Tail docking has become a very controversial subject and whereas some people may not want to hear it, I
am putting our feelings as breeders here for people to see and know what to expect when getting one of our puppies.
The poodle breed has commonly always had its tail docked throughout history. Some of the reasons are
cosmetic and some are functional. Poodles ARE a water retrieval dog. This means that they were bred to jump into
lakes and rivers and retrieve ducks and other water fowl that their handlers have shot. The tail was docked so that
it did not hamper the dogs swimming and also so that the dogs tail pom-pon could be seen above the line of the water even
if the dog was pretty much underwater. As time has gone by the poodle has become less of a retriever and more of a companion
and people (atleast here in the USA) are USED to seeing a poodle with a docked tail and most people prefer it that way.
Another reason for docking tails is to prevent broken tails (happy tail) from vigorous excited wagging. Some full tails
can get broken easily from this and cause problems for the dogs.
As far as dew claw removal goes, we strongly believe they should be removed on all dogs. It is so
painful and terrible for a dog to go through the trauma of getting a dew claw caught and ripped off. And we can tell
you as groomers there is nothing more annoying to deal with than dew claws that stick out at weird angles so as to get caught
up in the scissors when shaping the legs. We also can not tell you how many dogs come to us to have their nails done
after being groomed because their groomer has forgotten to clip the dew claw nails and the nails have grown so long and are
curling up in the pad of the foot. Now you want to talk painful???
There has recently been a push here in the US to make docking dew claw removal and ear cropping illegal
like it is now in most of the other countries. All I can say to this is..THANK HEAVENS WE LIVE IN AMERICA WHERE WE CAN
HAVE FREEDOM OF CHOICE!
Yes here at QTPAWZ & Arpeggio poodles we DO dock the tails and remove the dew claws of our puppies.
We do them ourselves at birth to 3 days of age. We really prefer to do them at birth, especially on the standard
puppies. Contrary to popular belief nowdays it is not harming or mutalating the puppy. It also does NOT take away
the dogs ability to wag its tail or show happiness. If you look at the poodles at the dog shows you will see that a
poodle still has quite a lot of tail and they are certainly wagging them and showing how happy they are.
When we do tails at birth there is little to no blood at all and the puppies hardly make any noise
or know that we are doing it. I prefer doing them that early as the older they get the more you cause pain for the puppies
and the more bleeding there is. We have done docking and dew claw removal for so many years now that its just second
nature and we are VERY quick at it. We have never had any infections, nerve problems, bald spots on tails, tail chasing,
or any other issue from our tail docking or any issues from dew claw removal.
I personally prefer a docked tail but I have enjoyed some natural tails as long as they do not curl over
the back and are carried straight. My husband on the other hand does not like natural tails at all.
If you will notice in the AKC breed standard for the poodle it talks about having the tail docked.
So lets face it people, if you are looking for an AKC show prospect puppy then you are going to want one with a docked tail.
All things being equal....AKC showing is too expensive and too political to waste time and money on a dog with a natural tail
that isnt going to get looked at over those with docked tails.
Because we do dock tails at birth our puppies, ofcourse, will have the docked tails. If you wish
to have a puppy with a natural tail and are willing to send us a deposit on a puppy before the litter is born then we will be
glad to leave a natural tail for you.
We dock our puppies tails to the correct show length. This length is based on each individual puppy.
Usually with only 1/4-1/3 beind removed. When a poodle is stacked the tip of the tail should be even with the top of
the head. This is correct conformation. We absolutely do NOT dock the tails to short nubs nor will we if asked
to do so. This is NOT correct and really throws a dog off balance. Also when a tail is docked too short when the
puppy is a new born they will grow up and have no tail at all and look even more strange. Try being a groomer and having
to figure out how to leave a pom-pon on the dogs hind quarters to make it look like there is a tail.
