Cutting off tails and ears...

I do not know much about why it is done for cows, but I have a friend who has such a dog. I asked her once why its tail had been 'bobbed' and she told me that the this type of dogs (Boxers) get fleas and other parasitic and other skin diseases easily on the under-skin of their tails. That is why to prevent them from facing severe discomfort for a longer period of time, and to prevent them from getting sick they cut their tail off. At that time it felt like a convincing enough answer, but I do not know why it should be done on cows or ears.

Hello my friend PeacefulWmn9 Ji, AS I am not very much fond of taming pets since long due to past experience, I bring out following best reply on the subject though I think, it as a cruelity to animals. Please log on for more views. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070317050105AAAFWRy [b]"Best Answer - Chosen by Asker I absolutely agree with you on most of these things. The only exception is when it's for the comfort of the animal. Tail docking is necessary on some dogs, mainly working dogs that will actually be working. Breeds such as heelers (which are herding dogs) are sometimes better off having their tails docked because their tails can get in the way of their jobs (getting stepped on by large animals, getting caught on things, etc). If they are just kept as pets I think they should be able to keep their tails. Some breeds are prone to ear problems that are remedied by cropping, such as broken cartilage and infections. I know someone who has a boxer with his natural ears. Sometimes he will get broken cartilege just from shaking his head, and it results in painful swelling for the dog. This is a person who wanted the dog with it's natural ears because she, like you, saw no reason for docking. Now she sees how much pain the dog has because of his ears and realizes why they should have been docked. I see no reason for declawing that is a benefit to the cat, and therefore all my cats have their claws with the exception of one that was already declawed when I adopted her. Cats have claws for a reason, and if a person can't take the time to teach the cat how to use a scratching post instead of the furniture or rug, then that person shouldn't have a cat. Cats CAN be easily trained where to scratch & where not to scratch with consistent use of a squirt bottle. If a person MUST have a declawed cat, it's much better to adopt one that already needs a home rather than declaw another one. To sum up, NO I definitely don't think it's OK at all unless there is a true benefit to the animal. 3 years ago "[/b] May God bless you and have a great time.

Hi Karen! I have not heard about this practice. However, it looks cruel to me if some people cut the ears of dogs/cows, it looks inhuman to me.

i THINK IT'S CRUEL BUT KNOW THAT IT'S DONE ALOT OF TIMES JUST FOR SHOW IN THESE DOG SHOWS ETC. i FIGURE IF THE good lord HAD WANTED THEM LIKE THAT HE'S MADE THEM LIKE THAT.

I refuse to believe it serves any practical purpose. I hate thinking of all those poor dogs that have had their tails bobbed! The animal shelter here nicks cats on one ear to show they have been spayed as sometimes strays are re-released.

Hello my friend This is news to me, sounds really cruel if you ask me, look forward to reading the responses for this one, maybe someone here can shed some light on this. Can't imagine why this would be done

I don't understand why some people could do that to animals. We have a cocker spaniel and generally they get their tails cropped or cut off, we didn't hve the heart to do it. People think our dog looks weird but i think he looks cute.

In most cases it's an unnecessary aesthetic procedure. Of course, some dog breeds have their tails docked for a very specific reason. For example, ratting dogs often have their tails docked because if they were to be lowered into, or stuck in a hole, the owner would have to grab them by their tail and pull them out. On a dog with a long tail, the likelihood of breaking the tail was great, so it because necessary to keep the tail short. If the dog is a working dog, I don't see a reason to not dock the tail if the owner feels it's necessary. I don't know of any reason to crop a dog's ears, though, other than to increase it's hearing.

