Hm, it is a very tricky situation and will always be argued!
Personally - If I were to buy a rottie or boxer etc I would not mind that it had a tail. It is strange to see them now that it is no longer allowed but it is better (especially with generally more dominant/confident breeds) for body language, that they have their tail as their moods are then easier to read.
From a working point of view - It is much nicer for the dog to have it done quickly and easily as a puppy, rather than wait and see if they damage their tails through working and then having them go through that initial pain and then going under the knife to get the job finished.
Also as man like to mark their territory in more physical ways, eg: barbed wire. You do see some foxes getting caught and tangled by their tails.
I do think it should still be allowed for working dogs, not working BREEDS as some will be sold on for domestic ownership, but simply for the dogs that will be used in the feilds.

yes working dogs but if sold there must be proof that it is going to be used as a working dog .say the person that buys the dog must show a gun licence. i know of some that just simply get them docked because they think it looks better.

Most people who breed from working dogs would hope that all their pups go to working homes, but this is not always possible so what do they do when the pups are being docked? At this point in time they have no idea which of the pups will be going to the workng homes

I have posted on this subject numerous times, so I think my views are well known.

A dogs tail is a vital part of his communication, he was born with a tail and should die with a tail. I totally agree with the following taken from Dog's Trust website -

The British Veterinary Association, the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) and the RCVS are all opposed to the docking of puppies’ tails. Veterinary bodies and welfare organisations such as Dogs Trust believe that puppies are caused unnecessary pain as a result of docking and are deprived of a vital form of canine expression.

Tails are docked either by ‘banding’ where a ligature is placed over the end of the tail which ‘comes away’ after 3 days, or by cutting off with surgical scissors. Where tails are cut off, stitches may be needed for larger breeds.
The procedure is usually performed without any anaesthetic (which would be too dangerous) at between three to five days of age. Complications in docking can lead to the death of the puppy and the tail stump may be painful in later life due to the formation of scar tissue.

Pro-dockers, such as the Council of Docked Breeds, claim that long experience indicates that, carried out correctly, the procedure causes no pain or discomfort.

Long experience? I think I’d prefer to believe in scientific evidence!

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But not everyone that works a dog has a firearm so that wouldnt work. Plenty of people just enjoy working their dogs on a shoot as part of a picking up team.

Ang

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No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.

But dogs have loads of means of communicating with each other. My dogs (and docked spaniels) have no problems at all interacting with other dogs what so ever and are quite apt at communicating with other dogs and their kennel mates. I will however add that my dogs are docked to the hock, not just a stump. Cant find any recent pics (with tails showing lol! ) but here's our molly (now 2+) and Teagan (14m) as pups





Defo enough tail left for comunicating


I realise not all pups 'were' docked properly and thats were the problems appear, but done properly it shouldnt cause any lasting suffering to the pup. Mibne are certainly non the worse for their wee op and it is saving them lots of potential suffering - esp Molly (the darker pup) as she is a real bramble basher and will hunt in any cover, gorse , brambles the lot!!

Ang

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No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.

I don't agree with tail docking, if a dog wasn't meant to have a tail it would be born without one!

I like the look of certain breeds with docked tails.. I have nothing against docking at all, providing it's done properly

I've never really had a dog, whos needed their tail docked, although thinking of it my dad's parson jack russel has hers docked - I think...

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I agree. There are several scientific studis that have been done that indicate the puppies do feel the pain.