How do you feel about the docking the tails or cropping ears of dogs for cosmetic reasons?

seems pointless.

I hate it myself. I wish one could find a Dobie without cropped ears (though I have heard their tails are problematic.)

I think it is pointless to do it for purely cosmetic reasons, but how do you know (without directly asking the dog owner) if it is purely cosmetic? My friend has a greyhound, and she got into an accident and had to have her tail amputated. So now all she is left with is a little stump. Will people passing her on the street assume that my friend just got her tail docked for cosmetic reasons?

What I’m saying is, if it is something you know was done for purely cosmetic reasons, it just doesn’t seem right. But people may not always know the whole story behind the docking or cropping.

Well, we know, to go back to the example of Dobermans, that if a breeder doesn’t crop and dock, they can’t show, because the dog won’t meet the standard, and you can’t tell at 6 weeks which pup will show and which will be a pet, so you do all of them. That means it’s very hard to find a Dobie with its own ears, and I think we can assume that it is all cosmetic.

America us far behind many other Western nations when it comes to treatment of animals. I think the vet and animal welfare people need to work toward banning such procedures. If the procedure is made illegal many of the ignorant will actually realize the harm it does. I’d also like to add declawing to that list.

The AKC people are culpable as well. Aren’t some breed standards clipped?

I think it is not right to mutilate any animal for the convenience of human vanity.
This includes de-clawing cats.

I think that same rule should apply here in the US. I’ve seen some get done at home, it is really disturbing. It was done with sissors (don’t know how to spell it) and the dog was a puppy, not even 2 months old! It was a Chihuaha. And they also did his ears. I am not all that against it when the doctors do it for specific medical reasons, but people who do it by themselves with no experience whatsoever are stupid. They can get the dogs ears or tail infected.

I was once asked of my dog, whose tail was cropped by his previous owners, if his mother had bitten his tail off when he was a puppy.

It’s cruel and as said above, pointless. Trouble is, you get used to seeing things and take it for granted that’s just the way they’re supposed to be. As a kid, I thought particular dogs were born with cropped ears and tails, it never ocurred to me it was done as a surgery for cosmetic purposes.

The boxer I had before my new boxer had her ears cropped. I adopted her, so they had already cropped them, but it was a terrible job. Apparently, the owners never went back to get the stitches out, so the skin grew over the stitches. Why spend that much money and not do it correctly? I think it is cruel, but I am starting to notice a trend where they have stopped cropping boxer ears, at least around here, most still have their natural ears.

Originally the docking and cropping had a purpose. Dobes and Rotts were bred to be guard dogs and ears and tails were something for an intruder to grab ahold of and injure or deter the dog. Hunting dogs had tails done so they don’t beat them bloody going through bush also they pick up burrs which can be embedded. Dogs who pulled carts had tails done so the tail would not get injured in the traces, terriers so they would not be injured as they backed out of holes, bull dogs ears so they would not get gored. In Europe, dogs with tails were considered non-working dogs and taxed, dogs without tails usually worked for a living and were not a luxury therefore not taxed.

In today’s world it is simply a continuation of these traditions. I personally like the sleek look of cropped ears. In almost all cases it is done by a vet under anesthesia, unless of course you are an amish farmer with a puppy mill in which case it is the puppy mill that is cruel.

I think if you don’t like it, don’t have it done. But don’t waste energy fighting against it,
instead use the energy to fight the real animal cruelty that exists all over this world, said amish puppy milss, the dog fighting, live exportation of livestock, factory farming of chickens, hogs, cattle etc.. Some terrible treatment is endured by animals in this world so to me cosmetic surgery may not be your thing but it is not cruelty in the true sense of the world.

I own a blue pitbull and a lot of owners crop this type of dog’s ears. I chose not to. Why inflict pain on an animal unnecessarily? Just to make them look the way you want? That’s ridiculous. Dogs don’t care what they look like. They just want an owner that cares about them. I’m sure if dogs could talk, they’d all vote no for ear and tail cropping.

