Ear Cropping and Tail Docking Create Ethical Dilemmas for Vets
I do not know how to crop ears or dock tails. Both procedures are relatively straightforward for a qualified veterinarian. I could easily master them. But I have chosen not to.
I am not willing to perform surgical procedures that are not medically necessary. Most of the vets I know hold similar attitudes. Doberman Pinschers can lead perfectly healthy lives with long tails and floppy ears.
Ear cropping and tail docking are painful. The procedures may lead to infections, disfigurement and other complications. My decision not to perform these surgeries was straightforward.
Unfortunately, this attitude is coming into conflict with breed standards and the expectations of some pet owners.
As fewer veterinarians are willing to crop ears and dock tails, more breeders and owners are turning to unqualified individuals to perform the procedures. Many experts worry that this trend will lead to increased complication rates and inadequate pain control for animals subjected to cosmetic surgeries.
Some members of the veterinary community feel that vets should embrace the procedures. When a qualified veterinarian crops ears or docks a tail, he or she is able to use sterile technique and implement an appropriate pain management protocol.
However, a growing number of vets (including me) advocate a different solution. Change the breed standards. Eliminate cosmetic surgeries in animals. I predict that we will prevail.
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You have questions. 
As a student vet I agree that tail docking and ear cropping are unacceptable practices. As is declawing of cats. Unless these are done for medically sound reasons or if they are the only alternatives to euthanasia. the South African (where I am from) Veterinary Council has taken a stand against these type of practices and banned tails docking as of 1 June 2008 in South Africa. Follow the link for more info http://www.savc.co.za/taild.htm
Hi Sean from a fellow South African!
And I agree with you & Dr. B – although I too am scared of the alternatives people will go to, such as backyard docking…so fingers crossed that the breed standards get changed soon and that people fall in line!
Thanks for the blog, Dr. B! :)
It’s illegal in Great Britain and yet you still see terriers with docked tails as the breeders do this relatively painless procedure which does not require anesthesia themselves. I totally agree that ear cropping is ludicrous and the potential benefit of fewer ear infections really does not outweigh the problems with a dog having a foot long open wound on the top of his head during that extremely formative 8 to 16 week time period when he is learning every second what is good and bad in the world. Tail docking and the removal of dew claws seems to have more basis is necessity and both are typically done at 3 days and the puppy is completely healed long before that 8-16 week period.
Do you perform spays or neuters where not medically necessary?
It’s funny she would ask that question when research has proven that spaying and neutering greatly reduce an animals risk of cervical/prostate cancer. I also think that is the responsible thing to do to control the amount pregnancies of your pets. Some owners leave their animals outside or let them roam unattended. I have seen too many pets have pregnancy after pregnancy and often die from complications because of the owner’s ignorance. As long as you are the steward of an animal, it is your responsibility to see to it that your animal has the best possible life and treatment.
Hey everyone!
Well, I DO agree that ear cropping is inhumane and unnecessary and should be removed from the breed standards. However, I DON’T agree that tail docking is cruel and purely cosmetic. For example, the Boxer naturally has a long, skinny, muscular tail with little to no fat. There are many reported cases in which Boxers and similar breeds with undocked tails have wagged there tail too hard against walls or pieces or furniture and have split open there tails or broken them, which is extremely painful to the dog. Also, dogs like these with long, skinny tails have a tendency to wag there tails and smack small children in the face causing some injuries and pain.
So yes, I think ear docking is a pointless, vain procedure. But, I do believe that tail docking is a very necessary procedure (that has been proven to be painless to day old puppies) to help prevent injuries to the dog or small children. :]
Yes, the Boxer has a NATURALLY long and skinny tail because we, the humans, BRED it that way! Then of course, because of our inhumane and scary breeding habits, we have to “correct” the problem by cutting off the poor tail! We have essentially created two monsters:
The make up of the beast,
and the practice we use to make the beast “look” how we feel it should.
I cannot get over it: the breeders wanted to create a certain look for a certain breed, whether it be powerful for the Boxer, but then, the tail is too skinny, so let’s just chop it off!
Sickos.
To Abigail in particular: Yes, cervical and testicular cancers are eliminated. But there are also many studies that have shown increases in OTHER types of cancer in s/n dogs as well as conflicting information about less than desirable behavioral changes, particularly in females.
I am by no means “anti- spay/neuter”. But I think that too many people are unquestioningly accepting automatic, mandatory s/n as a normal, natural event. And it is not. Like most surgeries and procedures there are pros and cons that are best well thought through before irreversible decisions are made.
Rachel: as I have pointed out many times on this blog, spaying and neutering have risks and benefits. The surgeries, and the timing of the surgeries, continue to create debate among veterinarians.
However, when I assess the totality of the evidence, I feel it is clear that spaying and neutering are in the best interest of most dogs and cats.
