we where at club last night and sitting with a couple who breed jack russels and we got on about docking and they said the law will never come in before we are dead and buried,
when i said i thought it was law this april they just laughed and said yes whatever, and we carried on our conversation about how the dogs where working well in agility etc,
but it got me and my OH wondering, i don't think i have seen an advert or posters or any info to say about the docking ban,
if you are not into the breed scene and just breed your dogs to go to pet homes etc, or do not read the dog papers etc, has it been advertised,
our local pet shop manager when i asked him today if he had leaflets etc about no docking he said he did  know there was a bill against docking coming into parliment but it would never get through.
Has any one else come up against people that don't know about this just wondering
carolann

my vet wouldnt dock my puppies last week beacuse of issues on this and it a very grey area at the moment so my pups have tails.

one good thing that come out about not docking they tail i can show them aboard now.

Go to the council of dog website they have plenty of information there http://www.cdb.org

i don't need the info really, as not going to have a litter, and i am not against or for it, but just wondering when if any advertising will be promoting it for people that do not know about it.
carolann

It's a very good point actually. Joe Bloggs down the road who breeds a litter of Jack Russells, or any working terrier breed, who does not read the dog papers, WILL they know that the ban is coming in? Do they even know they can't dock their pups themselves any more and haven't been able to for a while, do we know they haven't continued to do so?

Well i should hope they realise when the vet refuses to dock after april! I actually come across more people thinking it has been banned for years anyway. In terms of people doing it themselves i just hope the message will eventually filter down, it will most likely be in the normal papers when the bill is passed.

Some people do still dock their own litters - the owners of the hydrotherapy centre I did a work placement at last year have an explosives search dog company, they have one litter of springers a year and dock the pups themselves.

i know plenty of people who dock all their own working pups at 2 days old & have no idea its wrong....they also do their lambs tails & certainly would never understand the logic in one being legal & the other not!!   but then there is no logic is there

My vet refuses to dock non-working dogs but said despite numerous people coming in asking him to dock litters of rottie, dobes, etc and him refusing, they always come back for vaccinations with docked tails.  I feel that there could be a large number of people who do their own or know a man who can.

The bill is only against vets that do it too as I enuired with the Scottish Parliament re. how I was to prove that my natural bobtail pups are just that and they said it is not in the documentation and it's not for me to prove it as the only people they will be after is the vets that dock

I was speaking to a friend today, who is thinking of adding another Rottie (already got one)   to his home,  when I said to him,    well just remember,  your next Rottie, will have a tail,  he was gobsnacked   , he did not believe me,  he knew nothing about the bill, and could or would not get his head round the fact, he just  kept saying, but i will get one with a tail, because I dont show.  no matter what I  said  he did not beleive me, 

I was speaking to a canine society's secretary today who also was not aware of the ban in this country on 6th April. What's more - they breed a traditionally docked breed of dog!