What is it that makes dog lovers buy puppies with mutilated tails, and even cropped ears? What is it that makes someone who truly, truly, loves dogs, inflict or endorse such a cruel and barbaric practice?
Why would a puppy with intact tail be less desirable than one with a chopped off one? Who says so (top American show dog associations), and why are rational people believing such an absurdity?
A tail - as every part of a dog's body - has biological and physiological purposes. And psychological ones as well.
Who hasn't been enchanted by the sight of a dog vigorously wagging his tail to tell you how happy he is or how much he loves you?
A dog's tail is obviously a major means of communication. Even a small child can tell that.
Now a group of scientists have studied dogs' reactions to other dog's tail wagging and found consistent results.
Whether their interpretations are correct or not is not significant. What is obvious with or without academic studies is that dogs love their tails and they need to use them to play and communicate.
Will this study or any other stop dog lovers from demanding that their pooches have their tails chopped off? Not really, not until shame and public opprobrium makes them cease and desist.
LATEST STUDY - SCIENTISTS DECIPHER DOG-TAIL WAGS
BBC NEWS - Scientists have shed more light on
how the movements of a dog's tail are linked to its mood.
Earlier research had revealed that happy dogs wag their tails more to the right (from the dog's point of view), while nervous dogs have a left-dominated swish.
But now scientists say that fellow canines can spot and respond to these subtle tail differences.
Read more - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24746107
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RELATED
HOW THEY MUTILATE PUPPIES
Tail docking is generally done on two- to 10-day-old puppies, without anesthesia. The cut goes through skin, cartilage, nerve endings and bone.
Proponents believe very young puppies do not feel pain during docking. They believe canines are less developed than other animals at birth, with less sensitive nervous system.
Opponents of tail docking, including the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), disagree. They maintain puppies, just like human babies, have a fully developed nervous system and do indeed feel pain. They point to biological markers, which show pain is occurring during and after a procedure such as tail docking.
The rubber ligature method, in which the blood supply to the tail is cut off by strangulation, very likely also causes considerable pain to the puppy. Envision wrapping a rubber band tightly around your toe and leaving it there until you’ve lost all blood flow and sensation. It’s not hard to imagine the extreme discomfort you would feel.
Proponents believe very young puppies do not feel pain during docking. They believe canines are less developed than other animals at birth, with less sensitive nervous system.
Opponents of tail docking, including the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), disagree. They maintain puppies, just like human babies, have a fully developed nervous system and do indeed feel pain. They point to biological markers, which show pain is occurring during and after a procedure such as tail docking.
The rubber ligature method, in which the blood supply to the tail is cut off by strangulation, very likely also causes considerable pain to the puppy. Envision wrapping a rubber band tightly around your toe and leaving it there until you’ve lost all blood flow and sensation. It’s not hard to imagine the extreme discomfort you would feel.
Read more, including ear cropping, here: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/01/27/is-tail-docking-and-ear-cropping-harmful-to-dogs.aspx
MANY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAVE BANNED THESE COSMETIC PROCEDURES
These procedures are so cruel that they are banned in many European countries. For example, British kennel clubs outlawed ear-cropping a century ago, and cosmetic tail-docking was stopped in
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) states that "ear-cropping and tail-docking are not medically indicated nor of benefit to the patient. These procedures cause pain and distress and, as with all surgical procedures, are accompanied by inherent risks of anesthesia, blood loss, and infection. Therefore, veterinarians should counsel dog owners about these matters before agreeing to perform these surgeries."
Read more - http://www.peta.org/living/companion-animals/painful-procedures-for-dogs.aspx
HOW TO READ YOUR DOG'S BODY LANGUAGE
Although dogs do use sounds and signals, much of the information that they send is through their body language, specifically their facial expressions and body postures.
Understanding what your dog is saying can give you a lot of useful information, such as when your dog is spooked and nervous about what is going on, or when your dog is edgy and might be ready to snap at someone.
You do have to look at the dog's face and his whole body. To help you, here is a sort of visual version of a Berlitz phrase book to allow you to interpret the eight most important messages your dog is sending to you.
Read more and see explanatory pictures here - http://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/how-read-your-dogs-body-language/415
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