The bottom image, of course, is the Doberman in her natural form. A dog born from two Dobermans will grow up to look like the bottom image.
These cosmetic surgeries also referred to by veterinarians as elective surgeries are built into breed standards — see an example from the American Kennel Club. Which is to say that a Doberman puppy born from two Doberman parents does not meet his or her own breed standard. In some countries, dog surgical procedures for cosmetic purposes are restricted or banned, but in others, the practices are rampant.
For example, cosmetic tail-docking is banned throughout Australia and in numerous parts of Europe, which is why I saw my first natural Doberman in Italy.
In North America, things look a bit different. The American Veterinary Medical Association AVMA and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association CVMA oppose these procedures, with the AVMA stating that these procedures "are not medically indicated nor of benefit to the patient," and "these procedures cause pain and distress, and, as with all surgical procedures, are accompanied by inherent risks of anesthesia, blood loss, and infection.
Only nine states regulate ear cropping. In addition to welfare concerns associated with docking and cropping , the surgeries could affect dog social communication.
Numerous studies find that tails are gasp useful and meaningful in dog-dog communication more formally known as intraspecific communication, or communication between members of the same species. Even Charles Darwin recognized that tail up has a different meaning than tail down, and dogs attend to long tails better than short ones. The side of the body that a tail wags can even be informative to another dog: a dog seen wagging more to his right-side would be perceived more positively than a dog wagging more to his left.
A stump is less informative. Their open access article in PLoS One finds that these appearance-altering procedures are not meaningless; they affect how dogs are perceived, independent of the dog's actual behavior or personality. Because the tail is connected by muscles and tendons and to his bum, pulling it can cause serious damage. The muscles he uses to relieve himself can be damaged if pulled too hard, which can cause constipation or loss of bowel control.
The tail is also filled with nerves and tendons that allow your dog to feel their tail. Tail docking a puppy is an inexpensive procedure. If the dog is older, the cost is greatly increased. Unfortunately, dogs often suffer injuries to their tail, which can cause them pain and prevent them from communicating properly with humans and other dogs.
In Australia and some parts of Europe, tail docking has been completely or almost completely banned. Therefore, the veterinarians in those countries do not perform tail docking procedures. In the United States, some states, like Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, now restrict docking procedures. Maryland restricts veterinarian tail docking to between five days and 12 weeks after birth unless medically necessary.
Maryland law also requires that anesthesia has to be used during the tail docking procedure if appropriate, i. This procedure usually involves dropping the dog off in the morning and picking them up at the end of the day. This is just one of the many expenses that are involved with owning Dobermans. To see a complete ledger of the expenses involved with owning a Doberman, see the article How Much Does a Doberman Cost? Puppy Prices and Expenses. However, luckily we have the breed standard to go off of for this.
There are certainly some Dobermans who fall outside this standard, but it seems to be the most reflective of the average Doberman. The AKC breed standard indicates the number of joints of the tail that the dog should be left with, but not the length.
That number has been made from real-world measurements. The owner can take the puppies home immediately after if there are no complications. How much pain a Doberman experiences during the tail docking procedure, and afterward, is still open to debate.
Many argue, and even some studies seem to confirm, that puppies at the age when a typical tail docking is done 1 to 5 days old are incapable of experiencing pain in their tail area as nerve endings have not progressed down the tail yet, but they will as the dog ages. Nevertheless, such docking seems likely to give rise to persistent pain experiences in the longer term at least in some individuals… consequences of tail docking within 7 days of birth likely include an ongoing heightened generalised sensitivity to pain hyperalgesia.
There are two styles of tail for a Doberman, docked or undocked natural. A docked tail is a short nub about 2 to 3 inches long and an undocked tail is thin, dense, consists of a small curl, and is about 18 inches long. Natural tails seem to vary in length from as short as 15 inches to about 19 inches.
These are very dense tails that curl gradually as you get near the tip. Below is a photo gallery of various Dobermans with long natural tails. You can click on any image below to see a larger version of that image.
These photos should give you a good idea of what Dobermans look like with natural tails and ears at various ages. Veterinarians around the world have never really been in favor of tail docking. They add, however, that while most of the world is opposed to tail docking, that there is less information regarding how veterinarians in the United States feel about it. The AVMA adds that there is very little scientific support to condone tail docking, even in working dogs.
Further, the AVMA clarified their stance on ear cropping and tail docking in the following statement:. For more information, visit www.
By Daniel Levit. Report an error Policies and Standards Contact Us. More in Pets and Animals.
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