The Other Coast by Adrian Raeside for August 25, 2016

I would agree, it should be considered animal cruelty.

people mutilate themselves too

Neither do I.

It is illegal in some places.

oh well it will be to the end of time done this way

Anyone who wants this done should have to be in the same room to see the bloody barbaric procedure and listen to the puppies cry. Those who keep their female dogs pregnant need to listen to them in labor. But greed reigns supreme-there’s $$$$$ in the little critters.

Many states have banned ear cropping and tail docking, as well as declawing of cats. The American Veterinary Medical Association has an official policy opposing docking and cropping, but only “encourages client education and alternatives” to declawing.

Originally the practices were for logical reasons, fighting and ratting dogs had them performed to remove easy targets. Also the ears were cropped to prevent ear infection and improve the hearing of the dog, these reasons are still valid. With the outlawing of dog fighting and the need for a ratting dog gone, the first reason is no longer valid.

Tail docking – if you are moving bulls and steers in small pens, there is a possibility of the tail being caught between a 2000 pound steer or larger and the fencing. The tail loses and the dog may be crippled. In herding dogs, it may be a matter of safety. So, still required where dogs are used to help move livestock.

Where there is a valid and humane reason, it’s OKFor every other reason it’s wrong.

So, anything that isn’t as “God made it” is ruined? Really?Or am I reading too much subtext, here?We had a dachshund pup born with a kink in the last half inch (a newborn pup, remember?) of it’s tail. It yelped every time one of its siblings touched it, so we docked it just behind the kink. Was that pup ruined?I don’t necessarily agree with altering a dog for human aesthetic appeal, but I don’t think they’re ruined.

I had a lab/shar-pei mix with double dew claws on his hind legs, which he kept till the day he died at 13 years plus. As long as I kept the nails trimmed, he was fine. Every once in a while though, if they got too long, they would lock together while he was sitting, and he couldn’t move until my wife or I separated them.

i think i’d like to hear the other side of the story. i’m familiar enough with one sided arguments that refuse to acknowledge reality that i’m skeptical.

Um… yet breeding them into ever more bizarre configurations is completely “natural?”

Hideous. Leave dogs ears and tails alone