why do they cut the tail

[bigman]

hi all/
I've been wondering for quite some time now why do rottis have to get there tail cut shortly aftert they are borned .... !!!
do you ahve any ideas ..?!!

[Wrath]

It's called docking and it's part of the breed standard. Traditionally, a lot of working breed and sporting breed dogs have their tails docked. One of the reasons I've read is that it is less likely to get caught on something or bang in to something and suffer serious injury for such active dogs. I've also read that dogs used for protection have docked tails to give wrong-doers less places to grab.

It's becoming less prevelant of a practice, a lot of European countries have banned docking and even in the states there are a lot of people who are against it as well. The AKC standard still calls for a docked tail, so having an undocked Rottweiler would prevent you from competing in conformation, but that's really about all. Some people like the docked look, some people like tails...

[bigman]

thanx alot for the replay ...
I actualy thought the same .. I could not find any logical reason for docking them so I though tthat it must be a lokks issue .. but still I thought that maybe this breed has a deffdected tail .. or maybe there is a great hazard for cancer to grow on the tail .. that's why it's docked ... but it seems that it is much less important than I thought ..:)
well .. if you ask me .. I think I'd loved it I have all the dog together ---- tail included ..heheheheh ..

[Rott-Wiley]

I have also read that the original rottweilers that were used to pull carts had their tails docked to avoid the wagging tail getting mixed up with the harness and slopping mud up on the cart. I have owned a rescue girl with a tail and other rotts without and I have to admit the tails give you an advantage of reading the dog better but I do prefer when they have a little nub back there.

[chivas]

The origins of most tail docking was to show the difference between dogs owned by the working class and those owned by royalty. Working class people had to dock their dogs' tails. I m sure there were other reasons too, but this seems to be the one most used where the practices started and some breeds just incorperated it into the standard down the road.
This is NO reason to dock now days if you dont plan on showing. But since its done when they are tiny pups, the procdure isnt as tramatic as when they would be older. I dont agree with ear cropping, de barking or declawing in cats, but tail docking in young pups isnt as tramatic as those other procedures and since tailed rotties arent as common here yet, it would be hard to find a breeder who didnt dock.

[creshie]

Hi,

My little boy is 8 weeks old. I really like the "nub" look. Is it too late to have this procedure done? Is it expensive? How will it effect my guy at this stage?

Thanks

[Rott-Wiley]

Yes, it's too late to dock the tail now.

[creshie]

Rott-Wiley....Thanks for the quick response.:)

[MicheleMarie]

Creshie - Rott-Wiley is sooo right about it being too late to dock. I got my Rotti when she was four months old and she had just had her tail done! (It wasn't my choice, I adopted her and it had already been done.) When I took her to my vet, he said they should never be done that late. I know she was in pain and it took several weeks and a couple of vet visits before it started healing properly. It does look cute when she wags her little nub, but I haven't forgotten the many times she would jump up and yelp because she'd bumped her tail against something!