Trouble with your argument is it does not apply to all dogs, my dogs have tails but none of the above applies to them tail wise, the emotions undoubtable do and are obvious but in my breed you don't need the tail to tell you how your dog is feeling and I am sure my breed is not alone in this. Ask any Cocker owner how their dog shows pleasure and excitement with a docked tail and they will

Human emotions & beliefs are like statistics they can prove anything you want them to. I am not for docking but until I am convinced that it causes harm or distress to the dog I think those with traditionally docked breeds should be allowed to make their own minds up. The next thing we know we will not be allowed to remove dew claws either, a much more invasive procedure as a joint is involved but it does save injury and is better done in the tiny pup than as a emergency because the joint has been pulled out.

Has this been banned in countries that have banned docking?

Re tail wagging my 2 can wag their tails and I can tell how they are feeling by looking at the way they carry their tail. They have a life of their own at times

Don't know, but that is the way of things, once hunting was banned the campaigners against everything said they would now turn their attention to shooting and fishing so I guess when docking is banned they will look for something else to campaign against, it is the way with those who like to tell the rest of us how we should live our lives..

Dew claw removal is something I feel should be done as routine Murph ripped one of his out about 3 yrs ago and now has this very odd deformed nail which is a swine to cut and the pup..... hers grow like wild mint and curl better than my hair they are soooooooooo hard to cut and catch on everything , she is always yelping and catching them I wish I'd had them removed when she was spayed -if she ever goes in for anesthetic again I'll be asking for them to be removed

The legislation was driven by lobbying from the RSPCA. A lot of vets gave evidence for the pro-docking groups, but political pressure and emotive advertising by the RSPCA swayed public opinion.

Here is the link to the Vizsla Newsletter which covers in detail many of the points raised in this discussion and is well worth reading: http://www.trader.co.nz/vizsla/docking/

Not in Australia. They are allowed to be removed to prevent future injury - the same reason that tails were docked. Not very consistent or logical is it?

I'm amazed a tail can be docked without risking paralysing the dog! Last time I looked, the tail is the bottom bit of the spinal column. We all know what can happen when that gets severed!...

Also, what about the problem of removing an important mechanism for balance...

Not very

I don't think the spinal cord extends into the tail, otherwise the many dogs that break their tails would all be paralysed.

Balance is not affected. It may be a temporary problem in adult dogs which have had tail amputations but not in any dogs docked as a puppy

Marvelous how mammalian senses adapt to compensate for a damaged/lost sense, ain't it?