The Undocked Dilemma

BY CAROLINE COILE

It was a situation custom-made for a Facebook Rate-the-Judges free-for-all: Saturday’s judge excused all the natural-tailed Silky Terriers prior to awarding any placements. Sunday’s judge not only judged them but awarded one a group placement. Judges and exhibitors alike chimed in. “It’s a man- made fault!” “Where in the standard does it say to excuse?” “Even if it’s a fault how is it any worse than, say, flat feet?” But when that judge wrote in explaining her actions, the tides turned. In what must be a record for that page she received 1.4 K “likes” for her post, which explained that as much as she disliked having to excuse the dogs, her interpretation of the standard (“the tail is docked”) required her to do so as “not in accordance to the standard.” There was still ample back and forth discussion, but now many praised her for not playing the popularity card but instead being true to the breed standard.

When judging a customarily docked breed, it’s true that undocked tails are a “man-made fault” and thus arguably of less importance. But consider that many standards include DQs for man-made faults, such as improper clips or for docking, or include excusals for trimming the coat. It’s also true that natural tails could be considered just another fault, like flat feet, but also consider that flat feet seldom detract from breed type.

In the old days judges were seldom, if ever, confronted with long tails in docked breeds. These days the European ban on docking has not only brought natural-tailed dogs to U.S. show rings, but caused Amer- ican breeders to consider going natural so they can show abroad or export puppies.

The United Kennel Cub adopted this position statement: “The docking of tails and cropping of ears in America is legal and remains a personal choice. How- ever, as an international registry, the United Kennel Club is aware that the practices of cropping and dock- ing have been forbidden in some countries. In light of these developments, the United Kennel Club feels that no dog in any UKC event, including conformation, shall be penalized for a full tail or natural ears.”

The AKC allows each parent club to determine its stance on docking and cropping.

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Posted by Alex on Jun 21 2018. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.