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Post by aktyson on Dec 6, 2006 17:23:16 GMT 1
Does anyone know the effects of late docking? For example, if I were to import a dog from a non-docking country and then have it docked after it arrived? I've heard that not only can it be hard on the dog but that it effects the carriage of their tail (they tend to carry it down all the time like a banana tail).
TIA,
Anne
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Post by marjolein on Dec 6, 2006 17:39:56 GMT 1
We've done 2 dockings at a late age, due to injury, and neither of them have a different tail set now. But then again, it's only 2......
It's a nasty procedure though and unless absolutely necessary, I wouldn't do it.
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tasha
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Post by tasha on Dec 6, 2006 20:44:52 GMT 1
Plus to be honest if your not doing it as a pup when they can't feel it and your not doing it for medical reasons only for cosmetic I think its a little bit on the cruel side... if you really want a dog with a docked tail and can't get one from the source you are looking at then prehaps its time to look at an alternative source?
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Post by talamasca on Apr 17, 2007 20:01:35 GMT 1
Hi guys! How long does it take for the tail to be COMPLETELY healed after the procedure of late docking? We have a huge problem with our Rider's tail... and not because of injuries during fieldwork, because in this case there are NONE.... BUT... he's recently cut the "tip" of his tail (probably he hit against something sharp) and each time it seems healed... he hits his tail against something and the the fun begins.... Today my place looks just like a crime scene, blood everywhere - walls, floors, cellings, my clothes, doors etc. etc...  |
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Post by daniela on Apr 17, 2007 22:30:01 GMT 1
Hmm, not sure. I do have one who has a docked tail who cut the end of it open and as a result lost some hair on it too. Everytime I came back from their run, it would be scratched with blood showing through - it was driving me crazy trying to sort it.
I am not entirely sure how it originally happened although I suspect it may have been in the crate, so I have padded the crate out around the bottom, and since then it seems to be healing up and the hair is growing back albeit slowly.
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Post by daniela on Apr 17, 2007 22:30:59 GMT 1
PS: Mine was not a late docking.
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Post by talamasca on Apr 18, 2007 9:47:54 GMT 1
Thanks for your answer Daniela! Rider must have hit his tail against something in the backyard and cut a piece of the tail the way it cannot be stitched - its the very end of his tail. The wound is "slanting" and there's no skin to be put together. BUT, anyways, the thing is I cannot make him stop wagging his tail... and he hits things with his tail each time he's happy and the wound opens again and again and bleeds like hell. Neither bandage nor plaster helps as his coat is so smooth that nothing sticks to it. I'm considering the procedure of amputating the tail as I do not want my dog to have constant trouble with his tail - incl. necrosis as this may also occur By the way, my dogs don't stay in crates so the crate is not the problem... one big problem is each thing he can hit his tail against. Paradoxally, he had just one tail injury during hunting (the tail was scratched by the wreaths of raspberries) and all bad things happen to his tail at home/in the backyard. |
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Post by bromhund on Apr 18, 2007 11:28:11 GMT 1
Hi Anne We have just had to have one of our dogs we bred dock. The owner had taken him to her local vet and told him that he was not himself would cry if anyone came near his back end. The vet said oh nothing wrong!! she keep on at him and asking him to look at the tail still would not..  So feed up she took him to another vet and he examined the dog he had a break and 3 fractures in his tail, he had no hesitation in taking the tail off. It has now been over 6 weeks he is a different dog much happier the owner is very happy. He has had no side effects it has healed very well. Narelle might also be able to send some light on the subject with their dogs that have gone to the states and then been docked.. Suzanne |
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Post by fyreside on Apr 18, 2007 12:16:03 GMT 1
Talamasca, this is where my boy damaged his tail - right at the tip. We tried bandaging it, but to no avail. In the end we docked his tail docked at 18months, due to exposed bone. He too had injured it from hitting it on walls etc when he wagged his tail. His tail was very sore. The procedure went well, but the healing took over twenty weeks due to the scabs coming off from him knocking all the time. It didn't matter how we bandaged it or what we covered it with he'd always manage to get the bandage off. In the end we stitched a cone over his tail so that he couldn't get to it. Unfortunately we had to retire him from the ring as he would not allow anyone to touch his tail. When you ran your hand down his back he pulled his bottom in towards the ground. It is now twelve months down the track and he will now let me (the breeder) touch his tail.
Marg
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Post by fyreside on Apr 18, 2007 12:22:25 GMT 1
Aktyson, this boy carried his tail correctly following the docking, but we had problems with anyone going over the dog. He did not like people touching his spine near the tail nor the tail itself (see above). Twelve months down the track he is starting to let others touch his tail.
