is it illegal to have your dogs tail docked?

Question

when my husband bought my yorkie in january she had her tail docked.he didn't notice,i saw it as soon as he brought her home. she was also pet lovers registered and not kc as my other 2 are.my husband said that this was not the only breed that they were selling. all dogs were kenneled outside. i think that my dog probably came from ireland. what do you think?

Answer 1

In many countries it is not illegal, but can be illegal in certain areas. It is mainly a cosmetic procedure that should not be done unless necessary to the health of the animal or it needs to match the conformity of the breed if it will be a show animal (which to be honest I do not agree with).

Answer 2

Depends upon where you live and if the extremist animal rightsers have gotten hold of the maliable inane public's mindset and had their rights taken away in their attempt to totally eliminate all companion animal ownership (their own stated ultimate goal). If you live in a place/country that still considers the rights of the individual and hasn't started the AR's agenda yet, then no, having your dog's tail docked isn't illegal, just like responsibly owning and caring for your dog/cat/bird/hampster/etc., isn't illegal, yet :) add: Danielle, the naturally occuring 'docked' tail has been around in canines for a long time -- it was attempted by several breeds in the past to try to be perpetuated but it is considered a 'lethal gene' that produces it as it eventually will affect the caudal nerves and the gene is associated with other health issues, from what I understand. I have seen it occur in several breeds and it doesn't have anything to do with a breed being docked for a long time or that the tail is not useful, it just happens and then someone gets the idea to try to perpetuate it - a decent thought but it just brings with it too many problems and isn't sustaining.

Answer 3

I don't believe it is iillegal to dock tails, it sounds as though your husband got the dog from a deeler/ breeder. Most reputable breeders are registered with the KC and all their dogs are usually KC registered. I disagree with Midsojo though not all breeders are money hungry obviously they have to make some money out of it but I recently an English Bull terrier off a breeder in wales. The dogs were all very clean, healthy and fed on the best food and had £70000 worth of heated kennels the bitches are only bread from 3 times in their life and then they are retired and live in the house as part of the family. We went back last week to get another one and they have knocked down most of their house to have it rebuilt to fully equip the dogs they have birthing rooms, vet rooms etc. When we got our puppys they came registered with the KC, you got a puppy pack which contained toys, weeks worth of food, blanket and guidlines, worming and vaccination records & I am in constant contact with the breeder too.They do sell other breeds of dogs but if they all look happy and healthy i see no problem at least you know what you are getting. If you get one from an animal shelter do you really know EVERY thing about it? I have rescued many dogs in the past and most have been screwed up one way or another.
Sorry to moan but I don't like unfounded negitivity obviously there are bad dealers out there but you can quite easily suss them out if you open your eyes

Answer 4

There has been a bit of a public divide on the whole tail docking issue...the RSPCA reported :Cosmetic tail docking banned!
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), British Veterinary Association (BVA), the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) and the RSPCA are delighted that the cosmetic tail docking of dogs will be banned when the Animal Welfare Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.....
That act has now been completed of all its parliamentary stages and was given royal assent on 8.11.2006...it is called the Animal Welfare Act 2006. On the question of docking...the answer goes as follows:

The Bill will ban all mutilations of animals. However, there will be a regulation to exempt certain mutilations for which a ban is considered inappropriate. Examples would be castrating and spaying cats and dogs, or ear tagging cattle.

Sincere views are held by those who both support and oppose a ban on docking, and we take the view that it would not be for Government to alter the status quo, and that it is an issue for Parliament to properly decide.

So at the moment...it would appear that it is still legal for tail docking in the UK...both my rescue dogs...spaniels..were docked before I had them...they are not working dogs so therefore there was never any need to dock them..and if the arguement goes that spaniels might injure tails if they do work...how come retrievers aren't docked? Highly emotive subject.
As to whether the dogs came from Ireland, it is customary for dogs being transported from another country to be tattoed in their ears.
You seem concerned about the welfare of other animals on the 'puppy farm'....please get in touch with RSPCA and voice these concerns...innocent overbred interbred animals need a voice to speak up for them.

Answer 5

This was on a website called the council of docked breeds.

Tail Docking in the UK

Tail docking has historically been undertaken largely by dog breeders. However, in 1991, the UK government amended the Veterinary Surgeons Act, thereby prohibiting the docking of dog's tails by lay persons from 1 July 1993. Now, only veterinary surgeons are, by law, allowed to dock.

