Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jane on October 11, 2010 at 10:29am

I agree that docking the tail serves almost no function, but that does not mean the standard should be thrown out the window.

The point of the standard is to breed sound, healthy dogs, not just pretty ones. I don't know any reputable breeders who would breed just for looks instead of function. The descriptions of the length of the loin, the way the neck joins the shoulders, the proportions of the dog. the amount of bone, etc, are all there because that is the way the dog functions the best naturally. Not just because it's pretty.

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on October 10, 2010 at 7:40pm

Loving her tail!

Permalink Reply by Tegan, Carol & John on October 10, 2010 at 10:00pm

I would LOVE an undocked Pembroke. Couldn't locate any when we were looking for our puppy. Of course, Tegan is absolute perfection. :)

Permalink Reply by Chris Payerl on October 10, 2010 at 10:15pm

Absolutely!!! If I had my choice I'd leave any dog's ears/tail alone. I think it is terrible that the US still allows docking. Sophie is a rescue, so she came to us at 1 1/2 years already docked; I wish I knew what her tail looked like. A nub is cute, but amputating part of a dog's body for "cute" just doesn't seem very humane to me.

Permalink Reply by justine moeller on October 11, 2010 at 9:21pm

LOVE CORGI TAILS!

Permalink Reply by Karen & David Roth on October 12, 2010 at 9:22am

Question for you breeders: how common is it for Pems to be born with a tail nubbin short enough to meet breed standards for showing in the US? Just wondering if it's often enough that eventually docking can be mostly phased out even if the standard doesn't change.

Permalink Reply by Beth on October 12, 2010 at 12:10pm

Respectfully, how is choosing not to dock caving in to "Animal Rights Pressure"?

I do not consider myself an animal rights proponent. I don't have a problem with carriage horses (as long as they are treated well), hunting, crating dogs, breeding purebreds, and a whole host of things that the animal rights folks generally oppose.

I DO question the need to remove a perfectly healthy tail (something a dog evolved to use as a communication device, after all) strictly for cosmetics. I abhor ear cropping and would not own a cropped breed.

Please do not put all people who are concerned about docking in one big "Animal Rights" bucket so that you can dismiss what we all have to say out of hand.

I wish my dogs had tails. I look at my dog's sire with his tail and I get tail envy. I can tell if my dogs tails would be wagging madly in excitement because the muscles at the base of the absent tail wiggle, but I can't tell when they would be giving me the calm, gentle wave that says so much. I can't tell if they would be flagging or holding their tail straight out behind them when something excites them.

I miss the tail. I grew up with a field-bred Springer Spaniel and understood the logic of docking there (we later had an undocked lab, and yes hunting dogs with tails do come home bleeding on a regular basis).

But I question the reasoning to dock a Pem, and all I can find is tradition.

So no, it's not just "AR pressure". Many reasonable people who are not exactly animal rights activists are not big fans of cosmetic docking, and I would say that several times a month I meet someone who loves my dogs and then asks where the tails are and then makes somewhat horrified faces when I clumsily explain that they are removed at birth, just because.

Permalink Reply by Beth on October 12, 2010 at 12:11pm

Oh, and I am "The general public" and I guess I feel I get to have an opinion about dog breeding, too.

Permalink Reply by Derek on October 12, 2010 at 1:22pm

I bought a cardi because i disagree with the docking of tails, so I would definately buy a puppy from you if i was in the market.

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on October 12, 2010 at 4:46pm

I want to "thank-you" all for your opinions and as you can see I no longer dock and will continue not to. I hope that Sage and I can make a small impact on the Corgi World with obedience rally and as a therapy dog. People are very interested and ask about her tail! I have had a few people that "had to have" a docked pup! I already have my next (someday) pup picked and the breeder will leave her tail on...it will be a bit but that also means there will be more championships behind the sire! At this point I am closing this discussion.

Jane

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