I've recently read on another post about this subject, that working dogs tails were docked to avoid damage to the tail.

I do not want to start another discussion about the rights and wrongs of docking; I'm just curious as to why certain Gundogs, i.e. Springer Spaniel. Weirmaraner etc are docked, and Labs and Retreivers aren't? As in the Pastoral Group, Old English are docked but not others?

Regards

Liberty

A Springer's place of work is in heavy cover. That is the kind of going Springer’s love and excel at. Unfortunately that is also the place where most tail damage is done. A Springer, working on a shoot would be luck to get through the first day without splitting its tail.

In general the Retrievers work in more open ground and therefore are not at the same risk of damage although towards the end of last season my Anna opened her tail hunting up a bird in Blackthorn and from then on damaged it on every subsequent outing even though it would start the day bandaged up.

Whilst agreeing that a docked tail MAY not be quite so important to a pet dog as far as working Springer’s are concerned, an undocked dog stands a pretty fair risk of having to have the tail amputated later, at which time it is a rather more serious operation.

John

Some breeds could be born with bobtails. There are still many breeds today who are born with naturally short tails, so I don't think that it was always the case that it was just because the dogs were working breeds that their tails were docked. I could be well and truly wrong here, any ideas anyone? Maybe at some point many of the other breeds who are docked today could have been born with short tails. Does anybody know??? Actually I would love to find out.

I have a breed who can be born with very short tails. I've just had a litter where 1 of my boys has hardly any tail and his sister has a slightly longer tail. Most of the litters born in this country have had litters where a number of them have been born naturally with short tails. Many of my breed are being worked so at the moment they are still having their tails legally docked.

Hi

As far as I am aware the Old English historically had its tail docked as it was a drovers dog and as such exempt from taxes, in order for owners to show their dogs were tax exempt they docked the tails...........I think as a result of this the breed standard was written and ever since Old english have tails docked a few days after birth !

jude