Been a great 6 months since I last blogged, been busy with moving house and a new job etc. I went back to my hometown to visit my family during the weekend, and also got a chance to see the new pup of the family, a pitbull. Now this pitbull was given by a friend, there's no birth cert and no family history, we didn't even get to see the parents, but it had the features of a pitbull, especially the shiny thin coat. Since the death of our alpha guard dog, Jacky, we never came across another dog that could replace him. Hence having this pup, we hope that she can take that place one day. However, the pup was given to us, too prematurely if you ask me, at 4 weeks old. Luckily, there were no complications, it was no more than 6 or 7 inches when it came to our home, but now at 10 weeks old, she looks normal. (Please mind that I have never had experience with pitbulls before, let alone a pitbull pup).
During the weekend, the pup was sent to the vet to dock it's tail (that's what I thought at the first place). With it's 10 weeks of age, it would be the ideal age to dock the tail to lessen the risk of trauma. However, once we met the vet, his next words was "cropping the ears too?", me and my brother looked at each other and nodded, like it was the normal thing to do. The vet went on to say that cropping the ears would give the fierce pitbull look, which I would agree.
Please note, I have only had a beagle myself (which does not require docked tails or cropped ears) and I have experienced looking after a dog with docked tails, but cropped ears? I've only seen my sifu with his cropped ear Dobermans, but I've never lived through it myself before. When the pup came home that evening, I was feeling a heartache myself. The docked tail was alright to look at, though the missing 2.5 inches of tail was very very obvious. But what pains me were the ears. Half of the ears were missing, stitched together with thread, but with small amounts of blood still slipping out and both ears were tied together with the intention that the ears would go upwards and straighten up as time goes by. The vet mentioned that she is not to eat or drink anything until the next morning. Obviously she was in pain or in discomfort, but everytime I sat down on the floor, she would still come over to play with me. I tried to comfort her by massaging her back, carefully to not touch her wounds. Pitbulls require short cropped ears to have "the look", it was relatively easier compared to Dobermans. Dobermans have long cropped ears, which require sticks or straws to support the ears so that they could develop muscles to stand on their own. With this, the owner would need to adjust or change the sticks when required for weeks or months.
Having "the look" is one thing, but this made me think, what was the cause of this? Is this really cosmetic driven? Did it serve a purpose medically? Would the dog live a normal life without having its tail docked or its ears cropped? (Please note that I am NOT a vet nor have I have any experience in pet related surgeries, the below comments or reference are from some basic research done and my own opinions only, please leave comments if I have misunderstood anything)
First, let's start with docking.
"Docking is the removal of portions of an animal's tail. While docking and bobbing are more commonly used to refer to removal of the tail, the term cropping[1] is used in reference to the ears. Tail docking occurs in one of two ways. The first involves constricting the blood supply to the tail with a rubber ligature for a few days until the tail falls off. The second involves the severance of the tail with surgical scissors or a scalpel.[2] The tail is amputated at the dock." Reference came from Wikipedia
Tail docking is very common, especially for guard dogs (other than German Shephards). The original intent for docking was to prevent rabies, strengthening the back, increasing the dog's speed and prevent injuries when ratting, fighting or baiting. Now, many believe that cropping the tail is to hide the dog's expression, especially when it likes to wag it's tail from side to side when it's happy excited, so that thieves or burglars would not be aware. Docking usually takes 2 weeks to recover and it's fairly simple to take care, just make sure that the dog does not bite of the stitches and take notice whether there's any excessive bleeding or not.
Next, would be ear cropping.
"Cropping is the removal of part or all of the pinnae or auricles, the external visible flap of the ear, of an animal. Most commonly performed on dogs, it is an ancient practice that was once done for perceived health, practical or cosmetic reasons. In modern times, it is banned in many nations, but is still legal in a limited number of countries. Where permitted, it is seen only in certain breeds of dog such as the Pit bull, Doberman Pinscher, Schnauzer, Great Dane and Boxer." Reference Came from Wikipedia
Some mentioned that for the dogs to have "the look" they need to go through this process. It also stated that for the dogs mentioned above to enter a show dog competition, their ears need to be cropped. I'm not saying that it's right or wrong, but it does make me wonder, is it worth it? And how much pain does the dog have to go through.
What's next? Shaving the jaw bone and liposuction?
(Note: I do not intend to offend any owners who have spent years and so much effort to breed the perfect look through cropping or docking. As I've mentioned, there is no right or wrong in doing. What I've mentioned are only my views ONLY).
Till next time, Woof.