If I did not believe that the procedures were in my patients’ best interest, I would not perform them.
Vets in New Brunswick, Canada will no longer be performing these cosmetic surgeries.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/10/03/dog-surgery.html
I’m no fan of either, but I don’t have a problem with tail docking. With some herding and hunting breeds that will be used for working, it is done for safety purposes. But I don’t see the sense in ear cropping just for looks.
P.S.
Lisa, you have a right to your opinions, but I have to come to regard your sarcastic and overly biased posts with eye rolls.
I have no problem with tail docking, does that make me a sicko? I think not. I am a very passionate animal lover who is willing to fight for the causes that I support. I don’t “support” tail docking, I just won’t label someone as bad just because they had it done.
I’d have no problem if you would respectfully disagree, but you seem hostile towards anyone who does not agree with you.
It is sick to physically mutilate our dogs just because of how they turn out due to OUR breeding.
Spaying/neutering do have risks, but the benefits IMO far outweigh them. Where is the benefit in cropping ears or docking tails? What medical need is there for either? As someone who’s assisted with many tail docks on puppies, it does hurt. They cry pitifully, and I’ve seen tail stumps get infected because the “breeders” keep the pups outside in a dirt yard or barn. I’ve seen two dogs in over six years who needed a tail amputated because it was chewing the tail or injuring it by wagging it and hitting things.
Put me in the “don’t crop ears or dock tails” camp.
Lisa, you’ve made that point several times and you just keep bringing it up over and over again. That tells me something all right.
I just don’t agree on that and probably never will. “Sick” indeed. Huh!
“Where is the benefit in cropping ears or docking tails?”
It is often done for safety reasons. Usually for hunting dogs. Although, I do not see the need for ear cropping.
“As someone who’s assisted with many tail docks on puppies, it does hurt. They cry pitifully, and I’ve seen tail stumps get infected because the “breeders” keep the pups outside in a dirt yard or barn.”
You mean that they don’t do it when the puppy is only a few days old and instead do it when they are older? *gasp* I do agree that those particular breeders are crappy.
“I’ve seen two dogs in over six years who needed a tail amputated because it was chewing the tail or injuring it by wagging it and hitting things.
Put me in the “don’t crop ears or dock tails” camp.”
No, you are entitled to your own opinions and I won’t get upset at you or anything as long as you agree to disagree. What makes me mad is when people treat you like crap simply because they disagree with you.
YES YES YES! Thank you Dr. Barchas! The world needs more people willing to stand up and say NO MORE to blatantly immoral practices.
True story: Doing orientation for a puppy class I was assisting, the owners of a set of Great Danes mentioned almost apologetically that they hadn’t docked. My instant reply was that no one needed to apolgize for deciding not to mutilate a pet. I wanted to swallow my words because in that environment, they were unprofessional. The owners of a Min Pin sheepishly told me they had an appointment for a docking — so I apologized.
Two weeks later, the Min Pin was back in class and she still had her intact ears (the breeder had done the tail already). The owners told me they took what I’d said to heart and decided against it. Many weeks later, they told me how much the enjoyed stroking their pup’s ears – and they were even happier they hadn’t docked.
Dogs communicate with their ears too — the way they hold them can say a lot about how they are feeling. Stroking ears can be a calming signal/destressor. IMO, if you take away that one subtle way to communicate, then you’ve given them a slight disadvantage. I think I was harsh to consider this form of aesthetic alteration “mutilation,” but I do see it as “cosmetic surgery.”
I completely agree with Dr. Barchas. Cosmetic procedures of this sort are unnecessary and unethical!!!
Never knowing the difference between crop or not to crop. We had 1 Dobie arrive with cropped ears and we left 2 Dobies with uncropped. The 2 that DID NOT have cropped ears suffered for years with yeast infections that we treated repeatedly. One dog got a hematoma in the ear from shaking the head because of the infection. I LOVE LONG SOFT EARS! , but didn’t want to see my replacement Dobie suffer from a life of ear yeast infections, to battle over and over.
For us it was a MEDICAL DECISION. The pain of ear infection or a short term pain.
If cropping ears prevents ear infections and the like, then we ought to breed in to the breed erect ears, not to mention then crop ALL breeds with long floppy ears…such as Cockers, Spaniels, Retrievers, Hounds, etcetera etcetera.
If cropping ears prevents ear infections and the like, then we ought to breed in to the breed erect ears
Yes, but in the mean time?
, not to mention then crop ALL breeds with long floppy ears…such as Cockers, Spaniels, Retrievers, Hounds, etcetera etcetera.
How do we know that they don’t have problems as well? I’d imagine that those breeds how more “airy” ears, though this is a guess. My aunt has a Cocker and when he had his fur clipped, by golly they were like a Lab’s ears. Those long thick ears were apparently mostly hair!
