Faryn Griffin Christina Hitchcock Composition II 22 October 2017 In “Taking Dogs Seriously?” Marie Fox states that “the practice [of tail docking] entails cutting or crushing skin, bone, cartilage, muscle and nerves of the tail of a puppy less than a week old.” This common procedure began in ancient Rome. The surgery can be performed in two different ways. One way includes using a scalpel to surgically remove part of or the entire tail. The second way is to use a rubber rings (latex bands), which are tight around the tail and causes sloughing (to remove or shed dead skin) of the tail (“Cosmetic Tail Docking: an overview of abuse and report of an interesting case”). The Romans believed that by docking their tails it could prevent diseases, …show more content…
like rabies, and could prevent themselves from being taxed. Owners refused to be taxed simply because their working dogs had tails, so docking them was the solution to the problem. Another reason for docking tails was so that the working dogs could prevent any future injuries. However, nowadays, many people dock their dogs tails strictly for cosmetic reasons. Because of the American Dream, everyone wishs to have a dog. They wish to have a dog that suits their family and even their personalities. My family had rottweilers for a really long time and their tails were always docked. They are a breed that usually has docked tails and that is the way we wanted them. My parents would always mention that they never liked the look of longer tails on the breed. I personally never realized it, until now when I began to search this topic. Our family isn’t the only one that chooses a dog based on certain features. Generally, most people choose a dog that they like based off their appearance. That is where altering a dog’s appearance through body modifications, such as ear cropping or tail docking, have begun to cause a major controversy. Tail docking specifically, has a negative connotation because of it’s severe acute and chronic pain, lack of social communication and unfavorable perception. Due to these unethical affects, modification procedures as such should be denounced. Acute and chronic pain are the most inhumane and obvious outcome from tail docking. This is the most popular effect that people would think of when they hear that term “tail docking”. When a vet or a breeder performs the procedure, they will do it without any sort of anesthesia. Many people believe that because they are puppies, the pain isn’t quite as intense and it might be easier for them to get over when they are young. However, in “Tail Docking and Ear Cropping”, Cagri Caglar Sinmez, et al. states that “puppies have the lowest nociceptive thresholds and thus should experience more pain than the adult dogs.” A pathway in the dogs that regulates pain isn’t officially developed. Therefore, this means that they experience pain at a way higher level. Another sign they can tell when puppies are in pain, is that they go straight to feeding. The suckling is an indication that these puppies are “in need of comforting and partly in need of pain relief” (Jenny Moffett, 718). As for chronic pain, it is the same for any type of surgery, whether it’s in humans, dogs, or even livestock. There is always a chance for an obstacle in any surgery. The American Veterinary Medical Association Animal Welfare Division lists in “Welfare Implications of Tail Docking-Dogs” that docked dogs could have less developed levator ani and coccygeus muscles, a higher incident in incontinence and underdeveloped pelvic musculature. The levator ani is a muscle that helps support the organs in the pelvic area. The coccygeus muscles connect with the levator ani muscle to make up the pelvic diaphragm. Docking can cause similar problems to these and have an effect on a dog for the rest of it’s life. Not only does tail docking cause physical problems, but it always causes interactional issues as well. When dogs lose their tails, they lose a form of their communication.
Depending on a tails position, it can mean a wide variety of things. If the tail is raised higher, it might mean confidence or aggression. If a tail is lowered, it might mean fear or submission. A very common meaning for a wiggling tail is excitement, playfulness or comfort (Leaver & Reichmen, 378). Another way dogs use their tails as a form of communication is through hunting. For example, some dogs that are used in hunting, specifically bird dogs, will point out where exactly the birds are located. Their tails stick straight in the air to give the owners or hunter a que on where the birds are at. Their tails are also used to communicate with other dogs. In “Behavioural responses of Canis familiaris to different tail lengths of a remotely-controlled life size dog replica”, S.D.A. Leaver and T.E. Reimchen use a study to experiment how dogs would react to another's whose tail was short/moving, long/moving, short/still and finally long/still. They created a life sized model dog that had black fur, somewhat like a Labrador Retriever. Their study concluded that the dogs smaller than the model were suspicious. However, they were suspicious to the model no matter what size the tail was and whether it was moving or not. The dogs that were larger than the model stopped more times than not when the tail was short. The main conclusion from the study was that “results, thus, provide that the signal communicated by …show more content…
tail motion is most effectively conveyed when the tail is long” (388). From this study, it is clear that a dog’s tail is a huge form of communication because it can determines its interactions with other dogs. Not only does it show the interaction with other dogs, but how people can interact with them too. By having a shorter tail, interaction between people and other dogs may be limited and make them difficult to read. If docking the tail makes them more difficult read, than problems could aris with other dogs. A dog may not know what to do because they don’t understand the dog who has a docked tail. It could eventually lead to aggression and other social problems. Docked dogs might often be hard to understand and the often give people different impressions not only for them, but their owners as well. Docked tails give off an unfavorable perception for the dog and their owner. A study conducted by Katelyn E. Mills in “Tail Docking and Ear Cropping: Public Awareness and Perceptions” created three experiments. The second experiment handled how physical appearance affected the way people perceived them. They were given pictures of different dog breeds and modifications. Then they were asked to base those dogs personalities solely on the pictures. The third experiment wanted to see if owners of these modified dog were perceived differently as well. To test this question, they paired a modified and unmodified dog with a female or male owner using pictures once again. For experiment two, the results were found that “modified dogs were seen as more aggressive both towards people and towards other dogs and more dominant than natural dogs” (Mills, 8). In experiment three, they concluded that “overall participants’ perceived owners of modified dogs as being more aggressive, more narcissistic, less playful, less talkative, and less warm than owners of natural dogs” (Mills, 8). Though they give the impression that they might be a “mean” or “bad” dog, they shouldn’t be put in the position for that to be an option. The problem with tail docking is that people are not educated on the topic.
