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I adopted an older Springer for my first dog. He was beautiful and had a docked tail. Whenever he wiggled with glee and would have been waving his tail, all I could think of was "amputee."
Also, I've seen my mutt dogs use their tails like rudders for balance when running.
I'm afraid to ask- do people just lop the tails off without any anesthetic?
I have the English Springer spaniel and the burrs we just cut out. I have thought of trimming tail down to stop it but she gets them all over and we cut or comb out.
Why in the world you quoted me and mentioned burrs, I've no idea. I never mentioned burrs. We do have a lot of burrs, but she has yet to get them on her tail, she is getting them on her whole body. But apparently their tails can suffer injury while hunting in the field. I just came across a site that details such injuries. I personally do not approve of docking an ESS's tail unless they are used for hunting, and then I *might* see the health benefits. (editing to say that after reading through some of the stories on this link, I do think in some breeds a long, intact tail could be hazardous, even just around the house)
Many years ago my then-boyfriend-now-husband and I brought home a pound puppy. They had told us it was an Irish setter mix, and that is what she looked like.
What we did not realize until later is that we had brought home a Vizsla mix. (Much later, we decided that the other part of her was probably English setter.)
Anyway, Maggie grew up, and so did her tail. The end of it was white, and she cheerfully banged it all over the place. It busted open and bled everywhere.
People would come over for dinner and end up with bloody legs from Maggie's tail. Blood splotches were all over the walls.
Against my boyfriend's wishes, I got her tail docked, and never regretted it.
The vet did a wonderful job, and Maggie was fine. She even looked more like a Vizsla, and ran along the mountain trails (and through our house) with no further damage.
She lived until 14, and was still retrieving tennis balls the week she died. Vizsla Tail
The breed standard calls for the tail to be docked to two-thirds of its original length. Although the remainder of the tail is strong, the third docked is thin and whip-like and is open to damage in the field
Many years ago my then-boyfriend-now-husband and I brought home a pound puppy. They had told us it was an Irish setter mix, and that is what she looked like.
What we did not realize until later is that we had brought home a Vizsla mix. (Much later, we decided that the other part of her was probably English setter.)
Anyway, Maggie grew up, and so did her tail. The end of it was white, and she cheerfully banged it all over the place. It busted open and bled everywhere.
People would come over for dinner and end up with bloody legs from Maggie's tail. Blood splotches were all over the walls.
Against my boyfriend's wishes, I got her tail docked, and never regretted it.
The vet did a wonderful job, and Maggie was fine. She even looked more like a Vizsla, and ran along the mountain trails (and through our house) with no further damage.
She lived until 14, and was still retrieving tennis balls the week she died. Vizsla Tail
The breed standard calls for the tail to be docked to two-thirds of its original length. Although the remainder of the tail is strong, the third docked is thin and whip-like and is open to damage in the field
A friend of mine had a boxer with the same issue..whenever he would wag his tail and hit something, it would start bleeding. They had to warn people not to wear light colors when coming over because they could be "sprayed" with blood. If its for the dog's health, then yes dock..if its for the dog's benefit...i.e. hunting, etc. then yes but otherwise, for the "look", absolutely not. And it would be wonderful to improve breeding standards so that the dogs didn't have these brittle tails but there will always be BYBs out there.
Looks like from pictures that the tail of the aussies aren't much different from our collie's tail or that of some border collies. Yeah, you have to brush them, but it's not that big a deal. And the tails aren't tall like lab tails so you won't have to worry about them knocking stuff off tables.
I have a Jack Russel Terror with NO docked tail. I wouldn't have him any other way. He shows a TON of expression through his tail. It's always entertaining when he is curious about something to see his tail slowly wagging like he's not quite sure if he should be excited or not. Love that little monster.
I'm afraid to ask- do people just lop the tails off without any anesthetic?
Yep.
My parents had a female dobie that the sheriff's office my father worked for had imported as a working dog and then found her bite work wasn't even close to what they needed, so he bought her. They decided to breed her to the male they had at the sheriff's office that did have good bite work, hoping to get a litter of good working dogs. No genetic testing, etc. I was about 10 years old - what did I know?
Anyway, on the day they took the puppies in for their tail docking, I went in the room with the vet. I was horrified when he picked up the first puppy and grabbed a set of scissors and just cut the tail off. No anesthetic, nothing. I had to leave the room in tears.
Dew claws are done the same way. This video walks you through and shows them grabbing the dew claw with clamps, twisting and then cutting it off. Makes me sick.
If anyone plans on watching, just know ahead of time it does show the actual amputation, so if you're sensitive to it, skip it.
The vet from the comments seems knowledgable and many comments say he does it gently. I'm not sure how cutting off a part of the body with no pain management is considered gentle, but I didn't do 10+ years of vet school, so I guess I don't know anything.
IMO, cutting off any body part for purely medical reasons is sick and should be outlawed.
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We do have a lot of burrs, but she has yet to get them on her tail, she is getting them on her whole body. But apparently their tails can suffer injury while hunting in the field. I just came across a site that details such injuries. I personally do not approve of docking an ESS's tail unless they are used for hunting, and then I *might* see the health benefits. (editing to say that after reading through some of the stories on this link, I do think in some breeds a long, intact tail could be hazardous, even just around the house)
I was about 10 years old - what did I know? 
