The Importance Of Ear Tail Docking

Dog is man’s best friend; they are kind, they are loyal, and they never laugh when they see you practicing your new dance moves. Dog owners across this country, however, deem it fair to have their “best friends” undergo unnecessary, painful surgeries. Ear cropping and tail docking, the process of cutting off the ears and tails of dogs to look a certain way, is wrong and cruel to our pets. Tail docking, when done by a veterinarian, is a procedure in which a puppy, only a few days old at the time, has his or her tail cut off by a sharp knife. Another method of tail docking, though less popular, requires tying a rubber band around the tail and waiting for lack of blood circulation to make the end of the tail fall off on its own. Ear cropping …show more content…
Granted, it is hard to assess the pain a procedure causes an animal since they cannot talk, but the Washington Post found that after doing the tail docking procedure on puppies, all 50 vocalized pain and struggled against the vet. Much of Europe and Australia have put extreme regulations on cosmetic procedures for dogs, or have banned them altogether. During the tail docking procedure, puppies are very vocal in their pain and discomfort, squealing and whimpering as the vet cuts off their tails. Pets MD reported that the puppies are not yet fully aware of their surroundings, gaining their sight at four to five weeks and their hearing at two to three weeks. While some tail docking supporters view this as an advantage, this is just cruelty. Unable to understand its surroundings, this procedure could cause a dog to be more skittish if it already has an anxiety disorder or mental instabilities. Tails are vital to communication for dogs and puppies. Wagging the tail predominantly to the right indicates a relaxed dog who is safe to approach, while wagging the tail predominantly to the left indicates an anxious dog who is more likely to act aggressively if approached. Unless, of course, you have a dog like mine whose tail just wags in circles like the propeller on a helicopter. The lack of a tail in dogs with bobbed tails are less likely to convey these messages …show more content…
Home-done ear cropping and tail docking can lead to serious misshapen extremities and infections that are even more serious. Pistol, the pit bull puppy whom the Maricopa County Animal Control rescued, or MCAC for short, had a home-done ear-cropping job. AZ Family interviewed an MCAC worker and found that the animal shelter suspects that a pair of scissors was used to carve the puppy’s ears. The MCAC found the puppy with severe infections that were treated, and the veterinarians prescribed him pain medications to combat Pistol’s agony. This is not the only case of DIY ear cropping. PETA reported a case of a home-cropping job gone array in October of 2011. This dog, another pit bull, had its ears mutilated by her breeder who had then sold the dog to her current owner. She got the medical assistance she needed, but home cropping jobs like these happen far too often. In addition to infections, dogs who undergo tail docking could also succumb to neuroma, nerve tumors. Pets MD says that neuroma, “can cause pain and make your dog snappy if her tail is touched,” which can be dangerous to both a dog and its master. Neuroma such as this, which makes it extremely uncomfortable for you to touch a dog’s tail, is unsafe for owners, especially for those with small children. Kids and infants do not understand the boundaries dogs and other pets will have, so they will use them as