h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Alright, this isn't much of a rant, but here goes.

1. Tail docking.
2. Dewclaw docking.
3. Ear clipping.
4. Ear taping.
5. Nerve cutting.
6. Hairspray and chalk.

Tail docking is something that does not bother me. I realize that a lot of countries have outlawed this practice because it has been deemed ‘cruel’, but this also doesn’t bother me. Breed that traditionally have docked tails have them docked for a reason. With our breed, before the tails are docked (we dock them at three days so that no anesthesia is needed and the pups don’t feel much more than a twinge; most sleep through it), it is very noticeable what should be clipped off. The tail is thick near the base and then immediately goes to rat thin after the fat part. The extremely thin part is not tapered and is basically skin over bone. Many times, when this part is left on, the tail is easily split open. If the dog wags his tail and hits something, the bone is not padded and the skin is cut. This also interferes with the dog’s functionality in the field. If a dog is out bird hunting, a torn tail isn’t a good thing. I also think that it makes it more difficult to see when a dog is pointing, but that is complete nonsense.

Dewclaw docking is also something that doesn’t bother me. I wouldn’t dock dewclaws or tails on an adult dog unless an injury to the area demanded it. I don’t think that all dogs need their dewclaws removed, either. Dogs with dews that are close to the leg pose no problem, but dogs with doubles and triples that hang can be easily injured. Some breeds, Pyrenees for example, must have dews attached in order to be shown. We received a bitch from Italy with doubles on her back feet and singles on the front, and we show her with them. Whether or not a dog has dewclaws (unless it’s in a breed that requires them) poses no threat to its appearance or function.

I strongly dislike the practice of clipping ears. Breeds like boxers and pinschers with ears that are clipped worry me. The ears are cut to form a point, stitched, and then taped to retain the upright position. I don’t know very much about the breed so I can’t comment on the effect that this has on the dog’s function, but I am pretty sure that this is a purely cosmetic alteration. Dogs are starting to be shown that haven’t had their ears clipped, but rarely do they win although I think it shows a marked improvement.

Ear taping is…well, I don’t quite know what to say about it. I’m apathetic on the subject. We have an Airedale whose ears we taped. The idea is to train the ears to stay in a certain position. No alteration of the actual shape of the ear is done, and no harm befalls the dog except mild irritation of having its ears bound at first. Breeds where the dogs usually have to have their ears taped are bred for ears that need very little taping, if any; but, as long as the shape is correct, many people don’t mind doing a month or so of taping. As I said, it doesn’t hurt the dog or cause more than mild upset, so I don’t particularly mind unless it gets to the point where the ears are taped in position for longer than two months when it’s obvious that the ears are NOT going to stay where they’re wanted when the tape is removed.

Nerve cutting. I LOATHE THIS PRACTICE. It is practiced on horses and dogs alike and it never ceases to disgust me. Breeds that are supposed to have tails that are straight are usually the victims of this. If a dog in a straight-tailed breed has a curly tail, some (I only know of four instances where this has been done) individuals will have the nerve at the base of the tail cut so that the tail stands straight. This is something done for cosmetic reasons. A curly or gay tail does not interfere with anything except the confirmation show standard.

I can tolerate hair spray and chalk a lot better than nerve cutting, but it still makes me a bit uncomfortable. I will admit to using chalk in the beards of white dogs that have terminal stains from ‘being a dog’, but I use it more of a drying agent than a coloring agent. I dislike it when people use hairspray on a dog. It’s bad for the skin and people can never figure out why their dogs suddenly develop skin irritations and allergies. Hmm…I wonder. Alcohol in hairspray, fragrance in hairspray…there’s a difficult one. Another thing I dislike is dying dogs. Dogs with incorrect coloring are sometimes colored with human hair dyes. Sorry, this is stupid and not too terribly good for the animal. If you can’t finish a dog with obvious faults, chances are that it shouldn’t be a champion. Or maybe this is just me…?

There it is. The most poorly written rant I’ve posted in a while.

Bloody hell, I HATE the habit this box has of changing my ' into ‘

Nah its ok. You missed out on a few things I think. For example the MCW practice of complete docking of tails for "looks better" reasons. I don't like that one bit. Also I think you should include some things about people who buy dogs who have no interest in actually keeping the dog and just want it as a fashion item. I am sure you know the type. Also perhaps you should put in some things about how annoyingly conservative judges can be when it comes to these things. They are in fact the ones that really support the more draconian practices, its obvious that they should have a large amount of blame put on them for putting pressure on breeders to do things to there dogs that they don't necessarily want to do.

