Regardless of the difference, the dogs are not fit for purpose if their work is causing them injury. The fault lies in the breeding, but docking has enabled people to bypass that.
Breeders should step up to the plate and deal with it properly.
Maybe you are right, but the fact remains that some breeds of dog are pretty much predisposed to tail damage when worked as intended.
I currently have 2 working pointers, one is docked, no problems, the other isn’t and she’s a well feathered long hair, she damages the very tip of her tail if worked hard in heavy cover and strips it bare. It takes a long time to heal.
Up to very recently, the solution was to dock their tails, simple, cheap and very effective. Enter the Animal welfare brigade, docking in both your jurisdiction and mine is now very difficult and requires veterinary intervention. But that’s only in these islands, in the rest of the world docking is not an issue, so the time proven solution is what we see.
Personally I would dock, I have done and frankly I don’t have enough time left on the planet to make it worth my while developing a strain of bob tailed GSP’s.
I also suspect that it might not work, a proper dock is to 2/3s, removing the last 1/3 where the skin and hair cover is thinnest, nerves and blood supply seem to be scarcest the tail is moving fast and damage seems to be concentrated. If I breed for a shorter tail, I still get the lack of skin and hair at the tip, which means I’m going to have to take it right back to the scut.
Doable, maybe, but …..someone else can take it on. I’m too old for this shite.
Call me when you have it sorted, meanwhile I’ll carry on doing what I know from experience works at least until my current vet retires.
Interesting that you should say that. In the past I was quite particular about it, but my current best sheepdog is of completely unknown parentage. I bought her (for a not inconsiderable sum) purely because I liked the way she worked. Which is the only thing that matters really.
So I'll claim that pint off you one of these days
Thats definitely one way to do it, run a dog on until it proves itself, but its bloody expensive, not many of us can afford to run a litter on for a year or more until they sort themselves out.
Its also going to be a bit of a wrench getting rid of the no hopers at that age, they’ll be taking a one way trip to the vets.
I knew a guy who did it, but it required a level of ruthlessness that I just don't have.
Pedigree dogs aren’t cheap, but they're cheaper than that. You still get no guarantees, but you do tip the odds a bit more in your favour than if you took a trip to your local rescue center and adopted the first likely mutt you saw.
The pint is still up for grabs, you were very selective, bet you another pint that the bitch you bought has a solid working pedigree.
Maybe no papers, but solid working stock for as far back as you care to go.
Tell you what, breed yourself a strain of sheep that don't need their tails and balls removed with rubber rings and this time next year you’ll be a millionaire.
You’ll make even more money if you can stop their hooves from needing to be trimmed and fleece from growing out of their arseholes where it accumulates flies and shite.
I’ll up the odds to 2 more pints.
