How do you "dock" a puppies tail?

Question

You know, to cut it off. And how old do they have to be?

Answer 1

As a breeder for many years I have done both Rottweiler and Doberman pups. Also from being on a farm and dealing with births deaths and injuries. If you have to ask how and when then this is the best I can do for you and the pup(s). I do mine at 2-3 days old. Most vets do them within the first week.

It is best to take the pup(s) to your vet and have him/her do the docking. Watch him/her do the prcedure and afterwards if you feel comfortable do the next litter yourself. If they aren't done right you may dock them too long or too short but that is the least of it. More serious problems could occur like needing a stitch or two or secondary infections.

If you don't know what you are doing have a professional do it there is less stress and risk to the pup(s).

Good luck

Answer 2

I am not quite sure if you want to know where to go, or how it is done, so I'll tell you both. I work for a vet office as a vet tech and I assist in surgery (so I see this all the time). Take your puppy to a local vet office, it's best to do this within the first 5 days because later on it will become more difficult, more costly and more painful. The pup (if only a few days old) will not be put under anesthesia due to the high risk of it, but within the first two weeks of birth a puppy's senses are at an all time low and not developed yet. They can not see what is going on, hear what is going on, or feel pain. They will feel the discomfort of knowing they are not with mom, but their pain receptors have not yet developed. If brought in at such an early age, the procedure for one pup will take about 5-10 minutes and they will be ready to go home. The vet will take a surgical blade and make a ring around the pups tail to cut the skin, pull the skin back far enough to see the joint, cut in between the joint and stitch him or her right back up. It's a very simple procedure when the puppy's are brought in at the right time. When the pup is older, the dog will be put under anesthesia which brings higher risk. They need this because by this time their eyes and ears are open and their brain has further developed the senses. After being put under anesthesia the dog will be closely monitored while the surgery takes place. The vet will take pins to locate the joint in the puppys tail, and place them through the joint to ensure that he cuts it at the right point. He then will remove the skin from the upper portion of the tail, and tail a blade and work his way through the joint. This requires more stitches and takes about 30 min. to an hour if the pup is more than a couple of weeks. They also must recover from the anesthesia before going home. I hope I have answered you question, have a good day =).

Answer 3

There really is no humane reason to dock a dog's tail or ears. It is done because humans think it necessary. It is the accepted standard for several breeds of dogs. Generally a vet will not dock a pup's tail if it is over 5 days of age. Our vets will only remove a tail from a dog older than that for medical reasons. Say the dog wags a heavy, hard tail that hits things and breaks open and inflicts severe injury. To dock a dog's tail is a medical procedure and should only be done by a vet. It involves putting the dog under anesthetic and cutting the tail off . They go in between the bones in the tail and cut it off at the desired length.

Answer 4

When deciding whether to have your puppies tail docked, weigh all the pros and cons, and then make your decision. Expect to be criticized by those who disagree with your choice regardless of which you choose.
Depending on the breed of dog, smaller dogs should be done between 5-7 days old, larger dogs can be docked as early as 3 days old. It is recommended that you take the puppy to the vet to have the procedure done. But if you choose to do it yourself, there is a procedure called banding in which the tail is wrapped with a rubber band and falls off on its own, think there are several articles online and even books available on Ebay on how to perform this procedure but I don't recommend this as there is a high risk of infection and the tail may not come off as planned. Take the puppy to the vet, It's fairly inexpensive to have a tail docked, think my vet charges around $7 plus an office visit charge. They will perform the procedure at the same time the dew claws are removed

Answer 5

What breed of dog are you talking about??? Tail docking is normally done at 3 days of age by the vet. Read up on the laws now in Germany with dogs. They are not allowed to dock tails or crop ears on dogs anymore.

Answer 6

If you have to ask, you don't.

Should have been done by the breeder by 5days old, from what I understand, before the bone hardens and stuff. Now you'll have to try the vet, and it'll cost you.

Besides, why do you want to do it? It's obviously not a show dog with docking in the standar, otherwise it would have been done already. It's senseless, there's no reason, just puts stress on the dog's body. I don't think it's quite cruelty when done the right way, but it's like someone with a perfect nose going and getting rhinoplasy, you just have to ask "Why?"

Answer 7

Tail gets snipped at the desired length with a pair of scissors and the skin edges are sewn together. It's really sad to hold the poor puppy down while it is being mutilated and it's screaming it's head off because it doesn't know what's going on. I hate it. Some vets will use local anesthetics to numb the area before the chopping but some don't just because it's quicker.

Answer 8

the vet will know where to cut. They have to make sure they cut between the bones. I watched them dock my puppies tails. I think they were only a couple days old. (been a few years tho, maybe it was a couple weeks old)
Anyway, they do it real young, and use scissors or a knife. (pretty gross)
I had min-pins, and they all looked great and healed fine.

Answer 9

If you have to ask here, don't do it yourself, go to a vet. Many states now require this to be done by a vet. It needs to be done 24-96 hours after birth. You should know tail docking is now considered inhumane and an unnecessary mutilation to your pet, along with ear cropping.

Answer 10

Go to a vet. They pull the loose skin of the tail up towards the body and cut it. You need to be trained on this, or you can do serious damage. Then with the loose skin they pull it over the end and put a stitch in it. This is usually done when the dew claws are removed, 7-10 days old. It's fairly inexpensive.