In fact, 42% of people thought that cropped ears and short tails were apart of a dog's genetics (Katelyn E. Mills, et al., 9). Both cropped ears and short tails happen because people get to choose whether or not they want those characteristics in a dog. Now, some breeds do have “bobbed tails” that are in the offspring of certain breeds (Welfare Implications of Tail Docking-Dogs). To denounce the act of tail docking, people need to become more educated on the dangers and negative affects that come along with it. Nothing will happen if not enough people know about the
topic. Opposing views claim that tail docking does not always come off negative and shouldn’t be declared wrong. There are multiple positive effects that come from docking tails. One reason being that dogs don’t even actually need to have their tails. According to “Canine Tail Docking FAQ”, there isn’t any accurate data proving that dogs actually need them. A small example of a dog not needing their tail is a working dog. They can potentially benefit from tail docking because it decreases their chances of being caught in bushes or thickets. Another positive aspect of tail docking is to keep good hygiene. One way that docking helps this is because it gives them less chance for piles of faeces around the tail (Tail Docking and Ear Cropping, 432). By tail docking when they are puppies, it can potentially prevent them from having problems later in life. MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE ITS ONLY ACTUE PAIN Many people believe that tail docking can be seen as a positive thing because tails are not needed, they might be a working dog and to keep good hygiene. However, having to cause the acute and long-term pain through the procedure outweighs the positive things. Another thing is that many people believe working dogs don’t actually have trouble with their tails getting stuck. “These justifications for docking working dogs’ tails lack substantial scientific support” (American Veterinary Medical Foundation). People say that their working dogs need their tails docked, but their really is no accurate proof that they do. Also from the American Veterinary Medical Foundation, the statistic they gives shows that tail injuries in dogs was 0.23%, which isn’t even a complete percent. Tail docking has become a procedure for many different things, whether it is to prevent disease, taxation, future injuries or to give families the perfect dog. It might be seen as a positive thing for dogs, but it should be. It has a negative effect towards dogs by giving them acute and long term pain, a lack of communication and altering nature's purpose. Due to these effects Work Cited "Call for Tail Docking Legislation." Irish Veterinary Journal, vol. 62, no. 5, May 2009, p. 302. EBSCOhost, elibrary.macc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=47122180&site=eds-live. Eyarefe, Oghenemega David and Cecilia O. Oguntoye. "Cosmetic Tail Docking: An Overview of Abuse and Report of an Interesting Case." BMC Veterinary Research, vol. 12, 29 Feb. 2016, p. 1. EBSCOhost, Fox, Marie. "Taking Dogs Seriously?." Law, Culture & the Humanities, vol. 6, no. 1, Feb. 2010, pp. 37-55. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/1743872109348990. Leaver, S. D. A. and T. E. Reimchen. "Behavioural Responses of Canis Familiaris to Different Tail Lengths of a Remotely-Controlled Life-Size Dog Replica." Behaviour, vol. 145, no. 3, Mar. 2008, pp. 377-390. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1163/156853908783402894. Mills, Katelyn E., et al. "Tail Docking and Ear Cropping Dogs: Public Awareness and Perceptions." Plos ONE, vol. 11, no. 6, 27 June 2016, pp. 1-14. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0158131. Sinmez, Cagri Caglar, et al. "Tail Docking and Ear Cropping in Dogs: A Short Review of Laws and Welfare Aspects in the Europe and Turkey." Italian Journal of Animal Science, vol. 16, no. 3, Sept. 2017, pp. 431-437. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/1828051X.2017.1291284. "Tail Docking: The Long and the Short of It." Irish Veterinary Journal, vol. 60, no. 12, Dec. 2007, pp. 718-719. EBSCOhost, elibrary.macc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=28060214&site=eds-live. https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/LiteratureReviews/Pages/Welfare-Implications-of-Tail-Docking-Dogs-Backgrounder.aspx
