Tail Docking - Dog Pain Sussex – Part 1

Canine osteopaths Sussex have shown great interest in joint study published by the University of Bristol and the Royal Veterinary College on the subject of risk factors for tail injuries in dogs, dog pain in Sussex, and the clarification it provides about these important issues for overall dog welfare.

The study refers to and builds on evidence already cited by organisations such as Advocates for Animals and the Scottish Executive during the progress of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill.  This legislation was introduced in support of a ban on the tail-docking of all dogs.  These results of the study also confirm the non-scientific survey commissioned by the BBC Scotland “Landward” programme in 2009.  The BBC survey polled Scottish vets and four out of five of the 595 respondants said that there had not been any increase in tail injuries since the original tail-docking ban was introduced.

http://www.canineosteopath.co.uk/

Dog Pain in Sussex

There is other background to this story.  Claims have been made that the research has established the case that dogs that have had their tails docked are less likely to suffer from tail injuries, but others don’t agree with this assertion.  While no one disagrees that Sussex dogs without tails may in fact be less likely to suffer accidental tail injury later in life, but every puppy that is docked by definition suffers a major tail injury which causes dog pain.  Add to this the fact that the surgery can also lead to physical and behavioural consequences, and you see that tail docking is not necessarily a better option for the dog.  

While no one would disagree with the fact it is unrealistic to avoid all accidental injuries throughout the life of a dog, it is realistic to end the intentional injury from unnecessary tail-docking.  Given that such docking involves injury to every single dog operated on, the real question has to be whether the early injury rate of 100% can be justified.  This question is particularly relevant when the central argument of the pro docking advocates is it that it reduces the potential number of potential injuries and sources of dog pain later in life.

The overall risk of dogs being injured each year in the UK is only 0.23% per year, which is very low.  In fact, the authors of the study observed that “tail injuries requiring treatment in the general dog population of GB could be even rarer than originally thought”.

The upshot of the figures in the study is that around 500 dogs would need to be docked in order to prevent one tail injury.   The underlying data is did include cases injuries suffered covered a variety of situations, and not just the working dog population:

·         36.1% (35 cases) of the injuries were caused by the dog knocking its tail against the wall, kennel wall or other household objects;
·         17.5% (17 cases) were from undergrowth or fences during exercise or work;
·         14.4% (14 cases) were due to their tail being caught in a door;
·         15.5% (15 cases) were due to various other causes; and
·         16.5% of cases (16 cases) were due to an unknown cause.

Continued ………