What About Bobs?

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142 – October, 2023

By Caroline Coile

Tail docking is not a new phenomenon. The ancient Romans advocated preventing rabies by cutting the tails off of puppies when they were 40 days old and then pulling out the long tendons. The tendons resembled worms, which were thought to cause rabies.

Later, hunting and working dogs had their tails docked to avoid injury. Some even believed it strengthened the back or improved speed. In 1786, England exempted hunting and working dogs from their dog tax, and identified these dogs by their docked tails. So owners of non-hunting and working dogs sometimes docked their dog’s tail just to avoid the tax.

In 1839, the professional English journal The Veterinarian published the first essay against tail docking. In 1896 the Kennel Club in England debated, but did not pass, a motion that would ban any docked dog from winning a prize at a dog show. In late 2008, the American Veterinary Medical Association issued this statement: “The AVMA opposes ear cropping and tail docking of dogs when done solely for cosmetic purposes. The AVMA encourages the elimination of ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards.” And of course, tail docking is now prohibited in many other countries.

It begs the question: With the malleability of the dog genome, and the ability to produce breeds with far harder to imagine traits than a short tail, why can’t breeders just breed for natural bobtails?

BobTail Genetics

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142 – October, 2023

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Posted by AnthonyA on Oct 13 2023. 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.