General Discussion

Ok, look, a lot of dog people aren't very good at explaining the reasons for cropping and docking, and it is a very complex subject. Now, there's going to be people who still won't agree with me or even consider the other side, that's a given, but I'm going to explain this as best I can.

Docking. Docking, like cropping, goes back a long, long time ago, before dogs were seen as mostly companions of the modern era. Docking was done to prevent tail injuries. Simple as that. In dogs that guarded, tails were a weak point, that could be grabbed by predators or even criminals who sought to incapacitate a dog. In the sporting breeds, and especially the spaniels, the dogs would work in brush, thickets, around trees and rocks. Their whippy tails, some coated, some sleek, were prone to injury and collections of sticks, twigs, burs, and so on. In terriers, the longer tailed terriers were docked so that there was no mistake in grabbing the base of the tail if the breed had a thinner, longer tail, so as to be able to assist the dogs out of holes. In dogs that pulled carts, it was to prevent the tails from getting caught in tracers. In herding breeds, it was again, to prevent injury either from predators or bashing, or even being stepped on by other animals. You'll see some breeds out of all these groups that aren't docked, however, the breeds come from different areas, have different conformation-which may result in thicker tails, and have different ways of working which may contribute to that fact. Yes, it's true, not all dogs of a certain group work the same way.

The UK banned docking and cropping not all that long ago. Those who tried to fight against the ban fell on deaf ears. The argument was that for every tail that was actually injured, x number of dogs had to be docked or some such thing. The problem is, you can't even remotely compare a spaniel's tail to a pug's. And, at 1-7 days old, when docking is supposed to be done, you don't know which pups are going to working homes, or which ones are only suitable for companions. Now, there's been a number of vets who HAD been supportive of the ban who want it reversed because they HAVE seen the tail injuries that they just weren't seeing before in these docked breeds.

It is always so much worse when you have an adult dog who comes in repeatedly with tail injuries, it is so much harder and more painful for the dog if it results in needing to be docked at that stage. When puppies are docked, and I have seen videos, they're not fully, completely formed, rearing to go. They still have some development and finishing to do. People who complain about the puppies crying "in pain", and having dealt with puppies before at that age, puppies cry and squirm, trying to find the dam. It's what they do. With the banding method of docking, most of them don't even seem to notice, and are more concerned with food and warmth. Now, I've also seen lambs docked. With sheep, you dock them because otherwise their tails can muck up if they have stomach issues or get sick, or wet under the tail for whatever reason, and then there's the chance of fly strike, which is horrible and can kill. Lambs are born developed and they are able to stand and walk within a short time after birth. Some people who have been against docking dogs but are fine with docking sheep, have said they've never seen a lamb have issues with being banded, but, myself...they're usually in a fair bit of discomfort for the first day.

Cropping. Ears can be handles, much like tails. Cropping and it's beginnings most likely goes back to livestock guardians. When fighting off predators like wolves, the ears are very vulnerable. If they get torn a certain way, the dog could, possibly bleed out. Being ears, and thus clearly on the head, there is also the chance of a deadly infection running through to the brain rather quickly. This was a time of well...herbs and such and not the medical science we know today. Also, wolves travel in packs, so...handles again. I've seen what wolves can do to dogs, even in mere seconds, and it's not pretty. So, cropping was a safety measure because if you have a good dog, you want to keep that dog around as long as possible. Cropping also carried over to boar dogs and a number of guard dogs with floppy ears for this reason, and many breeds that may have to deal with predators or people. Cropped ears are less to hold on to out of a soft, floppy ear-pricked ears aren't so easy to hang on to. Again, not all of such working dogs are cropped, but again, it comes to working styles, environments, and conformation.

Now, general ear infections, yeah, I understand why people don't see that as being a reason for cropping. You clean the ears, right? That's all you need to worry about, right? Well, my mom's service dog, who is a bully-type x lab, ended up attacked by another dog, who did nail his ear pretty good during the fight. Since then, Vlad has had ongoing infections and problems with *just* that one ear. Multiple trips to the vet, various meds, it's still an issue years later and has to be kept on top of. In fact, when an ear is damaged more severely than what Vlad went through, it can be almost impossible to fix, being a hanging, mangled mess regardless. And you know there's going to be people who give you dirty looks or harass you, or call whatever on you for dog fighting because "assumptions". Any breed can injure it's ear, but when you have a breed that is...well...intimidating to the general public, it becomes a whole different ball game.

For the procedure, pups are cropped between 6-12 weeks. This, does allow for options on whether or not to crop, as around this age, breeders have a good idea of which pups go to which homes. Not all breeders give you the option, it's their litter, but more have become open to simply giving the option. This procedure should be done by a vet who knows what they're doing, and the pups are anesthetized for it. Again, I've seen videos of pups who were cropped the same day, they're too busy being puppies to notice their head gear even. Also, I've never seen a dog with a properly done crop experience any issue with having their ears touched.

