![]() Thus the tail plays an important role in public health and safety. The action of the tail can help humans to interpret a dog’s body language and to determine what sort of interaction is appropriate for a particular dog. The tail also communicates important messages to humans during human-dog interactions. Thus the tail also serves as a protective mechanism for dogs, part of the various strategies employed by dogs to communicate with one another establish boundaries and to avert aggressive encounters. The tail’s position and movement can indicate friendliness, a desire to play, submission or a warning signal, among many other messages. The tail is a major communication tool between dogs. The dog’s tail serves a critically important role in canine social behaviour. For example, when a chronic neuroma forms at the amputation site. Tail docking can also cause unnecessary and avoidable long term chronic pain and distress to the dog. There is also the risk of infection or other complications associated with this unnecessary surgery. Inflammation and damage to the tissues also cause ongoing pain while the wound heals. Puppies give repeated intense shrieking vocalisations the moment the tail is cut off and during stitching of the wound, indicating that they experience substantial pain. Tail docking is usually carried out without any anaesthesia or analgesia (pain relief). Docking a puppy’s tail involves cutting through muscles, tendons, up to seven pairs of highly sensitive nerves and severing bone and cartilage connections. Evidence indicates that puppies have similar sensitivity to pain as adult dogs. This is not the case the basic nervous system of a dog is fully developed at birth. Tail docking is painfulĪdvocates of tail docking claim that it does not cause pain or discomfort, as the nervous system of puppies is not fully developed. Unfortunately, there are some veterinarians and breeders who still advocate tail docking for cosmetic purposes. Only qualified veterinarians are permitted to carry out the surgery, whereas before the ban, tail docking could be carried out by anyone classified as an ‘experienced breeder.’ All previously docked breeds can now compete at dog shows with full tails, so there is absolutely no reason for any dog’s tail to be docked unless they were born prior to 2004 or have damaged their tail in some way. Since then it has been illegal to dock dogs’ tails unless there is a veterinary medical reason for the operation. In 2004, tail docking for non-therapeutic reasons was banned across Australia. The RSPCA is opposed to the cosmetic tail docking of dogs because the procedure is unnecessary and compromises the welfare of dogs. Each breed has an arbitrary standard for where the tail should be cut off. ![]() The reason some breeds and not others are docked is simply because of the fashion set for that particular breed. There are over 70 breeds of dog that traditionally have had their tails cut off a few days after birth. The procedure was usually performed at 2-5 days of age the tail is cut off using a pair of scissors or caused to drop off by occluding the blood supply using a tight rubber band. Tail docking is the term given to the surgical removal of puppies’ tails for cosmetic purposes.
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