However, following the Government move, the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in November 1992, ruled docking to be unethical, "unless for therapeutic or acceptable prophylactic reasons". Furthermore, the circumstances in which the Royal College considered prophylactic docking to be acceptable were so hedged with conditions as to make the routine docking of puppies by veterinary surgeons extremely difficult.

Vets who continue to dock risk disciplinary action, including being struck off the professional register.

The Council of Docked Breeds was formed in 1991 to campaign for the retention of the docking option and to this day has managed to ensure that those breeders who wish to have their litters docked, can be introduced to veterinary surgeons willing to offer the service.

Many UK vets wish to defend the docking option and contribute to www.vets4docking.org.uk

I think that maybe your puppy came from a puppy farm, get her checked by a vet ASAP!

Answer 6

It's not illegal, but it should be.

Tail docking is done STRICTLY FOR COSMETIC purposes. There is NO BENEFIT to docking a tail what so ever. The people who heavily support it and ear cropping, have dogs they want to be able to do it to. The AKC no longer requires these inhumane practices for the show ring either.

I'd like to cut the fingers and toes off the folks who try this stuff at home instead of going to a properly liscensed vet too.

Answer 7

yorkies are English dogs. why do you think it came from Ireland? As far as the tails it is not illegal. Some breeds it is standard. most people are getting away from it but it is still the owner/breeders discretion. There are some rescue agencies that have you sign a contract saying you will not dock the tails after you get them.

Answer 8

"P.S. Would the baffled Americans who answered or attempted to answer please stick to their own questions? This was asked in the UK questions site. UK is not a state of America, it means United Kingdom. In other words, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Our laws are different to yours. We do not have AKC registered puppies. We have nothing to do with America. We are part of Europe."

I was just about to make the same comment in REVERSE. This question is coming up in the UNITED STATES section here, and yes, our laws are different....we haven't been subjected to English law since oh, around 1776 or so. ;-)


As to the original question, it is not illegal for licensed DVMs to dock tails of puppies, either at a few days of age, or older (at which time they are placed under general anesthesia.) There are many VALID medical reasons, both preventative and curative, to do so. Yorkies don't specifically need theirs done imo, however. But if done, it is much less painful, much less traumatic, and has MUCH fewer complications when done a few days (3-5 for this breed) after birth. I have flatly refused to do it in Yorkies at older ages, even under general anesthesia.

Answer 9

sounds like it came from a back yard breeder or puppy farmer or dog dealer (they buy wholesale litters from puppy farmers). What a pity he didn't do some research before paying money to someone who will breed more miserable puppies from overbred bitches kept in miserable conditions :0(
Tail docking is illegal unless done by a vet. However the new animal welfare bill will make it totally illegal from April next year Yippeee!
You already know that dog lovers register is used by pup[py farmers who overbreed their bitches because the KC will not register puppies if the b1tch has had too many or too close together (i.e. bred from at every season)
Why oh why didn't he get some knowledge before buying the pup? If you had gone out and bought a car from him from the local dodgy dealers I bet he would have been annoyed that you did so without getting some expert advice about cars. He has done just the same thing.
P.S. Would the baffled Americans who answered or attempted to answer please stick to their own questions? This was asked in the UK questions site. UK is not a state of America, it means United Kingdom. In other words, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Our laws are different to yours. We do not have AKC registered puppies. We have nothing to do with America. We are part of Europe.
We do not crop dogs ears over here, nor keep our dogs in cages, cut off cats toes and as from April, we also do not chop off puppies tails.

Answer 10

To the best of my knowledge it is not illegal, however should only be done under certain circumstances. For example breeds of dogs with muscular builds such as bulldogs, crosses of bulldogs such as boxers or terriers will have so much strength in their tails, being such excitable dogs, they can often incur injury to themselves by just having fun.

My veterainarian suggested this to me the second time I brought my 80lbs boxer in for stitches on his tail and having to get a couple antibiotic prescriptions. Trust me when I tell you that a large dog seeing a treat, jumping back and smashing its tail into the corner of a wall WILL produce quite a mess when it bursts open and begins swinging blood through your home.

Sometimes you have to do it, sometimes you dont.... Sometimes they wont do the operation because they dont believe the tail will ever be a problem.. but sometimes... it is.

Answer 11

vets will only dock tails if it is a medical reason to do so like if they have split the tail of if the breed is a working dog and is in risk of damageing the tail.
breeders who want their puupies docked have to join the docked breed society they put you in touch with the black circle of vets in your area who do the docking for you.