As for the preservation part....because, yes, that is partially a factor right now with the docking and cropping bans, and the way all breeders are under attack from some sources....it's complicated. These dogs haven't been selected for breeding based on ears and tails because they weren't a factor before with cropping and docking, so basically. Now, there's a hurried mess of trying to develop what the standards should be regarding the tails and ears, and breeding towards that, something that will hopefully be functional and sensible. Well, when you start a sudden selection of a very narrow trait basis, a lot of good dogs with otherwise good genes get weeded out. People already complain about inbreeding and linebreeding, failing to do research or understand when or how it may be needed and used-and it does have it's place but is a whole 'nother bag. So, let's just take a look at Boxers. A cropped and docked breed, which is popular, but has a couple of highly notable studs that go back pretty far through most of the breed. The breed has a number of problems, including cancer and Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy. So, let's say some Boxers who may be from healthier lines that aren't known for these issues, but don't have the correct tails, and some of the people who have them may be inexperienced, though they're trying to do the right thing. These dogs may not get bred because they don't have the right tails. Some may still be bred because the breeder sees the genetic value more than having the best dog "right now". But there's still going to be *some* otherwise perfectly good dogs who are valuable to the gene pool who get weeded out because of such bans. Or, there could be a breeder who would import a female or male to improve their lines and expand their gene pool from another country who then can't, or may not want to breed to a docked/cropped stud because they don't know what he would produce. Furthermore, it has been shown in the last 10 years in Europe United Kennel Club's registration, that 9 cropped/docked working breeds have seen the majority of decline in registrations. This is not a good impact for breeds or the preservation of such, as dwindling gene pools are a bad thing.

"But dogs need their ears and tail to communicate!"
There's a variety of ears and tails in dogs, some don't move much at all, not to mention natural bob tails. They get a long fine. If you rely solely on ears and tails to know how a dog is feeling, you're missing a lot of communication.

"But you're cutting off natural body parts!"
Drop ears aren't natural actually, and these aren't scent hounds which utilize the hanging ears to funnel scent. Furthermore, a lot of people who are against cropping and docking are still fine with spaying and neutering.

"But you can't compare cropping and docking to spaying and neutering!"
You're right. Spays are highly invasive, neutering still needs some aftercare. You're removing reproductive organs which release hormones that help with proper growth and development of bones and the immune system. Yes, those organs can increase certain issues, pyometra, a selective number of cancers. But the early removal can cause the more insidious bone cancer, diabetes, incontinence, increase chance of ACL injuries, keep the growth plates from closing properly, over-growth, and as a Vizsla club study has shown, actually increase behavioral issues, just to name some issues. And before you mention the pet over-population issue, there's more and more rescues importing dogs from other countries because they've apparently got room--including one Golden Retriver rescue saying there's a shortage of Goldens in shelters. You'd think that would be a good thing. >.>',,

Yeah, there's going to people who still think it's all about convenience and looks, even after all of this, who completely reject the idea regardless, but there's already been dogs who have suffered because of the bans against it.

And there's people who DO crop and dock because of looks, completely ignoring the fact that it was about function and good husbandry practice for the benefit of the dog through history. But those are often shallow people anyway.

I don't believe in banning the practices. Especially with as many stupid people who would just go underground, especially here in the states, and do some hack job in a dirty basement. Some already do anyway. It's better to keep it legal and keep it in vet's hands as much as possible.

On the topic of cow bells, don't forget it is warning OTHER PEOPLE about the presence of the cattle. In some countries, where the cattle is walking free-range without pastures such as certain areas of the Swiss mountains, hikers and campers run into them a lot. In areas with poor visibility or when it's dark, you want to know that a herd of huge and potentially dangerous animals are headed your way.

Also... have you SEEN the neck muscle of cattle? Those things are OVERPOWERED. We're talking about an animal that headbutt each other with high speed and their necks can take the entire weight of the animal + the other animal that is ramming into it! Trust me, a 3 kg bell isn't going to do jack **** to a cow. They've got thick hides, too (it measures in the cm, not mm like that of humans) so schafing wil hardly be a problem.

Trust me. A good cow bell isn't gonna do jack **** to bother a cow. The ones that damage their hearing are probably of very poor quality, and it would be an easy thing to build a slightly quieter cow bell. All you'd have to do is change the metals, or thin the bell part of it so it doesn't retain so much sound. The cattle that wear cow bells are free range animals that get to roam where every they please. The alternative is fencing, and I think the cattle are likely a lot happier with the bells on than being confined to a pasture.

@Preytorian Nah, you're wrong. I've done some studies of the methods used to exterminate the pigs (haven't looked up the yotes though) and honestly the directives are just... wrong. Like people telling hunters to shoot the big one that appear on the fields... which is about the dumbest thing that can be done. Besides, poisoning or trapping hogs isn't difficult and could be done en-masse without any real difficulty. They eat literally everything, return frequently to feeding spots, and are baited super duper easy.

I suspect the reason why you still have hogs despite all the measures isn't the fault of hunting, but the fault of hunters and land owners who want to keep the wild hogs for meat and trophy. If they feed them and don't shoot enough, well yeah, that's a major problem right there. But hunting on its own is incredibly effective, if you have enough skilled and knowledgeable people on the case.