Not my problem. If people want to dock the tails or ears of their dog, I don’t have a problem with it. I’m a little tired of people forcing their morality on others for something that really is none of their damn concern.

I think if you don’t like it, don’t have it done. But don’t waste energy fighting against it, instead use the energy to fight the real animal cruelty that exists all over this world, said amish puppy mills, the dog fighting, live exportation of livestock, factory farming of chickens, hogs, cattle etc. Some terrible treatment is endured by animals in this world so to me cosmetic surgery may not be your thing but it is not cruelty in the true sense of the world. @rooeytoo, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

O course, I’ll get attacked because of my position, but I don’t care. Doing cosmetic surgery to kids is one things, but to pets, that’s something else.

@evelyns_pet_zebra: I’m with you on the fighting the bigger animal cruelty, but I don’t think that this is a “little” thing. If we liken this unnecessary mutilation to humans, your stance sounds like, “Who cares about female genital mutilation when there are human traffickers out there!” Yes the second problem(s) mentioned (in both cases) are more dire, but that doesn’t mean that the first problem mentioned shouldn’t be dealt with as well.

I hope this doesn’t count as attacking. i really was trying to be as rational as possible.

@evelyns_pet_zebra So you’re against cosmetic surgery on children but pets don’t make the cut? They aren’t important enough for you to care about? They can’t exactly TELL their owners how absolutely ridiculous it is for them to get surgery on their ears or tails just to get that specific “look”. Of course there are bigger issues in the world as far as animal abuse goes but this shouldn’t be brushed under the rug.

If someone insists on having cosmetic surgery done on their animal, then they should at least have it done by a vet who is trained to do it.

Personally, I refuse to subject my pets to any more medical procedures or vet visits than necessary to keep them healthy and happy. They have no idea why I would want to do something like cut their tails off, and, unless the tail is abscessed or injured, it certainly won’t make the animal happier, so I don’t do it.

I really feel sorry for Pamela Anderson, all that cosmetic surgery she had is ruining her posture and giving her a backache, carrying those heavy things around all the time!

Now that is cruelty :- {

@rooeytoo – But she is able to give informed consent, so she is only being cruel to herself.

@Darwin – that was a feeble attempt at humor.

I know you are opposed to cropping and docking and I don’t think in the overall scheme of things that it is a biggy.

So you give your opinion and I give mine and hopefully whoever asked the question will weigh the responses and it will help them to make the decision that is right for them.

In the meantime, let’s all band together and boycott factory farmed meat wrapped in plastic. This will help to stop real animal cruelty and save the environment as well.

@rooeytoo – I figured as much, but I did want to point out that however dumb her decisions, Pamela Anderson is a sentient being.

As I have said before, I won’t do it to my pets. I am not, however, going to lecture anyone who does it to their pets as long as they use the safe and careful services of a vet. I know the historical reasons for cropping and docking, and I can admire a dog so treated, but since my dogs don’t perform work that puts tails or ears at risk, and because I don’t have to adhere to any standard other than a healthy dog is a happy dog, I won’t do it.

I think it is pointless and inhumane. My bff had a Doberman that she left natural, and she was a gorgeous and smart dog.

Barbaric—for the humans that do it.

There’s a nicely comprehensive article about the subject here.

Pointless

Absolute insanity. They are dogs, get over your problems, and treat the species with respect.

I wouldn’t do it. If the breed are born with floppy ears and with tails, then leave them alone!

I got a Min Pin in 2005, and when doing my research, I knew I wanted one with an undocked tail, and his ears intact. It was near impossible to find one with his tail :( I have noticed it becoming less common among the min pins I see.

My min pin had a terrible job of it done, one time we entered him in a “shortest tail” contest, and they said he didn’t even have a tail, because the people had cut it clear off..he doesn’t even have a real “nubbin’” as we call it. It’s just a little bit of skin. Way too short.
I think it helps some animals, with the ears…but I’m not well educated in any dogs but min pins when it comes to that.

