Undocked GSP

[Woody79]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience working GSP’s with an undocked tail- would the risk of injury be as a high as with an undocked Cocker or Springer?

Thanks!

 

[Dogs]

Would it depend very much on where you intend to work it? Thick cover, fields, ...? I don't know, do GSPs' tails move constantly like springers'/cockers' tails?

 

[Malxwal]

Perhaps vaguely relevant. I have an undocked GWP/ lab X, and with her being such a happy thing, the kitchen cupboards were sprayed with blood every morning. Self righteous young vet refused to dock litter, a product of her own socialisation unfortunately. Fortunately, it's calmed down as she "matures" (that's all relative ).

 

[the_greenman]

Have a GSPxGWP with undocked tail and as above kitchen units look like a scene from a scream movie on occasion when the wagging whip hits an edge. Doesn't stop her ability in the field and she rarely catches it when out...

 

[Phil fox man]

hi.
although springer related,it took me about 30 calls to vets to find one that would dock& claw my pup's last month.my vet while quiet happy to take £1500 for an operation off me wouldn't dock.
finally a farm vet did it for £12 a tail,he now has all my dogs business.
phil.

 

[Norfolk Horn]

I have two HWV and nether of them are docked, they are twelve and five and don't have any problems. They are only used for deer stalking. My pal has two aswell without any problems his are used for picking up in addition to deer stalking

 

[timbrayford]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience working GSP’s with an undocked tail- would the risk of injury be as a high as with an undocked Cocker or Springer?

Thanks!

I've worked undocked springers for 40+ years without any tail issues that have required veterinary attention

 

[Malxwal]

My sprocker was retro docked at maybe a year old, as her tail was rather long and just wouldn't heal up.

 

[Dunwaters]

It largely depends on where you work it.
GSP’s generally show a lot of tail action.
On heather and open bog land you could be fine, lowland ground with hedges brambles and thorn bushes will definitely give you problems. Even docked dogs may get some damage
The damage normally occurs on the last third of the tail and even under ideal conditions takes a good long while to heal, it won’t get a chance to heal if you keep working the dog and when it does, the healed area is prone to getting damaged again.
You can easily have a dog out of action for a large chunk of the season.
Try it, if you get recurrent damage you may need to opt for an amputation, but not all dogs will need it.

 

[WalkedUp]

My undocked HPRs bleed from the tail tip after being on the moors for a few weeks. The docked dogs don’t but are slower swimmers.

 

[Woody79]

Thanks for the feedback guys, that’s really interesting, asking as I’d seen a nice GSP bitch about 18 months old, but I’d never seen an undocked one until now. The ground I’d be working on is a mixture of open moorland but with some areas of scub, bramble, Gorse etc. Seems for a working dog if it does injure its tail the chances of it happening again and issues with healing can be a real problem?

 

[Mickeydredd]

It will also depend on how hard running the dog is and its willingness to face the rough stuff that can do tail damage.

 

[WalkedUp]

If a dog has worked hard enough to wear out the tip of its tail then I am willing to micropore and protect it. It wouldn’t put me off a dog.