Tail docking can cause chronic pain

[skinnydipper]

"Cosmetic tail amputation further harms dogs because it can cause chronic tail pain. This pain can sensitize the central nervous system, making minor discomforts anywhere in the body feel extremely painful for the remainder of the dog’s life."

Tail docking causes communication challenges and pain [Ask the Vet]

Many countries ban cosmetic tail docking, or amputation of the tail, because the risks of long-term problems are greater than any perceived cosmetic benefit.

www.readingeagle.com

 

[Sandstone1]

when you think about it, people who have had a limb amputated often still have feelings in the missing limb. I can not see why it would be any different for dogs.

 

[JBM]

One of the Dobermans from wolfies litter had their tail amputated at 8 months and then they were abandoned at the side of the road
The owners who do this stuff aren’t good people.
It’s illegal here so they must’ve done a diy job because it looks absolutely awful and was still bleeding when he was found

 

[poiuytrewq]

when you think about it, people who have had a limb amputated often still have feelings in the missing limb. I can not see why it would be any different for dogs.

I was going to say that. A friend of ours had his leg amputated from the knee after an accident and he feels intense pain in his "lower leg" It's very real pain.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I'd be interested in some sort of study or evidence on this. I might've missed that, but I didn't see any in the article.

I don't disagree with many of the things said though.

I do wonder if there is a difference, especially with phantom limb stuff, that is related to age. Amputating something at 2 says vs 8 months old, for example.

I've not observed any long term pain responses or stress in dogs with docked tails (that were docked at a few days old or so), but my sample size is small. I am interested in finding a study with formal observations and metrics, even though I don't doubt much of what was stated in the article.

 

[sarah.oxford]

My stafford bitch had to have her tail docked age 8 and recovered quickly, returning to agility without any issues.
When my son had his leg amputated tge phantom pain was very bad until he got his prosthetic 8 weeks later. At that point the pains stopped completely.
Obviously that is not something that can be compared to tail amputations though.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I wonder if age has an impact. The longer you've developed, had, and used the limb and all that. I also wonder if a weight bearing limb would be impacted more.

 

[skinnydipper]

Probably more but these came up on a quick search.

Research discovers docking tails causes long-term pain

New evidence on the neurological effects of tail amputation challenges the Scottish Government’s decision last year to partially reverse its ban on the practice.

www.vettimes.co.uk

Tail Docking of Canine Puppies: Reassessment of the Tail’s Role in Communication, the Acute Pain Caused by Docking and Interpretation of Behavioural Responses

Bans or restrictions on non-therapeutic tail docking of canine puppies are becoming more widespread. Justifications for constraining this practice have usually referred to hindrances to the tail contributing to unambiguous communication between different ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[poiuytrewq]

Ultimately its the same as a severed spinal cord, really.
I've never had a docked dog but that's a fact and in people it causes long term issues and pain so I cant see its any difference

 

[poiuytrewq]

I also fail to see the cosmetic benefits.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Whilst I disapprove of tail docking for cosmetic purposes, and would prefer to have a dog of any breed with a full tail, we have owned dogs with docked tails (JRT, poodle) and there was no evidence that the stump caused them any pain.

I accept that is a limited number of dogs, though, and they’d have been docked as very young pups (see cosmetic purposes ).

 

[Clodagh]

Tawny was docked at 2 after 12 months of chronic pain. She had an infection in the bottom third and her tail hackles were up all the time, and all of her hackles if she wagged or touched it to anything.
After amputation she seemed immediately better, albeit it is a major operation on a mature tail. But we really didn’t have an option, the vet was very resistant to amputation and faffed around with my poor dog until I belatedly changed practices and got it removed.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Sometimes I think tail docking has a purpose. If the dog has an infection or reoccurring wounds, for example. Or some working dogs that are prone to repetitive tail injuries.

When it comes to things like docking, cropping, or other generally cosmetic alterations, it doesn't help that dog showing promotes this. At least in the USA, but I think I've seen it internationally as well.

It's then a "breed standard" and breeders feel as though they have to follow it, especially when it comes to sales or wanting to breed the best quality show dogs. Now, a good humane breeder shouldn't care about those things, and should focus on producing a quality dog regardless.

As with a lot of the horse stuff (FEI and whatnot) it is promoted at the top in many instances. There needs to be change there that will trickle down throughout the levels. Don't allow "modified" dogs to show. Of course there would be fallout and probably dog abandonment from that because crap humans.

Then you have the self proclaimed purists (extremists, really) that will shout all day long about tradition and this is how the dog should be presented. However, if people don't spend their money on those dogs, in theory, there will be less demand. Or, it could just be made illegal in the case of the USA, but we'll never see that happen

 

[skinnydipper]

Risk factors for tail injuries in dogs in Great Britain

The aim of the current study was to quantify the risk of tail injury, to evaluate the extent to which tail docking reduces this risk, and to identify other major risk factors for tail injury in dogs in Great Britain. A nested case-control study was conducted during 2008 and 2009. Data were obtained from a stratified random sample of veterinary practices throughout Great Britain, and questionnaires were sent to owners of dogs with tail injuries and owners of a randomly selected sample of dogs without tail injuries. The risks of injury were reported adjusting for the sampling approach, and mixed effects logistic regression was used to develop a multivariable model for risk factors associated with tail injury. Two hundred and eighty-one tail injuries were recorded from a population of 138,212 dogs attending 52 participating practices. The weighted risk of tail injuries was 0.23 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval 0.20 to 0.25 per cent). Thirty-six per cent of injuries were reportedly related to injuries sustained in the home, 17.5 per cent were outdoor-related injuries, 14.4 per cent were due to the tail being caught in a door, for 16.5 per cent the cause was unknown and the remainder were due to other causes. Dogs with a wide angle of wag and dogs kept in kennels were at significantly higher risk of sustaining a tail injury. Dogs with docked tails were significantly less likely to sustain a tail injury; however, approximately 500 dogs would need to be docked in order to prevent one tail injury. English springer spaniels, cocker spaniels, greyhounds, lurchers and whippets were all at significantly higher risk when compared to labradors and other retrievers. Differences between countries (England, Scotland and Wales) and between rural and urban environments were not significant.

https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1136/vr.b4880

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[Books'n'dogs]

I have observed this in the two dogs with docked tails that I have owned as an adult. It especially seemed to bother my Australian Shepherd who was born with a bob tail but the breeder had it shortened to the 'required' length at 2 days old. Poor Clover would whirl around and grab at her stump on a regular basis, she also frequently licked and chewed at the site of her dewclaws, which had also been removed at the same time as her tail. After witnessing how much pain she appeared to be in I am determined to not own another dog who has suffered the same procedures.

 

[druid]

Never seen any evidence of phantom/amputation pain in docked dogs. Either in my own or clients.