Well, then you get into the issue of selective breeding when you’re talking about doing a procedure to make up for a natural characteristic that turns out to be problematic — i.e. easily broken tails, frequent ear infections.
Part of the problem we might want to face is that if we didn’t mess with canine genetics so much in creating certain breeds, we wouldn’t have dogs that need “procedures” to cope with their anatomy.
This isn’t a dig on any particular breed, just an observation in general. And yes, I own a purebred dog!
Border collies do not have their tails docked when they work sheep. How often do they experience damaged tails? My two adopted Australian Shepherds have docked tails. They are pets, were never intended to be working dogs. If it were up to me, they would have retained their tails. But they sure have wiggly butts that make us laugh.
How many of you opposed to docking and dew claw removal have your son circumcised?
I’m not against circumcism myself.
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Wow. I am a huge animal lover, and have owned both breeds “supposed” to have docking, and those not. I have a boxer, now living with my ex, and he has the tail done, I love the “nubbin” and love them with their tails docked, but at the same time to me, doign their ears is too much. I also have a son, not circumsized, so I don’t know what that makes me. I know I love my animals and my kids more than words can say, and I will also admit that some breeds don’t look “right” to me without their tails done. I’m going to be getting a 7month old cocker with full tail, I don’t like it, and plan to have it docked, but he will be put under and have meds, I’m not that cruel.
Hurray AVMA!
I’ve had boxers for over 10 years, have never cropped, and have 2 conformation champions with natural ears (being the only dogs I’ve shown in conformation).
I’ve been involved in boxer breed rescue for 7 years and the only dogs I’ve seen with ear issues have had cropped ears. I clean my dogs’ ears regularly but they’ve had no infections or other problems. Anyone who argues that cropping is medically beneficial is full of shite.
I currently have a boxer mix in my house with a full tail and I’ve seen no tail injuries or problems with him.
If you ever watch a dog with a tail run and turn……either in schutzhund or agility or lure coursing or whatever…….you’ll see how much that dog uses his tail for balance. Dogs without tails put tremendous stress on their hind ends without that tail to help balance.
Somehow, the boxers in the UK have managed nicely with both tails and ears for years now.
I am like a few people on here…I agree that getting the ears done is too much it’s more pain because the dog is older when it is done. I’ve had 3 breeds in my life that had or was suposed to have docked tails. My grandfather bred australian shepards for working reasons HE docked all the puppies tails himself and while I didnt agree with him doing it himself I felt like there was nothing wrong with having them docked, he would dock them when they were 2 days old..the puppies, like little baby boys getting circumcised have no painful memories of this getting done. With my yorkie…she was actually born with a naturally docked tail. (which happens in breeds that get tails docked) and I’ve also owned a boxer that SHOULD have had his tail docked. boxers have very powerful tails..I would get bruised from his tail hitting me and things get damaged, I couldnt have him around kids just because his tail would either knock them down or bruise them up so bad. As long as people are responsible and have it done at a very young age I dont think tail docking is an issue.
I think this is ridiculous…. I will always crop my dog’s ears and dock their tails. Yes it’s cosmetic surgery… and is probably pain full …. but it looks great!!! And I’m sure with today’s advances in animal medicine it’s not a big deal! Besides – circumcised boys don’t walk around traumatized for life – why on earth would a dog? They run and play the next day!!!
Maybe some are moving away from that culture, but other’s embrace it (as I do).
I think if veterinarians who refuse this service for their customers… are pushing them down the street to seek out someone who will be willing to do it – and that is when we the cruel, un-ethical treatment of animals. (Like the idiot who cut his dog’s ears off with box cutters…. believe it!!!)
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There is no good excuse to crop ears and dock tails- get out of the dark ages and drag your a$$es into the 21st century- they used to bind womens feet in some places years ago and that was horrid- man is ridiculously vane ,WE NEED TO EVOLVE- HOW THE HELL DOES ANYONE KNOW wether or not something is painless to an animal or not?Please don’t say something lame like, ” it’s a scientific fact that such and such feels no pain because of nerve endings and bla bla bla- stop believing everything you hear just because of some so-called experts opinion or belief- IT”S heresay and BS. Cam -I have a Beagle a Chihuahua and two mixed breed dogs and I love them just the way they were born and are- People need to stop being STUPID!!!
I myself have had several boxers and I also agree that the ear cropping is not necessary, however, I do feel that the tail docking is needed as this is how the breed is supposed to look. All the boxers we have had, did not have their ears done and I would not put them through that pain, also not having the ears done adds to the boxer personality. If in the future, vets decide not to do either the ear cropping or tail docking, I will still continue to have boxers as these procedures are voluntary and I will love my dogs no matter what!!!
I would strip your licence away and send you to practice your holistic medicine out of this country.Read your papers and follow the fucking rules – or QUIT.You have no right to decide.0