Working terriers and gundogs are excluded and watching breeds such as the springer and cocker crashing about through the undergrowth, it's easy to see why docking their tails is undertaken.

I have a docked dog now but he's a crossbreed gundog and crossbreeds are exempt from the law.

(1) A person commits an offence if—

(a) he removes the whole or any part of a dog’s tail, otherwise than for the purpose of its medical treatment;

(b) he causes the whole or any part of a dog’s tail to be removed by another person, otherwise than for the purpose of its medical treatment.

(2) A person commits an offence if—

(a) he is responsible for a dog,

(b) another person removes the whole or any part of the dog’s tail, otherwise than for the purpose of its medical treatment, and

(c) he permitted that to happen or failed to take such steps (whether by way of supervising the other person or otherwise) as were reasonable in all the circumstances to prevent that happening.

(5) The first condition referred to in subsection (4) is that there has been produced to the veterinary surgeon such evidence as the appropriate national authority may by regulations require for the purpose of showing that the dog is likely to be used for work in connection with—
(a) law enforcement,
(b) activities of Her Majesty’s armed forces,
(c) emergency rescue,
(d) lawful pest control, or
(e) the lawful shooting of animals.
(6) The second condition referred to in subsection (4) is that the dog is of a type specified for the purposes of this subsection by regulations made by the appropriate national authority.

7.1 The objective of section 6 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 is to ban the routine cosmetic docking of dogs’ tails. An exemption to the ban at section 6(3) applies to certified working dogs, and is intended to operate where injury to the dog through work may cause more pain and suffering than that of docking the dog as a puppy. The exemption is therefore justified on welfare grounds for dogs undertaking specified types of work. These Regulations describe and apply this exemption.
7.2 Certified working dogs must be of one of the following types: ‘Spaniels’, ‘Terriers’ or ‘Hunt Point Retrieve Breeds’. The latter is intended to include the breeds below but the list is not exhaustive, and allows for the addition of traditionally docked breeds of hunt point retrieve dogs which are new to England.
Bracco Italiano;
Brittany;
German long-haired pointer;
German short-haired pointer;
German wire-haired pointer;
Hungarian vizsla;
Hungarian wire-haired vizsla;
Italian Spinone;
Korthals Griffon;
Large Munsterlander;
Pudel Pointer;
Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer;
Slovakian Wire Haired Pointer;
Small Munsterlander;
Spanish Water-dog;
Weimaraner.
7.3 It remains the prerogative of a veterinary surgeon as to whether he chooses to dock a dog’s tail or not. Vets are encouraged to dock the puppy’s tail and microchip them at the same time where they feel this is feasible.
7.4 A dog may be docked if evidence is provided that it is likely to be worked in connection with law enforcement, activities of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, emergency rescue, lawful pest control, or the lawful shooting of animals.
7.5 An emergency rescue service will commonly be understood to mean any person or body which uses dogs to assist in emergency rescue. This would include where such services are based in this country, but only usually provided abroad. Within the UK one might expect dogs to be used only in mountain rescue services; abroad, this country sends teams using dogs to assist in finding people in collapsed buildings in the aftermath of earthquakes.

I would like to ask our members what they think of the practice of docking dogs tails.

My own conception of this dubious practice is that it is historic for some inconceivable reason and continued to this very day for purely cosmetic purposes.

If Mother Nature gave dogs a tail, it was for a very good reason. A dogs tail is allied to balance and information transfer to other animals.

To chop off a dogs tail for cosmetic, aesthetic or personal reasons is paramount to cruelty to animals and should be a criminal prosecution matter.

If the tail is subject to problems such as damage due to "happy" tail or the dog biting it then OK some kind of limited amputation is justifried.

I am not concerned with fighting dogs, since that disgusting practice should have been outlawed decades ago and the persons involved jailed for a very long time.

But for people whoever they are to chop a dogs tail off just because it is a Rottweiler, Dobermann or Boxer etc, for aesthetic, cosmetic or historic reasons is a barbaric and utterly selfish practice that under present day attitudes and legislation should be banned.I have unfortunately come across people who have their dogs tails chopped off simply because THEY like the dog that way. People like that should be banned from owning a dog.

I would appreciate your comments on this matter
John Bull

Originally Posted by Leanne_W

I have a docked dog now but he's a crossbreed gundog and crossbreeds are exempt from the law.

I would like to ask our members what they think of the practice of docking dogs tails.

My own conception of this dubious practice is that it is historic for some inconceivable reason and continued to this very day for purely cosmetic purposes.

If Mother Nature gave dogs a tail, it was for a very good reason. A dogs tail is allied to balance and information transfer to other animals.

To chop off a dogs tail for cosmetic, aesthetic or personal reasons is paramount to cruelty to animals and should be a criminal prosecution matter.

If the tail is subject to problems such as damage due to "happy" tail or the dog biting it then OK some kind of limited amputation is justifried.

I am not concerned with fighting dogs, since that disgusting practice should have been outlawed decades ago and the persons involved jailed for a very long time.

But for people whoever they are to chop a dogs tail off just because it is a Rottweiler, Dobermann or Boxer etc, for aesthetic, cosmetic or historic reasons is a barbaric and utterly selfish practice that under present day attitudes and legislation should be banned.

I have unfortunately come across people who have their dogs tails chopped off simply because THEY like the dog that way. People like that should be banned from owning a dog.

I would appreciate your comments on this matter
John Bull