brumwolf

Well it looks like the politicians are taking away some more of our freedom of choice i have heard that in about six months we will no longer be able to dock tails.I personally do not care because to me a dobe is a dobe but what i do care about is that some people are saying that they will leave the breed and that will bother me, i am still reading about it and from what i have gathered so far it will affect the U.S. and Canada also here is a link to our council of docked breeds website to read about it yourselves.http://www.cdb.org/

dobiegurl

What bothers me is that people are wasting their time trying to stop docking/cropping when there are people out there like burning their dogs, and beating them and they have the nerve to say that docking is inhumane. Thats a whole bunch of bull, I'm sure that there are people who cut their own dogs tail with some rusty scissors instead of going to the vet to do it, now thats inhumane, not docking the tails when the puppies don't even feel it.

LapDog

yeah and there are soo many breeds that get their tails docked...I can understand the ban of cropped ears but the tail just seems a little excessive. That IS terrible that they would leave the breed for having to keep their tail...that is also a little excessive. Maybe they shouldnt be dobe owners anyways if they dump the breed just for that.

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greenkouki

black and tan coonhound or doberman?

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Moonlit_Illusions

I agree. I have heard horror stories of people docking the tails themselves, and cutting right through the bone instead of inbetween it. Along with docking the tails themselves when the pups are too old, and of course bone infections.

But you are so right about the real issues basically being put aside. I can't help but wonder about the people who start the bans, if they've ever had a pup cropped or docked at all. I honestly think that animal abuse/neglect/cruelty, whatever it is to be called, should be the real focus. Mainly though, I feel that the spaying and neutering of non-show pets should be a law. I know that there are some great pet quality dogs that can be used in breeding programs, I don't have a problem with that, and I know that reputable/responsible breeders have spay/neuter contracts on their pets. I am talking about strays, animals that come from money hungry breeders, and ignorant owners who don't want to alter their pets, things like that.

When I had my pup's ears cropped, they were awkward(sp?) with it at first, but weren't in constant pain. They were only in pain if they scratched their ears, or bumped into things. Hurray for E collars hehe. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't that how most puppies react if the after care of the proceedure is taken care of properly? I am pretty sure that if it is neglected and not cared for that there would obviously be a higher chance of infection, and of course infections can cause pain.

Meggs

micdobe

I have never used an ecollar on a puppy after ear cropping, and I have never even personally seen anyone use an ecollar on such a puppy.

Murreydobe

Gotta agree with this on all counts. I can't think of a doberman litter I've ever seen where e collars were used after cropping. Can't even imagine the logistics involved with an entire litter of 9-10 puppies all wearing e collars at once.

My own puppies have gotten sock bonnets put on after they're cropped-this does a good job of providing a little cushioning and keeping the cut edges clean.

Murreydobe

It's said a lot of people who bred cropped/docked breeds either moved to another country or switched to another breed when c/d was outlawed in Germany..I've personally emailed with breeders there who said they had a very difficult time placing puppies after that-people didn't want them.

As a doberman owner (and known to be a very good dobe owner), I dunno...I suppose I could learn to live with uncropped ears, but I really, really wouldn't be happy about it. But those tails..I didn't sign on for that! I can't think of anything that changes and diminishes the appearance of a doberman more than an undocked tail-and I just don't think I could live with it.

I've lived with and loved other breeds with tails, where the tail is...appropriate, the body of the dog was designed for a tail-good chance I'd make the switch back to one of those breeds if docking ever became illegal where I live.

micdobe

I feel the opposite, I think I could live with the tails better than the hanging ears. I've never liked hanging ears, on any breed. If they could breed them to be rose ears like Greyhounds, I could stand it, I think. Some uncropped Dobermans now have rose ears, so the gene is there. What I really don't want to be looking at every day is hanging hound ears.

I think that eventually if no Dobermans in this country are cropped, the head shape will change to go along with the hanging ears. I don't think it will necessarily be done consciously, but I do think it will happen.

The same with the tails. A Pointer looks "right" with a tail, a Cocker looks unbalanced with a long tail. I think the bodies would change to accomodate the tails also. I never imagined Dobermans would have those curled ring tails that they have. I thought their tails would be like Pointer tails. Even Rottweilers have more attractive tails.

Murreydobe

That would be a real shame, and just one more reason for me to look to another breed. You could be right, tho...I personally believe the doberman head as it is today was "designed" for cropped ears, the heads might have been designed to be very different if the breed had been meant to have drop ears. So if/when that option was completely removed, heads very well might evolve into a design more compatible with hanging ears (which I've never cared for on any breed, either). I can't say I've ever been wild about the appearance of dobes with rose ears, either.

My Malinois was very doberman-ly in many ways, I could live with another one without any problem...that breed would become more and more attractive to me if we couldn't crop/dock dobermans.