Marg
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Post by szarasfora on Apr 18, 2007 12:37:53 GMT 1
Marg - what is your opinion: did he hate to be touched there because of the mere docking or because of the long healing process, which definitely must have been painful?
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syrinx
Intermediate
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Post by syrinx on Apr 18, 2007 13:57:03 GMT 1
My Bailey also has a damaged long tail from hitting it on things. The end of hers is now sort of 'club shaped', not tapered at the end, but actually a little bigger right at the end. She also has permanent bald spots there from scar tissue. She also will not let you touch her tail. She is not in the ring, and could not be as she has reacted like this to touch since she was little. I do know of a Visla here who was docked longer than normal because of damage, but had such a bad time healing, and with further damage, had to be docked again, and now the tail is shorter than it would be if it were done when it was a pup.
Wendy in New Zealand docked her Australian import when she got there. I don't think she had any problems.
Peta and such wouldn't want to know about this damage, and surgury to dogs that is caused purely because they cannot keep their nose out of things that don't concern them. I would encourage people to add their dogs details to a Tail Damage Database.
Wendy
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greyflyte
Intermediate
Am/NZ/Aust Ch Tri-D's Greyflyte Grand Slam (Imp USA)
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Post by greyflyte on Apr 18, 2007 20:00:39 GMT 1
HI, Both Wendy and I had our Oz imports docked at 12 weeks, by the same vet.
Halleys tail ended up an ok length but the end of it is distorted as he tried to do some cosmetic thingy to prevent a bald end. It healed ok.
Wendys girls tail was docked a bit short and he left a pocket in the end which collected fluid and was a bit of a concern for Wendy for a while. Looks ok now tho.
Our anti docking Bill is due for report from the select committee soon, we can dock till it is legal and then who knows.
I wonder if you guys with damaged tails would mind if I used your stories in our fight please?
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Post by talamasca on Apr 18, 2007 22:18:56 GMT 1
well... next time I'll take a photo the tail and the mess caused by all the blood.
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Post by narelle on Apr 19, 2007 2:01:04 GMT 1
We had Enya docked in November last year (she was about 15 months old )....we went over and saw her in Hawaii in January and she was a perfectly normal self no issue about the tail at all she had a very big curly one that went over the back of her but she is fine...she arrives home in Sydney tonight !
narelle
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Post by jai on Apr 22, 2007 22:01:00 GMT 1
quick comment.. 3 y/o weimy in town had tail docked due to continued damage. Saw her and her dog a week or so ago and would never have known she had her tail docked late. The vet did a great job and put her out completely, not just the local.
jai
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Post by fyreside on May 1, 2007 12:38:43 GMT 1
szarasfora, I feel that it was the length of the healing process. Yes it was painful and we had him on painkillers as well. I am glad he is much better now.
Marg
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Post by Irena on Jun 3, 2009 20:14:10 GMT 1
I was wondering if anyone else has any recent experiences?
Talamasca, how did the surgery go?
I'd appreciate any other experiences, as I'm wondering whether one of my puppies (now over 2 years of age) would be better off docked, as he keeps injuring it against walls constantly and one of the times it was a never-ending 2.5 months process. His owners dread to think they might have to go through it again some day.
I have now seen tail injuries on 3 out of my 7 puppies, some of them more than once (just before my eyes).
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Lois
Puppy
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Post by Lois on Jun 4, 2009 1:29:26 GMT 1
We had to have Luna (Ch Waldwiese VueFrom Th Top) docked last year when she was about 18 months old. She had damaged down one side of her tail and because she broke open the wound every time she wagged her tail it wouldn't heal. We persevered for about 3 months but the end of her tail was beginning to wither and die. We took her to several vets and they all just gave her anti-biotics and no-one would dock her because of the anti-docking legislation. Finally a vet who shows dogs saw her at a show and saw her horrible tail damage and said he would dock it. When we picked her up she showed no signs of pain and acted like nothing had happened. We kept it bandaged only to protect it while it healed as she would wag her tail so much. I don't have a problem with long tails but they need to be well covered with hair and substantial. The fine whippy tails seem to be the ones that get damaged from my experience.
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Post by marjolein on Jun 4, 2009 7:36:05 GMT 1
We had a dalmation in the practice with an injured tail. It just wouldn't heal. We docked, dog, got urine incontinence only months later. These 2 things seem to be related.
I've been working as a vet tech (in 3 practices) for 16 years now and we haven't had more than 10 tail injuries over these years.
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