@ItalianPrincess1217 While I care about animals, and think docking tails and ears is an unnecessary practice, it still isn’t cruelty if done properly. Too many people are too quick to judge certain procedures as cruel with no knowledge beforehand. I am a hunter, and I eat the animals I kill. I have been accused of being a barbarian and a psycho because I willingly shoot animals to death in order to eat them. I don’t have to justify my dietary choices to anyone. You call me what you like, I don’t care and I won’t be inviting you to dinner anytime soon.

While I own a dog with cropped ears and a cropped tail, she came that way; I didn’t pay to have it done. If I got another dog of that breed, I probably wouldn’t do it, because it is unnecessary. If I did want it done, I’d make sure it was done by a qualified person that did it using a painless procedure.

If other people want to do it, what gives me the right to say that they can’t? When do my morals suddenly have more value than the morals of others? I am not the sort who finds it my business to tell others what they can or cannot do, as long as what they do is not illegal. Docking dog’s tails and ears is NOT illegal; unneccessary, perhaps, but then, so is piercing infant girls’ ears, which I think is also pointless.

Self-righteousness is the only unforgivable sin, in my opinion.

The true definition of barbarian is: One who destroys that which he does not understand.

I can’t stand cropping and docking. I have the most gorgeous Dobie in the world, and I had to be very firm with the breeder to leave his ears natural. At 6 weeks of age, his 5 brothers and sisters were whisked away to get their ears cropped. So if you want a dog with natural ears, you have to lodge the request with the breeder right away.

It is a sad stupid thing that we do to them for silly reasons.

And a PS—any good book on dog development will tell you the 6–8 week stage in a puppy’s life is crucial for his social development. That’s why they like you to leave the pup with his litter until 8 weeks. He’s learning to socialize with other dogs. If you rip him from his litter and subject him to a traumatic surgery, he’s going to be isolated and in pain at a very critical age. Every day he loses with his litter and mom is a day of missing out on crucial development. So behavior problems are more likely in a dog that’s been subjected to cropping surgery, stitches, and all the attendant post-op stuff. See banfield.net for a press release announcing that the chain of vet clinics has banned cropping and docking. Yay.

@evelyns_pet_zebra: On a side note: I’m actually a vegetarian because we do not obtain meat through hunting. Hunting helps the evolution of both the species being hunted and the species doing the hunting, but eating meat from a pen just halts evolution.

Just to set the record straight, tails are usually done at a couple of days old, they are not removed from littermates or mom, she usually goes along for the ride.

Ears are done at around 7 weeks and the pups are not separated from each other except during the actual surgery. At that age they are being weaned so being away from mom for a couple of hours is not a big deal.

If you show dogs you have it done, end of story. As I said above I don’t buy the “cruelty” part. But if you do, so be it.

I think it is a good idea. If an owner thinks it is beautiful s/he should stand up and represent, Get your dog’s ears cropped at the same time you get yours cropped.

Mine are, my ears look just like my avatar’s. I do have 3 piercings in one ear and 2 in the other, she only has some bows in her ears but hopes to get them pierced soon.

If you want to know if cropping ears is cruel, get a job at a veterinary clinic holding screaming puppies when they wake up from surgery. Then come talk to me.

@syz That’s horrible.

i think it’s fucking ridiculous and cruel. dogs aren’t jackets to get tailored. they’re living creatures. it doesn’t matter how old they are when it’s done, or how well you treat the dog after it’s done. it’s still absolutely unjustifiable to force your own standards of ‘beauty’ on an animal that can’t stand up for itself.

@evelyns_pet_zebra Here in the UK docking and cropping is now illegal (since March 2007 I believe)

@syz Glad to get a vets perspective on this. GA.

I don’t think it is right to crop ears or remove tails, just because a person thinks it looks better or so their dog can win the dog show. Its cruel, and none of their business to be disrupting natural body occurrences, unless it is a medical issue. Also things like ear cropping is painful, and hurts the animal.