Whoops, yes, I left out a whole hell of a lot.

7. Dogs as fashion items.
8. Junior handlers at dogshows.

Dogs are meant to be dogs. I'm not a nut who says that someone is abusing their dog if it lives outside (although I think it is (we have one, even...I'm a hypocrite)), but an individual should not buy or adopt a dog just to have. A dog is a companion, a friend, a pet. I dislike it when people by a dog that is a finished champion just to say, 'Yeah, my dog is a champion.' Did they do anything other than pay for this fully trained dog? Did they work with the animal at all? Did they spend hours grooming and counseling the dog? NO. We had one guy call us wanting two white puppies...he wanted to use them as living statues for a wedding. Yet another NO. I also dislike the practice of buying a dog for children. Children under the age of twelve can not deal with training, raising, and managing the upkeep of an animal unless they are extremely precocious and very focused on doing so. These people are trying to use the dog as a baby sitter. I would rather have the children baby sat by a computer than a dog; because, when this dog grows up and is no longer a cute puppy and jumps and scratches and bites due to lack of training, it will end up in a rescue program or in the pound. And the cycle will continue, with the adults buying pet after pet until the child has lost interest or until no one will sell them a dog.

I am not a fan of junior handling. This is a program for handlers under eighteen. These kids are judged on how well they show...themselves, not the dog. Many times, these children are given a fully trained dog and said to have at it. The kids that train their own dogs, do all of the grooming, and actually WORK for results rarely win anything. How can you compete against someone who has a dog that is fully show trained and professionally groomed? You can't. The kids that participate in this are usually snots. I say, let these kids learn in the breed ring where what you win matters. I never participated in junior handling and have had more clients than these kids who are supposedly 'veteran handlers.' Why? Because I show the dog instead of myself. A good handler should not be seen while showing.

I showed my dog when I was in 4-h as a kid, I got 2nd place

I also think ear and tail docking is inhumane, it looks very painfull.

Ah its a pity that I can't really be bothered training Ada for anything par flyball.

I love training. I would train for years and years and never compete, just for fun. Heck, my cat is now being trained. We live exciting lives here in Jojaw.

I have two dog's one is smart(super smart)I can teach him anything(almost anything)but, unfortunitaly, my other dog seems to be dumb as a box of rocks. She manages to go potty outside, and, well, thats about it. I think she's to hyper rite now maybe as she ages I'll be able to work with her more....

Oh, yay, the hyper ones are terrific. Usually, they mellow as they get older, so it's quite possible. Nicky used to tear siding off the house...thirteen years later, he only takes bananas off the counter.

What about inbreeding and resulting health problems?

It would probably help a lot with Ada if we knew what breed she was

Inbreeding actually isn't a bad thing unless you're breeding dogs with carries for harmful or undesirable traits. If you're breeding two 'clean' dogs, inbreeding can actually produce many, many, many nice dogs.

PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!PUPPIES!

*collapsesinheap*

I love puppies. Babypuppiesbabypuppies...mmm...

Traveller in Time introducing the icon to the thread
" "

Sleepy puppies, lively puppies, playful puppies, pups, pups, pups... we will be like this for days now

What about the long-term effects of inbreeding though? And how do you tell if the dogs are clean? If a gene for a condition is recessive...

My information on this is a little rudimentary - GCSE Biology and watching a news item once on how British Bulldogs as a have reached the point where most of them have respiratory difficulties. Ugly things anyway.

You don't know if a dog is clean, but my point is that not all inbreeding is bad. English Bulldogs are very ugly. Genus is...Canis? The only way to know if a dog is clean is to breed it to a dog that you KNOW has the same recessive trait and to see if it's manifested. Test litters are the only ways to know for certain; and, in cases where the trait is autosomal recessive, you can't know for certain until after many. Dominant traits (the breeding of a white spin (bb) to a pure brown (BB) and getting all heterozygous pups (Bb) with the phenotype brown) are relatively easy to identify unless more than one allele is affecting the color (labrador retrievers, for example, who have three different that manipulate the color.)

I think you will find its species name is Canis lupus (sub) familiaris

I think it's just Canis familiaris.