What’s next? Women who color their hair are bad drivers? While I do not agree with docking and cropping…..dogs adapt, whether it is tail-less or without a leg. We know a greyhound whose dad accidentally closed his tail in the car door (he was 3 when it happened). OUCH. He is sweet as ever.

Do you know why tails are docked? In herding breeds, it avoids getting caught in a fence, or sweeping up cow or sheep poo. Uh, my dogs aren’t around livestock – but it is a breed standard. We occasionally get aussies in rescue with tails (yay).

Only Mack has a tail, out of my five aussies. This is how they were when I adopted them. There’s not a mean bone in their bodies. Naughty (Jack) ~ different story <vbg>

I do see a trend away from those practices (yea!), in boxers, dobies, and danes (natural ears). I think they appear more friendly and approachable. But to generalize, sorry ya lost me. Signed, a woman who colors her hair and IS a good driver ;-)

Oh dear….I really have to agree with Tina on this. I’ve had dog breeds with docked tails (toy fox terrier AND Rottwieler) and there wasn’t a mean bone in their bodies. I have to conclude that “meanness” is in the handling, training, bad breeding practices (hey I know some “mean” families lol).

No way is anyone going to convince me that docking a dogs tail, dewclaws or clipping their ears is going to turn that dog into something it isn’t (unless of course they beat that dog constantly while doing so).....

I’ve also never seen a dog have trouble “communicating” its wants and needs because they no longer have a tail. Just look into their eyes, watch their body language. Heck, any trainer/ behaviorist will tell you that much. If another dog is more cautious approaching a dog with a docked tail then it’s because of the body language. I highly doubt that a dog will check another’s tail before approaching….

“oh, excuse me, would you be so kind as to let me see your butt before I approach you?”

I’ve also learned that these proceedures were done mostly because of safety issues pertaining to whatever type of work that particular breed was meant to do.

I had a beautiful black lab that I used as my demo dog when teaching and when he was 6 months old he accidently got about 3 inches of his tail cut off when a very heavy, metal door slammed quickly as he was passing thru (flicked his tail back at the wrong second). He may have been a little more cautious when going thru doors (looked all around and gingerly stepped over door ways) but mean?? No way!

Bottom line: my personal feeling is that this study is total hogwash. Just my humble opinion and observations as a result of much research on my part.

My dog Bandit had his tail docked when he was neutered. We had it done b/c it was broken before we got him and he was starting to chew on it. Other dogs don’t seem to find him aggressive. But it seems logical to me that if dogs use thier tails to express themselves with eachother and can’t seem to find a tail that it might sorta spook them. This is a cool debate topic..

Tina! You’re not comparing dying hair to getting your tail cut off?! What about declawing? Sure the cat might still be friendly but it’s cruel because what happens if a dog or other predator chases them and they can’t climb a tree to get away? Claws and tails are there for a reason. We don’t have tails because we don’t need them anymore. Let evolution take care of tails naturally.

I was giving an analogy ~ that generalizations are never ALL true (case in point, APBTs); and giving examples of my own dogs and a GH we know w/o tails (how their personalities were not affected by their lack of tails). Furthermore, I said I do not agree with docking and cropping. But in Banjo’s case, he had an injury and it had to be done! All six of my cats are “armed” (clawed). ;-)

I would absolutely go mad should my Boston Terrier be lost or stolen. Don’t get me wrong as I’m not “humanizing” my boy, but like my children when they were young, I am always where I can watch him and he me….

Sadly in this day and age you have to know where your pet is at all times. Many people are sue happy or just plain vicious. I had a gentleman approach me one day while at a truck stop in Virginia and tell me that my dog would make a great “bait for training” as he has a dog that is “killa in da pit”! Ok, my friends all know exactly what my reaction was ! My husband had to pull me out of there before I got us killed!

All I can think of was thank goodness my boy was on a lead and I was with him because that idiot would have just taken him for that reason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodness, I’m simply trying to be a responsible pet owner, protect my precious friend from predators and the sue happy population out there. I believe I have earned the right to make this decision on my own and I for one do not need any bureaucrat telling me what to do with my hearth and home and all its contents. I will tether when it is necessary and not tether when I deem it safe for him to run free.

Unfortunately tho, not everyone who lives with these animals have the common sense nor the regard of co-habitating with their fellow man to think of the consequences of allowing their animals to run wild. No, I’m not saying it’s “the breed” because I dont’ believe that. It’s the owners fault. Also, I feel educating the general public is an extremely giant step forward. Too many think it’s ok to tie their dogs out, in the yard, all day and in many cases all night. Out of sight, out of mind is the end result in many of those cases…...

Hopefully I’m making some sense here…...this is such a touchy subject for me. I’ve some particularly nasty personal experiences with a couple of dogs I knew that were tethered and died as a result but on the other hand a few who lost their lives being allowed to run free.

I’m open to any intelligent debate on this subject…......................

okay..stupid question..what exactly IS tethering anyway??

Oh and just for the record, I personally do not agree with docking unless it is a safety proceedure as deemed by the dogs role in the family (i.e. herding etc) and not done purely for cosmetic purposes. My previous post was to state that I do not believe it has anything to do with temperment. I also do not agree with de-clawing a cat whatsoever. As for dewclaws – evolution will eventually take care of that as Rinzou stated. IMHO

same thing you do to your horse hun. you tether his reins to a post, tie your dog out to a tree, etc…...

only stupid question is the one NOT asked

Governator Schwarzenegger has made it illegal to keep a dog tied up for more than three hours in the state of California. He is a rare breed – a Republican with a heart. ;)