Feelings are the most significant part of human’s creature, but what if it comes to the goal that one’s life is based on? Would it still be that important? In the article, “Dog Lab”, Claire McCarthy discusses her own experiences as a medical student at Harvard school. McCarthy was born in 1963. She did her residency at Boston’s Children’s Hospital and she is now working as a pediatrician at the Martha Eliot Health Center in the Jamaica Plains. During college, she used to keep a journal with her that provided the outline of her writings which she referred to for her books such as Learning How the Heart Beats: The making of a Pediatrician and Everyone's Children : A Pediatrician's Story of an Inner City Practice. In addition to McCarthy being
cropping and docking are rooted in canine history, particularly in the history of fighting dogs, such as the Boxer, which once boasted “baiting” careers with bulls or bears.(Abraham 17) Cropped ears, while not only creating a fierce more threatening appearance, reduced the risk of damage and injury to the ear, and a docked tail removed a convenient handle for opponents to grab onto.
Life gives us the opportunity to act and behave in ways that would make us either live a happy or dreadful life. Human intelligence is the basis of our society and can either make us unhappy or happy. In the novel, Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis, the two human Gods, Apollo and Hermes make a bet on if an animal had human intelligence, would they have a happy life? As they were bickering upon this bet, they passed a veterinary clinic. They then enter the clinic to realize majority of the animals were dogs, therefore, that was the animal that was chosen for their bet. Throughout the novel, fifteen dogs have the challenge of having human abilities. The two dogs, Majnoun and Prince, both live a life with human intelligence but very differently.
To some people, declawing is known as a simple and minor procedure. Declawing is much more complex than just clipping their toenails. It’s actually an invasive surgery known as feline onychectomy (PETA). The problem is that declawing a cat is basically another form of mutilation. declawing leads to the removal of a cats bones in their feet which then leads the cats to have less than the paw they were
Every year an estimated 4.5 million dog bites occur in the U.S. BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) is a law that suggests that certain breeds are more prone to aggression than others. By banning or restricting the breeds in question, it is believed to help reduce the number of attacks. BSL determines which breeds are dangerous using statistics. These statistics cannot be relied on for two reasons. One, there is no concrete method to determine a dog’s pedigree. Thus, a victim, animal control officer, or owner is trusted with identifying the dog through appearance. According to Scott and Fuller, authors of Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog, “It has been known for decades that the cross-bred offspring of purebred dogs of different breeds often bear little or no resemblance to either their sires or dams (1965).” Visual assessments are questionable. Two, population is not accounted for. Population is important, in that it provides context to percentages. Because a dog’s breed is impossible to pinpoint, we cannot provide numbers. BSL’s cause is rendered useless when we consider these points.
Upon approaching the subject in question, one must first ask, “What are dogs?” Evolutionarily speaking, the modern domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is the descendent of an ancestor held in common with the grey wolf (Canis lupus) (Melina, 2014). As their Latin nomenclature suggests, dogs are only a subspecies of wolf. Therefore, no great genetic misalignments exist to prevent successful reproduction between breeds (hence why mutts are possible). This is conversely untrue of wolves--distinct only in species--as well as any members of any two separate geni, families, orders, classes, phylums, or kingdoms. Breeds--merely typecast mutations from the original--alone enjoy this special privilege.
Take a moment and picture a dog in your head. What do you see? You may see many different things depending on your own personal encounters with the species. There are many types of dogs out there. Some small, some large, long-haired or short-haired. There are many variances in what a dog can look like. One thing that does not change, or should not change, is the importance for every dog in this world to be given love and affection, no matter its characteristics. This is what leads me to believe that the obsession with producing and owning purebreds needs to come to a halt. Continuing to create these so-called “best dogs” is dangerous to not only the purebred’s health, but also devalues mixed breeds and can cost them their lives in animal shelters where they may never escape. My interest in this topic caused me to look into seeing what other people felt about it.
