Airedales & Docked Tails

These days it is common to see discussions on whether dog breeds with traditionally docked tails need to have this procedure done any more in this day and age. Most of the breeds that have been traditionally docked are sporting-hunting dogs along with a smattering of other working breeds.

In many countries in Europe they now ban the docking of tails even though it is part of many breed standards. It is also plain to see that this banning business has coincided with the banning of hunting with dogs in many of the same countries, what hunting there is being done with dogs is very limited.

Here in the US as hunting with dogs declines we will more than likely see more and more clamoring for docking bans. Those doing most of the squawking for the most part do nothing activity wise with their dog for which it was originally developed and bred, as in hunting their hunting dog! What cracks me up is the stop the tail docking zealots will scream and yell that snipping the tail of a pup is cruel and painful yet they will have no problem pushing for major surgery as in Spaying and Neutering!!

Personally I am against any government decreed bans "period", on top of which there are very legitimate reasons to have the tails docked on hunting-working breeds.'

If one prefers having an undocked tail "fine" but as a hunter who uses his dogs in the field and has experienced tail tip injuries to my own dogs from working heavy cover leave me the option! I can tell you there is nothing harder to get healed up than a tip of the tail injury.

 Also on a personal note, from an aesthetic point there is nothing more ugly to my eye than an undocked Airedale!

Owners of dogs who are "couch taters" just do not realize the beating a tail tip of a hunting dog can be subjected to while working heavy cover, here are couple of photos showing tail tips injured on hunting dogs and it is more common than the unknowing would think! A couple of years ago I had a female Coon hound of mine get her tail injured as pictured and it took most of the summer to get that tail tip healed.!