Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on January 8, 2010 at 8:31pm

Thank-you! Much of the world does not dock and it's starting to "catch on" here but things are a little slower! There are some large vet clinics now that are refusing to dock and crop! YEAH!

Permalink Reply by Beth on January 8, 2010 at 8:44pm

I can't abide by the ear-cropping.

I prefer a tail but I can see a functional purpose to dock in some breeds. I don't know that I would like to see docking outlawed, but I would like to see the standard change to allow tails!

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on January 8, 2010 at 9:12pm

Yes, Beth
I am thinking that they will still allow some docking in certain breeds as it can be a safety issue. All I want also is to at least give people the option and I do believe with corgis that they can't disqualify you just because your Corgi has a tail!

Permalink Reply by Terri F. on January 9, 2010 at 5:32pm

We had puppies last June and due to whelping problems the puppies lost weight and our friend that whelped them (with years of experience) felt the puppies were not strong enough to go through the trauma of docking their tales. At four days they still were not up to birth weight and having to be supplemented by bottle. So we had three puppies with tales. We have kept one and we get many comments on his tail......mostly positive. When they see him with his tail and his mom without they wonder WHY they do dock the tails. I must admit I was pretty despondant over not getting the tails docked....I had no problem selling the other two puppies with tails.

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on January 9, 2010 at 5:49pm

Thanks for sharing your experience Terri! I would love to find an undocked female! I will not be docking my litter that is due in Feb. either! I love their tails!

Permalink Reply by Potus on January 9, 2010 at 9:34pm

I'm pretty sure ear docking is illegal in Australia too. There was a case last year when someone hacked off a puppy' ears and tail and then abandoned it and everyone was outraged. The dog is fine now, in a loving home, and is now practically the poster child for the RSPCA.

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on January 9, 2010 at 9:59pm

Oh I am so glad that the puppy is in a "safe"and loving home!!!!! Why are people such idiots???

Permalink Reply by Beth on January 10, 2010 at 1:26pm

Historically, yes, but many of the cropped breeds were cropped because they were involved in fighting of some sort.

Cropping is actually a rather nasty practice, IMO. Docking is not so bad as it's a once-and-done thing and the pups are only days old. But cropping is fairly major surgery where large sections of the ear are removed....

Well, here you go, back to Danes:

http://www.all-about-great-danes.com/great-dane-ear-cropping.html

Ears are typically cropped between 7 and 10 weeks of age, if your Great Dane is older than 12 weeks, it's almost too late. Finding a Vet to perform the crop at this age will be very difficult!

General anesthesia is used to sedate the pup allowing the surgeon to remove over 1/2 of the dog's ear. The ears are either taped-up with medical dressing, or held in place with foam and glue after the surgery. In about 8 to 10-days, the stitches are removed. The Vet will now tape your dog's ears rigidly, in an upright position.

You will now be responsible to clean, tape, and re-tape your Dane's ears for about 6 months on average.


If you are going boar-hunting with your Dane, I highly recommend the procedure. Otherwise, not so much.

Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on January 10, 2010 at 2:48pm

OH, I totally agree with the ear cropping! Docking I still don't love (although I love the little wiggle butts, I hate that they had their tails physically removed, I'd much rather have a natural bob), but ear cropping I just can't abide by. If I ever got into a breed that cropped, I don't think I could do it. When I get into the showing and breeding Aussies like I want to, I will have a hard enough time docking those little puppies, but unfortunately the Aussie standard does state a tail no longer than 4 inches, so I don't know how easy it would be to finish a dog with a tail. If I get good enough at breeding stellar dogs though, someday, I would really like to try to have a great, correct dog with a tail and make a big splash! Or maybe even import some good dogs and try to introduce a natural bob into my lines... but I have a long time and a lot of learning before I would get to that point. ;)

Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on January 10, 2010 at 3:18pm

If you want a breed that requires cropping you will have the same problem that people who want an undocked corgi. My son did not want his doberman cropped but the breeder would not sell an uncropped pup. It was more important to him to get a well bred dobe than to take a chance on a less serious breeder that would not crop. I would prefer whatever nature intended in most cases but I think it will eventually be taken out of our hands legislatively.

Permalink Reply by Buddy Bear on January 9, 2010 at 8:37pm

Hi Jane,

We live in Minnesota too. We have gotten both of our corgis from a breeder in Russell Minnesota. Almost to Marshall. The name of the breeder is Peterson Farms. Here is their web address: http://www.itsmysite.com/cgi-bin/itsmy/go.exe?page=21&domain=1&...

They have some cute ones for sale right now. Differnt sire and dam than our two pups but we have been to the farm twice and all the dogs seem great. They also have new puppies that were whelped on Thanksgiving so they should have new pictures on their site soon.

We have been very happy with both our corgis and I would definately recommend them to any one looking. Plus it beats driving out of state!

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on January 9, 2010 at 8:57pm

Thank you for the info...I will check it out! I can't get a pup till later this summer but I am contacting breeders and checking various ones out! Marshall is not too far from where we live!

Thanks again and it's always nice to see people from Minnesota on this site! Welcome!

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