Re: Dog tails
 

I think this post sums up my feelings exactly.

Re: Dog tails
 

Banning the KC would be a huge step forward in improving the lives of all dog breeds. What they have done to breeds like the German Shepherd & English Bulldog is nothing short of criminal!

HH

Re: Dog tails
 

Because she is very cute, lol

Joking apart, I am in two minds about it. My dog has very intense "nurturing and mothering" instincts.. she has phantom pregnancies to an extent that she has milk, starts nesting, has "puppies" (her 2 favourite rubber toys), protects them and takes care of them (to the point whereby she won't leave them to eat) just as if they were real and alive. This goes on for 6-7 weeks, when she finally loses most interest and will leave them alone for hours (although she still has to have them with her at night).

I have done some investigation and whilst neutering her may alleviate this, there are no guarantees and she may continue behaving the same way regardless. Having a litter of puppies may also alleviate this, but no guarantees. Before anyone says "take her toys away, it will stop it" let me tell you we have tried that - it doesn't help at all, and she just cries and searches the house for hours looking for them before "adopting" anything that she can find and carry, be it a sock, shoe, book or whatever.

Part of me wants to let her be a Mum as she is so good at it.. the other part of me thinks of all the unwanted puppies out there.

I know you are going to ask why I haven't had her neutered already.. the answer being that a) she doesn't interact with male dogs at all, and so cannot get pregnant (I don't think she would let one near her, fussy mare) and b) I just don't have the spare cash to pay for it at the moment.

:unsure:

Re: Dog tails
 

completely agree, i think the kc have got a hell of a lot to answer for!!!!!

one of my girls was like this, we thought she would make such a good mum, we let her have a litter, and she was completely flummoxed as to what she had to do and she kept sitting on them an just didnt seem interested at all, after a couple of weeks she seemed fine an got on with it, we didnt breed from her again purely because she always looked really uncomfortable with the pups an she only had 6 to worry about, so didnt want to put her through it again, had her done and she never had another false preg.
the two girls i have now i let have a season then had them done an they've never had a false preg as yet and theyre 5 now.

i think physologically for her it would be kinder to either let her have a litter or get her "done", the fact she's having a false preg to the point where she producin milk must do her head in, an taking her "babies" away would be cruel in itself cos to her they're her real babies.
but as you say the amount of unwanted pups - depends on the age and breed - what is she?
isnt there any organisations that could help you get it done cheaper?

Re: Dog tails
 

How do you think dogs acquired those whippy tails in the first place? It wasn't through darwinian natural selection.

Re: Dog tails
 

I've got a boy dog and I got him fixed at 6 months, he got a really bad infection and was really poorly, we thought he was going to die, so no I'm not going ask why you haven't got her fixed already.

If you have a purebreed with papers and you carry out tests to make sure she has no genetical defect to pass on and you breed with a dog that has had the same tests, then the puppies will have the best chance in life that you could give them.

Our boy is purebred, we met both parents, there are however no papers, we have no idea if Henry will be prone to hip displaysia as he ages as the owners never hip scored their chows, we could only go by what we could see with our own eyes, we could see neither parent had entropian. We were happy to pay what we did for Henry considering the risk we were taking, if we were to buy from a registered breeder, I would expect all sorts of terms and conditions and health reports on both parents and preferably grandparents. Just something to bear in m ind if you do decide to breed.


I would love to be able to breed chows BUT i'm not sure if I could sell the babies:eek:

Re: Dog tails
 

I imagine you are referring to "Prong" or "Pinch" collars & used properly they are significantly less dangerous than "Choke Chains" (The clue is in the name.).
The pinch does not stick into the dogs neck, they aren't "barbs", they are rounded "prongs". When the dog pulls the prongs lay flat & gently pinch the dogs' neck, simulating the mother nipping to correct them. They should not be left on the dog & should only be used for walking. As soon as the dog has learnt basic walking skills they should be replaced by a conventional collar.
I was concerned about them but we have a rescued American Bulldog, she was so seriously abused before we got her (she was thrown out of a moving car on the highway because she refused to fight, they arrested the bastard that did it, he got a fine:frown:) that she was terrified of everything, the only way we could eventually begin to socialise her was with a pinch collar, had we been stupid enough to use a choke she would have killed herself on her first walk.
I was concerned about all of the reactionary bollocks I read about them so I adjusted one & put it around my (unfurred) neck in the store, they do not "stick in". Used properly (with a break away) they do considerably less damage to a dogs trachea than a rolled or thin leather collar.
We also have an English Bull Terrier & due to his nature a pinch collar would be totally unsuitable for him.

As for mutilating a dog because of some apocryphal cobblers about it being better for it, unless it's a guard dog in a rocking chair factory, I call bullshit.
Both of our dogs are spayed & neutered (one of each), there are enough unwanted dogs out there.
They also have their ears, tails & all of their toes..

Just a quick edit. There are collars that have triangular teeth inside (triple crown collars), these are utterly barbaric & shouldn't be confused with prong/pinch collars.

Re: Dog tails
 

i wasnt disputing how the dogs got the tails in the first place - you'd said breeders have bred these dogs to have thin wippy tails just to cut them off,

depending on the breed depends on whether or not any interest is shown in the tail at all, i dare say a breeder of a dog thats renowned for being complete and having a noticably curly tail for eg is going to follow the kc breed standard an make sure they breed a dog with said tail to gain points at dog show like crufts for eg

a breeder who breeds dogs that the tails are normally docked wont be too concerned what the tails like until such time that there is a complete ban.

Re: Dog tails
 

For the record, I view chopping any bits off dogs or children, except bollocks in the case of a dog, as barbaric.

Re: Dog tails
 

Why is that not barbaric too then?

Re: Dog tails
 

Is a vasectomy barbaric?

Re: Dog tails
 

If the person having the OP consents to it, No, if the person doesn`t, yes.

I would like to know how lobbing the dog`s balls off without its permission is any different to lobbing its tail off without its permission. Now if a dog with a whippy tail could speak to let the owner know that it preferred a stub, or the dog that no longer wanted its balls could do likewise, I would agree with what DBD has said.

Otherwise, are both being done to satisfy their human owners?

Re: Dog tails
 

No. Savage but necessary in the light of the consequences of not doing it. There's no dire consequence to not chopping the ears, tails, claws or foreskin off one's dog or child.

Re: Dog tails
 

Because despite the best efforts of owners dogs want to make more dogs without us electing when, where & how. There are over 12 million dogs destroyed in North America every year, Canada doesn't need any more unplanned canine pregnancies. Neutering dogs is not comparable to the North American obsession with the genital mutilation of male children, perhaps that would be a more worthy topic for your marvellous obtuseness...;)

Re: Dog tails
 

I think neutering is the least worst option available, given the above mentioned situation regarding over supply of dogs. Of course the dog cannot give consent for the procedure, no more than it can give consent to what it eats, where it lives and ultimately how it is treated. The animal is at the mercy of the human who has elected to care for it. I think that neutering is the most responsible option for the dog owner.