I'm home.

[Seshat]

Just sayin'.

Back from being away - we were looking after a dog. Big. Well, medium-sized. Able to put paws on my chest and lick my face. Able to whack me hard with his tail. Able to put bruises on my arms from trying to play.

Delightful, but far, far too much for me!

So now I'm home, with my little dog who knows I'm fragile and shows her affection for me in much gentler ways. Happy me.

[Mishi]

Yay, you're back!
Rugz and I have weimaraners, and their tails are quite heavy so I know what you mean. To be honest, I think that's part of the reason that they used to be docked.

[Seshat]

Oddly enough, I agree with tail docking.

Not for all dogs. Not even for all cases of a particular breed. But for the breeds with strong, long tails; and where the specific dog is likely to be in places/situations where they can get "happy tail": definitely.

For those who don't know what it is: 'happy tail' is where the fur, skin, and possibly even other tissue of the tail is - well, 'whacked' away as the dog bounds excitedly and happily through tall grass, forest undergrowth, scrubland, or other low-growing plantlife.

As you can imagine, this leaves the poor dog open to infection, in pain... well. Yah.

So for breeds vulnerable to 'happy tail', where the specific dog is likely to go on hiking trips/be a rescue dog/otherwise repeatedly be in the kind of terrain that fosters the injury? Yes, I feel the owner and the vet should consider docking.

There may be other ways to prevent 'happy tail' while still letting the dog enjoy being out and about in that sort of terrain. I'm not aware of them, I expect that most canine vets are. But ever since I learned about it, I became more accepting of docking.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Welcome home, Seshat.