Quote:
Originally Posted by casino87
i like the way people are giving the OP false facts about weather docking is illegal or not
i personally like dobermans with floppy ears and long tails, a good breed still looks chunky and mean
no it is NOT illegal to own a docked OR cropped doberman, as long as the puppy is NOT born in the UK and in a country where it is legal to dock the tails you can legally buy and own it, you will get evidence of the legality of the docking from the vet who performs it.
heck you can buy a cropped doberman if it is done in a legal country, as long as the puppy is NOT born in the UK all is good
like for example you cannot get a puppy here and go abroad to have these things done...apart from that the tail is docked at a few days old. your not likely to have the puppy untill 6-8 weeks so would be far too late
the only reason i would not buy a docked dog anyway is because of the health implications this can have on the dogs ballence, the tail is a big part of this + if it was justified to save a working dog pain in the long run then why arent sheep dogs docked (boarder collies) ? etc.. these dogs work in rough terrains with very large animals, yet no docked tails lol
if you want a docked dobie then there are many breeders in the UK who have kennels in Ireland and ship the pups over once the operation is done, enabling you to go buy/collect them in this country so YES the person you have heard of could well be legit....however if they get them docked here stay well clear, if questioned (which it is unlikely) you may need to provide evidence where the docking was performed  |
Ballence? You must mean Balance! They have no issues with balance, some of the best agility dogs I've ever met have been Dobermanns with docked tails! This coming from someone who has worked with LOADS of Dobermanns from 3 weeks of age to well past 10 years of age in the USA and the UK for over 3 years.
The original reasons for the Dobermann being cropped and docked were half work related, half cosmetic. The standing (cropped) ear was said to be capable of better hearing than that of floppy eared dogs, and the docked tail was in place mainly for two reasons. 1) So villains (enemies, whatever..) had less to grab hold of and 2) Dobermanns have fragile-ish tails, when left undocked, they are prone to damage. Getting caught in doors, trodden on etc.
If you want a Dobermann puppy with cropped ears in the UK, I would highly recommend completely forgetting about it
Cropped ears must be diligently cared for until well after the teething process is complete (some ears I have dealt with required posting as long as 16 months of age!). Cropping in itself should be done between 7-10 weeks of age. In order to import a dog (say, a puppy you got cropped..in a country where it is legal to crop and with vets licensed to crop..) into the UK, there is a 6 month quarantine involved. The dog must pass a rabies blood test, and there are MANY issues involved with giving young puppies the rabies vaccination anyways.
From someone who has only ever owned floppy eared dobermanns, I would highly recommend avoiding any breeder who charges more for the docked look. Especially in this breed which is known for Heart Disease, Liver Disease, Cervical Vertebral Instability, vWD, Hip Dysplasia, PHPv, PRA etc...I've only found
1 dobermann breeder in the UK who health tests to a satisfactory level with whom I would be comfortable about getting a puppy from.