Ear Cropping/Tail Docking

[Magickndm]

My grey has a wicked tail, boney and long. I've heard of several greys who get "tail rot", they get hurt then never heal so it has to be docked.

 

[minkydog]

My sister had to dock her cat's tail. Her old boyfriend was abusive to her. To punish my sister, he set out traps behind the house. The cat got his long, bushy tail caught. It didn't heal and eventually got gangrene in it. Off with the tail. He was left with a 1" bushy stub. Looked weird, but it didn't bother him.

 

[drgnfly30]

I've had two Dobermans & my current Miniature Pinscher, Bo... all were acquired after their tails were docked.

I got both my Dobies ears cropped, but I wished I'd never gotten one of my Dobies done.. one ear never stood up & she looked goofy (of course it fit her personality!) We chose not to get Bo's done & I don't regret it!

 

[magicmato]

My sister had to dock her cat's tail. Her old boyfriend was abusive to her. To punish my sister, he set out traps behind the house. The cat got his long, bushy tail caught. It didn't heal and eventually got gangrene in it. Off with the tail. He was left with a 1" bushy stub. Looked weird, but it didn't bother him.

When I was a 17, I had a cat that had to have his tail docked. He got it caught in a car fan belt (vet's best guess) and it was almost ripped off. He had NO tail, nada. It was sad looking.

 

[maddiemouse]

As a final point, if my vet ever said they refused to perform a procedure that I wanted, that was perfectly within the law, but that they found offensive, I'd be looking for a new vet - sorry, but you forfeit the opportunity to take my money for all those other services when you start cherry picking what you will and won't do! I'd make the same decision about my MD or my OB who started trying to limit my freedoms with their moralizing, if you know what I mean!

I just have to step in and defend the vets who refuse to crop ears. I'm not a vet, but three of my dearest friends are, and none of them will crop ears, a strictly cosmetic procedure, and one that must be done under general anesthesia. When I was showing my boxers, I willingly drove 200 miles to a vet who knew how to properly crop boxer ears for the show ring. My pet quality puppies did not have their ears cropped by me, if the new owners desired to do the procedure that was up to them.
I would never expect my vet to do something cosmetically to my dog that they were uncomfortable with, and it has nothing to do with money. I once saw a little pug puppy that had a pierced ear, with a little diamond stud in it

 

[Taylor]

I have to admit that I like the look of the cropped Dane, it is just so regal and elegant, but I do have a hard time justifying it for a pet quality puppy. Besides the initial surgery, there is a LOT of aftercare required to get them to stand correctly, sometimes up to a year of taping.

I agree with this statement. To me a Dane just doesn't look like a Dane with floppy ears. It was a real hassle taking car of the ears and it is a real art form. Luckily our breeder is only 10 minutes away and she would do it for us. The breeder also did the cropping most vets either won't do it, or don't know how. Also, our breeder sells many dogs to Europe and they never crop the ears. In regards to the tail, I have never seen one docked on a Dane.

The day we bought Brutus home:

January 21: