Re: docking my rotti's tail, yes or no, she is 6mo's old

Sionnach wrote:
"Robin Nuttall" wrote:


The overall body and structure of the breed would always result in a thin tail which would, in the lower 2/3rds or so, be pretty much bones covered with thin skin and thin coat. It would be incredibly prone to injury and breakage and >a definite hinderance to work in the case of this breed.


FWIW, I've known two undocked Dobes and one undocked Dobe cross; while their tails were dangerous to *humans*, being long and whippy, none of them had any issues with tail injuries, and they had more than "just bone and skin" to their tails. At least one of the undocked Dobes routinely ran and played at the park, including running through brush.

And I've rescued quite a few more than that with really awful tails.


Frankly, I think some other breeds that aren't docked should be. For instance, I don't personally know a single Great Dane that doesn't have > tail problems.


While I've met one Dane with serious tail issues - which did require amputation, and know of others - I also know quite a few others who have never had problems, including five who run in the woods.
Not surprisingly, the one with the tail problems was the "refined" type (light bone, high tuckup, very thin coat), and the ones who run in the woods the more old-fashioned, heavier-boned and thicker-coated type.

Hmmm. The ones I'm talking about are not at all refined, are show bred dogs with heavy bone and substance. They are Harls, and Harls tend to have much longer tails than Fawns. And to a one, they have tail issues--at least the 15-20 I know or have seen at shows. I know of at least one great dane breeder who is arguing FOR being able to show with an amputated tail, as she's had to do 3 now...


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Re:Re: Baculum and Anal fins
    ... hemipenes, hollow, eversible copulatory structures housed in the base ... of the tail. ... If the skeleton turns out to be male, ... I had read years before that that there is another "penis bone" ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)
  • Re: Any ROFFians need bucktail or deer hair?
    ... of hair. ... I might split and bone the tails _only_ while I'm doing my ... You may be in violation of some laws if you ship the tail with bones. ...
    (rec.outdoors.fishing.fly)
  • Re: docking my rottis tail, yes or no, she is 6mos old
    ... tail which would, in the lower 2/3rds or so, be pretty much bones covered ... with thin skin and thin coat. ... I've known two undocked Dobes and one undocked Dobe cross; ... (light bone, high tuckup, very thin coat), and the ones who run in the woods ...
    (rec.pets.dogs.behavior)
  • Re: Herr Haeckel
    ... No doubt since the back bone of homo sapiens is part of the ... "tail" even though no tail is present. ... So all those embryologists working for 150 years and more are wrong! ...
    (talk.origins)