11/15/2011 10:56:38 am

I remember growing up with a whippet--her tail was truly a whip! She never hurt herself, but I'd have welts on my leg! The salukis tails always have to be watched for lest they get caught in a door. What happened with your greyhounds?

Reply
Caroline
11/15/2011 10:58:08 am

Hmmm...does an undocked Pembroke tail look like a Cardigan tail?

I saw a Silky Terrier this weekend with a long tail. I liked it.

Reply
Caroline
11/15/2011 10:59:21 am

An Aussie tail IS truly beautiful. At least the ones I've seen. I wonder if there is a lot of variation.

Reply
Tiffany Zagula
11/16/2011 10:00:26 am

An undocked pembroke tail resembles a Cardigan tail, but the carriage is different. Pems and Cardis have different croups/rear assemblies.

Reply



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    Caroline Coile

    Dog writer, science geek, Saluki savant and communicator of all things dog. I'm concerned about hereditary health problems,  the decline of purebred dogs and the changing climate of dog ownership. I compete with my Salukis in conformation, agility, lure coursing and obedience. I write about science, breeds, health and competitions---and I don't believe in blindly folllowing the accepted dogma of the dog world.

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