Tail docking of a Doberman….
Although we usually see Dobermans with a short tail, they are actually born with a tail that is longer than that of many breeds. The short tail is a result of a procedure called: ” Docking”. In this proceedure, the majority of the tail is surgically removed within days of the dog’s birth. These days, docking is illegal in a number of countries. Exceptions are: North America, France, Russia, Japan and some other countries where there is a large population of Dobermans. Docking is normally done soon after the dog’s birth. This means that the breeder nearly always makes the decision before the dogs are even put on the market. Some believe that docking a Doberman’s tail creates a sleek look that the dog is supposed to have. By “supposed to have”, I mean how Louis Dobermann originally envisioned the dog to look. Nature had other ideas it seems, but that does not stop people from docking a Dobie’s tail.
A Dobie with a long tail…as nature intended…
A Dobie with a docked tail….as humans intended…
