I would never get my dog's tail docked if I were to get a Rottie or a Dobie or any other "usually" docked breed!

THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SURGEONS' CODE OF ETHICS regarding Docking is as follows:-

Docking of Dogs (Press Release, 12 November 1992) The Council of the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, at its meeting today, 12th
November 1992, resolved:The RCVS considers docking of dogs' tails to be
an unjustified mutilation and unethical unless done for therapeutic or
acceptable prophylactic reasons.Therapeutic docking to treat tail injury
or disease is acceptable in the interests of the animal.

a) Prophylactic docking to prevent injury at some unspecified time in
the future is not acceptable unless the Veterinary Surgeon has full
knowledge of the breed, the strain, and the anticipated lifestyle of the
dog. At ten days of age rarely could the lifestyle of the dog be
predicted with any certainty. It follows that the routine docking of
many breeds under ten days of age can rarely be acceptable for
prophylactic reasons.
b) It should be understood that repeated unethical behaviour may raise
unethical action to the level of being considered disgraceful. Any
Veterinary Surgeon performing the operation routinely might therefore be
required to satisfy the RCVS that he did so for prophylactic reasons
which met the above criteria.
c) It is highly unlikely that the routine docking of tails of puppies
belonging to an owner not normally the client of the Veterinary Surgeon,
or routine docking merely at the owners' request, would satisfy the
above criteria. Moreover such circumstances might provide further
evidence to support an allegation of disgraceful conduct.
d) Whenever a Veterinary Surgeon docks a dog he should carefully record
the event setting out the reasons for docking and a copy of that record
should be kept for future reference.
e) Meanwhile Veterinary Surgeons should take every available opportunity
to educate and persuade dog breeders and the public that the routine
docking of puppies' tails is an unacceptable mutilation.


996 Guide to Professional Conduct
The RCVS published its latest Guide to Professional Conduct June 1996.
The precise wording follows:-

3.4 DOCKING OF DOGS' TAILS

(Paras. 2.19 AND 2.20)

3.4. 1 Leading Counsel has advised:- 'Docking, which may be defined as
the amputation of the whole or part of a dog's tail has, since July
1993, been illegal under U.K. law, if performed by a lay person.

The Royal College has for many years been firmly opposed to the docking
of dogs' tails, whatever the age of the dog, by anyone, unless it can be
shown truly to be required for therapeutic or truly prophylactic.

Docking cannot be defined as prophylactic unless it is undertaken for
the necessary protection of the given dog from risks to that dog of
disease or of injury which is likely to arise in the future from the
retention of the entire tail. The test of likelihood is whether or not
such an outcome will probably arise in the case of that dog if it is not
docked. Faecal soiling is not for this purpose a disease or injury,
and its purported prevention by surgical means cannot be justified.

Similarly, docking cannot be described as prophylactic if it is
undertaken merely on request, or just because the dog is of a particular
breed, type or conformation. Council considers that such docking is
unethical.

Docking a dogs' tail for reasons which are other than truly therapeutic
or prophylactic is capable of amounting to conduct disgraceful in a
professional respect. In the event of disciplinary proceedings being
brought in respect of tail docking, it shall be open to the RCVS by
evidence to prove, and the Disciplinary Committee on such evidence to
find, that any therapeutic or prophylactic justification advanced for
the docking in question is without substance. If such a finding is
made, the Disciplinary Committee may proceed to consider and to decide
whether in the circumstances the Veterinary Surgeon who undertook that
docking knew, or ought to have known, that such a purported
justification is without substance.
For the avoidance of any doubt, any instance of tail docking which is
found to have been undertaken for reasons which were not truly
therapeutic or prophylactic will necessarily constitute an unacceptable
mutilation of the dog, which, if carried out by a Veterinary Surgeon who
knew or ought to have known of the lack of true justification, would
almost certainly be considered to be conduct disgraceful in a
professional respect.'

It is illegal here in UK too !

as much as undocked is my personal preference, health and temperment always comes first for me