Actually, in many breeds of dogs, they have evolved in such a way that the tail MUST be docked for safety reasons. German Shorthaired Pointers, for example are very prone to tail damage. http://www.trainpetdog.com/german-shorthaired-pointer_articles.html Obviously in cases like this it is far more humane to dock a tail shortly after birth, than to put an adult dog through the trauma of anesthesia and adult docking/amputation. As someone who has experienced an adult undocked Rottweiler breaking their tail, I will profess that it is NOT a pretty sight, and causes the dog a great amount of pain. Breeds that don't typically have their tails docked boast a much stronger, more robust tail not prone to breaking. As for ear cropping, in many breeds it's done for the same sorts of reasons. Boxers are quite prone to ear infections, and Great Danes often get broken cartilage just from shaking their (granted, massive) heads. Docked ears are less prone to painful ear infections (especially since MANY pet owners don't think to clean and dry ears thoroughly when grooming, or taking their dog swimming) and cropped ears almost NEVER suffer broken cartilage. It's the same thing with dewclaw removal in many breeds. Siberian Huskies, for example, are a breed bred to pull a sled and consequently LOVE the snow, but pounding through the sometimes rough snow can often result in snags. Since many dogs are born with the excess dewclaws (think the weird toenail that grows on the inside of their legs, up from their feet), many breeders opt to have them removed shortly after birth to prevent any snags resulting in the dewclaws being ripped off and resulting in infections and severe pain. There are 2 sides to every story.

For dogs, far as I know, it's appearance. For cows, never heard of it. I think it's cruel too.

people who have nothing better to do. they think of something crap to do.

I think it is a disgusting and barbaric pratice. I have a miniature schnauzer and I didn't have him chopped up. Sometimes people ask me what kind of breed he is. I don't think that it makes them look better. I don't understand why you would want to cut off a dog's tail. It is one of the most expressive parts of the dog. You can tell exactly how your dog is feeling just by looking at his tail.

They do it on cows so the tail is out out the way when the cow gets milked!A cow can't swing it's tail and hit the person milking it! Some times the tail end is only cut off. I think it is cruel! I think it is also cruel to dock and bob dogs ears and tails! I know some breeds ears are cropped or bob because it has become part of the breed standard! Some goes with tails! I don't know how this started but I'm pretty share in Great Britain it is illegal to do it to dogs anymore! Seeing a Doberman or a Great Dane without cropped looks more natual and normal! I wish this practice would be outlawed every were!

They think the tail in its original form doesn't suit these dogs or if the cut the tail it adds to the dog's beauty.I endorse your view that this practice is cruel and dog lovers should report such thoughtless and cruel acts to the society for prevention of cruelty towards animals.

I think it's cruel and I don't like it either. I do know that in cows, they will notch the ears as an identifier as to the animals owner. That's the branding aspect too. It just seems so cruel though. I guess people think that they're animals so it is okay to do whatever they want to them, even if it causes them a lot of pain. You know they wouldn't allow it if it was done to people.

hi peacefulwmn9 I think that if the good Lord had wanted the animals to have bobbed tails or ears he would justhave made them that way. no its cruelty and its like our ideas of how'skinny women should look, we go way overboard. all women cannot be size tens. all cows should keep their tails and ears and also dogs. this is all imposed on them by men.

Actually I had a friend with a dog.. Can't remember the breed but they had it's tail but. Oh it was a boxer. But they didn't get it's ears pinched. And yes I do find this cruel. I mean how would you like something cut off. Or something pinched so it stay up straight. I mean how can this feel good for the animal. Let them be as God intended them to be. That's my feelings on it!

i don't do this kind of thing. i feel sorry for pets when owners do that to their pets. i just can't understand why do they have to do that. as i know or feel that pets will feel pain when they have been subject to this kind of practice. i don't want to put my pet in such a pain for any reason. i don't see any good reason at all. except it will shorten a bit their tails or ears. but besides that there is no good thing about it. i think if they have long tails and big ears then let them be. it is not a big problem seeing them the way they are . some pets tend to have longer tails or bigger ears that normal. and that is part of life. there are some abnormally bigger than others.

Yes I watched it on of local show here they cut off small portion of the tail or ears of the dog even the loudness of the bark of the dog they can low in down. They did it for cosmetic and hygienic purposes.

hogs which are raised for commercial purposes have different shapes of ears. do u know why? in our place, the raisers do it as a sign of identification. i don't really know what it means but the raisers alone know what they mean. bobbing tails of dogs happen here too. what we do is to castrate the dog so that it would be incapable of reproducing. we have female dogs in the house too and the male dogs fight for the female dogs during mating season. this really posed us a big problem in the past.