Current Events > C/D: cropping dogs' ears and "docking" their tails is animal cruelty

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C

Docking tails is when they basically cut the dog's tail off when it's a puppy. Cropping ears is... idk how to explain it, but it's painful, unnecessary vanity surgery that a dog doesn't want or need.

Their excuse is that they feel it will help to preserve the authenticity of the breeds or something ridiculous.
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Isn't there a breed that can break its own tail if it wags too hard? Guess it'd be ok for that or some similar situation, but yeah, vanity reasons are pretty gross.
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Total C
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We had an Australian Shepard with a docked tail when I was younger, but they do it with sheep herding breeds because it is less likely that the tail will get stepped on and infected, so it actually serves a purpose.

I can see merit behind the practices only if the dog actually works or hunts. If you're docking tails or ears just for your dog to sit beside you on the couch then that's just plain old animal cruelty.
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I didn't get my pitbulls tail or ears done and now her big dumb floppy ears give her problems and she's always growling and chasing her tail trying to chew it off because it angers her so idk.

C for ears

D for tails. Some breeds have to have their tails docked for their own safety. My buddy once had an American Bulldog and he decided not to dock. Not only would that tail whip inflict legit damage on people, his tail would also whip hard enough on concrete or other hard surfaces that it would break open and bleed all over the place.
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as barbaric as circumcision, so C

Uh, C, duh.
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Some vets won't do it.
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WhinyZach posted...

Animal cruelty for sure. I grew up with a guy who used dogs for hunting and would crop the tail so it wouldnt make noises in the bushes.

What's wrong with that? A lot of dogs are bred to be workers.
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C on ears, D on docking tails. For certain breeds, anyway.
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WhinyZach posted...

Makes you wonder why the species never evolved to have a shorter tail or something.

Dog breeds are a recent man-made thing, anyway, many breeds have traits that are harmful to the dog. That's not counting illnesses many of them are likely to get. Many dog breeds whose tails are docked, such as the Australian Shepherd, are starting to be born with docked tails.
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C in any cases where it's purely cosmetic
D in any cases where it's for the dogs safety/health later on it life
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C.
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I just don't get why they do it. Especially the cut off tails, looks terrible.
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sktgamer_13dude posted...

C in any cases where it's purely cosmetic
D in any cases where it's for the dogs safety/health later on it life

This is the only sensible perspective
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D.
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--kresnik-- posted...

unnecessary vanity surgery

like circumcisions?
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I have two rottweilers, never had their tails docked even though its a traditional thing for rotties.
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Never clip dog ears.

Tails, depends if the breed has known issues with leaving them on, or if they're going to be put to work.
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Medical issues are one thing. Putting a dog "to work" isn't worth cutting its tail off.
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aren't clipped ears less prone to infections in certain breeds?
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--kresnik-- posted...

Medical issues are one thing. Putting a dog "to work" isn't worth cutting its tail off.

Tell that to a farmer whose herding dog's tail just got mangled from being stepped on.
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I have Rottweilers and it seems every breeder cuts off their tails almost immediately. I've never found a breeder who didn't. I don't get it

nativengine posted...

I have Rottweilers and it seems every breeder cuts off their tails almost immediately. I've never found a breeder who didn't. I don't get it

Neither do I, the only time it's been an issue is when Clyde is excited for a snack after coming inside and accidentally whacks me in the balls.
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WhinyZach posted...

voldothegr8 posted...

C for ears

D for tails. Some breeds have to have their tails docked for their own safety. My buddy once had an American Bulldog and he decided not to dock. Not only would that tail whip inflict legit damage on people, his tail would also whip hard enough on concrete or other hard surfaces that it would break open and bleed all over the place.

Makes you wonder why the species never evolved to have a shorter tail or something.

Selective breeding sort of gets in the way of natural selection.
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sktgamer_13dude posted...

C in any cases where it's purely cosmetic
D in any cases where it's for the dogs safety/health later on it life

This.
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darkcloud posted...

I didn't get my pitbulls tail or ears done and now her big dumb floppy ears give her problems and she's always growling and chasing her tail trying to chew it off because it angers her so idk.

i like the way the pitbull looks but i have run into a problem with them :(. had to take the dog to the vet twice because of an aural hematoma (somehow it managed to hit the blood vessels in its ear to cause it to fill up). first time they tried to drain the ear and gave specific instructions plus medications that didn't work. had to bring it in a second time to do surgery overall it costed about 500$ supposed to bring it in soon hopefully the problem clears (the ear right now looks pretty good).

happened during a vulnerable time too, lost nearly half my savings as a result.
described as being hell month 2.0
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D

It's nowhere near as invasive as spaying/neutering (where you're removing actual organs) and recovery time is not as long. I have a four year old Cane Corso, the breed's tail is docked and ears are cropped. I had her ears done at 12 weeks, she was running around playing like nothing happened shortly after the procedure. No hematomas and recurring ear infections here, used to stay with ear infections with my Rottweiler.




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Taharqa_ posted...

It's nowhere near as invasive as spaying/neutering (where you're removing actual organs) and recovery time is not as long

spaying/neutering is for health and population reasons.

the reason why shelters kill tons of animals is because people don't spay/neuter them.

If you attempt to adopt an animal from a shelter, they won't give it to you unless you pay for the spaying/neutering because they know if you don't then in a few months the dog/cat they gave you is going to send 10x as many more back to their shelter.
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ChromaticAngel posted...

Taharqa_ posted...

It's nowhere near as invasive as spaying/neutering (where you're removing actual organs) and recovery time is not as long

spaying/neutering is for health and population reasons.

the reason why shelters kill tons of animals is because people don't spay/neuter them.

If you attempt to adopt an animal from a shelter, they won't give it to you unless you pay for the spaying/neutering because they know if you don't then in a few months the dog/cat they gave you is going to send 10x as many more back to their shelter.

Spaying/neutering is perfectly fine if done at around sexual maturity. Most people tend to do it at a very early age, and IMO the risks to the dog's development and complications later in life is not worth spaying/neutering before maturity. Dogs need those hormones when their bodies are developing. I'd personally never spay/neuter again before the dog is 16-18 months old.
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JRaasin posted...

WhinyZach posted...

voldothegr8 posted...

C for ears

D for tails. Some breeds have to have their tails docked for their own safety. My buddy once had an American Bulldog and he decided not to dock. Not only would that tail whip inflict legit damage on people, his tail would also whip hard enough on concrete or other hard surfaces that it would break open and bleed all over the place.

Makes you wonder why the species never evolved to have a shorter tail or something.

Selective breeding sort of gets in the way of natural selection.

Bulldogs are specifically bred to maintain their recognizable traits.

Honestly, they're disgusting, ugly dogs and I'll never understand why people like them. They are genetically skull-fucked by the breeding process just so to have the traits idiot consumers want.
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SolKarellen posted...

I'll never understand why people like them

if you never owned one, you wouldn't be able to understand.
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