Throughout the world there are many different countries that contain diverse cultures, religions, and life styles. There is however certain aspects within these countries and cultures that acts as a common ground between one another. One dominant aspect is the existence of dogs within these cultures. Dogs are common throughout the world, either as a domestic pet, a protector on a farm, or an assistant for hunting; amongst others. Regardless of the reason for having a dog most people have either owned one for themselves or has known somebody who has owned one at some point in their life. Despite the relative normality of having a dog in your life in one way or another, the reasons for dogs coming into existence is not common knowledge among most people. Throughout a great portion of mankind’s history dogs have been an essential part of life. The truth is dogs were actually created in part by man. It was evolution from wolves in the form of natural and artificial selection that brought dogs into existence (Harris 3). This is the most modern and widely excepted theory at this time, however this was not always the case considering the theory of evolution in of itself is relatively new in our society. After evolution as a theory was accepted there were several other variations on the theory such as, the evolution being from jackals opposed to wolves, and artificial selection being the only form of evolution to have taken place. According to Jarret A Lobell and Eric A Powell of Archaeology magazine “The idea that dogs were domesticated from jackals was long ago discarded in favor of the notion that dogs descend from the gray wolf (2)”. As for the theory that artificial selection ...
Boxers, Pit bulls, Schnauzers, and Great Danes are some of the dog breeds that have been subjected to ear cropping and tail docking. Show dogs, for example, also have their ears cut to a certain shape or tails deducted to meet the standard look of their breed. Some pet owners also prefer their pets to have these surgical procedure done on them to have more of the “traditional” look. Ear cropping and tail docking have been banned in many countries such as, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, and other countries. The American Veterinary Medical Association has also “denounced cosmetic ear cropping in 2008.” Even Benfield, the Pet Hospital, has stopped practicing ear cropping and tail docking surgeries since 2009. Most veterinary schools do not teach or practice these two procedures anymore.
Mary Crow Dog is a woman of the Brule Tribe from the Sioux nation. The Brule Tribe is from the Western Sioux, which is known as Lakota (5). Mary Crow Dog spent her time growing up at a Catholic missionary school called St. Francis Boarding School (4). Her transition from growing up in a Catholic school to embracing her Lakota culture and religion during times of Native American oppression by the U.S. government can be best explained using Bruce Lincoln’s definition of a religion from Holy Terrors. Lincoln’s definition of religion is applicable to both polytheistic and monotheistic religions, because the definition focuses on explaining four principles that are imperative for any religion. Lincoln believes that in order for a religion to be
TRANSITION: Now that you know how intelligent cats are, lets talk about their tail signals.
Holistic dog treatment needs to be understood as for what it represents. A holistic veterinarian seeks to promote the animals' natural healing capabilities from within as well as through harnessing the energies from the body. They use the least toxic, least invasive and most nurturing path to healing. Holistic medicine is defined as any system that diagnoses and treats a disease in the context of the whole patient.
many reasons. The most important reason they hang by their tails is because they catch their food that way. They hang over water to catch bugs and drink water. They will also sometimes eat hanging upside down. Some other reasons are to look out for predators, scare predators, and sneak up on their prey. Also, they just want to have fun a with one another. Hanging by their tails is crucial to their survival and to have fun.
To prepare for my media interview on tail docking, I researched multiple tail docking experiments from Penn State libraries` databases and the “Talking to the Media Guide handout. Looking back, I should have been more relaxed during my interview. I believe that it would`ve helped me in giving my responses faster and clearer. However, I made sure that I had my “management decision” terminology, Texel breed standards, and facts about tail-biting in pigs as the three areas that I could bridge back with. I believe that what I did best during my interview was containing the discussion to areas of tail docking that I knew a lot about. I was prepared for a wide array of questions, but I was most comfortable with sheep and working dogs. I also think that I did a good job at establishing credibility. I answered the questions completely, but maybe I provided too
They are pack animals, which means people should spend lots of time with them, so they do not get lonely. A dog goes woof, bark, growl or howl, which is the complete opposite of a cat. The canine group also has a defined social status, and they strictly determine their order of rank. The deciding factor in dogs is the tail and how high they hold their tail is how they determine pack position. If one dog meets another dog, and one holds its tail up, it that indicates it is the of the higher social class. Another noticeable difference between dogs and cats is that dogs are usually much bigger than cats. Dogs are also somewhat smarter than cats in the area of verbal command. For example, one can call the dog by name and usually it will come to, unlike a cat. Also, one can train dogs to do a trick on command. Some of the most commonly seen tricks for dogs are roll over, fetch, shake hands, sit down, lie down, and play dead.