Docking tail

[Conejero]

Doc. What about docking a Beagle to 2/3 length (Kind of like a German Shorthair) Any problems asociated with that? What do you other fellas think?

[daustin]

My first question would be WHY? A beagles tail is meant to be a flag in the field so in long grass you can see your dog. That is why a white tip is preferred.

Dane

[Doc S]

I have two in the kennel with docked tails from my Arkansas days. You will see a lot of this in beagles, especially in areas with heavy briars or in dogs with a kinked tail(hemivertebra-which I am told is not consider a fault by the AKC breed standard???). Generally not necessary to take a third of the tail, though I have seen it done with extreme trauma with no undo ill effects once the dog gets used to the shorter length. Doc S

[Guest]

Why would be the reason Dr. S. described. It seems some individual dogs always come out with tattered tips on their tails from the brush and briars, while some don't. In truth, the dogs don't seem to be in a lot of pain, but having an open sore, and bleeding all over the place can't be a good thing. Just wondering about docking those that seem suceptible to a lot of injury to the tail. There would be no sense in docking a Beagle that doesn't have that problem, of course.

[Boomer]

In breeds where tail docking is the norm (Dobes, Weims, etc), they usually do it shortly after birth when the nervous system and bones are both relatively undeveloped. Docking an adult tail means cutting developed bone in a dog who has full nervous system functions (ie, pain). Personally, I wouldn't do that to an adult dog's limb unless it was a matter of life-and-death. And I'd take briars and some prickley bleeding over having part of my tail chopped off, too! People do it, though.

[Doc S]

They can actually lose enough blood from briar torn tail tips to actually become anemic. Doc S

[S.R.Patch]

I can tell you this from experience, if you dock the tail as a pup, you should only take off the very tip.
We had a pup that the bitch didn't clean well at birth and when I went to remove the front dewclaws at 3 days old, I found dried afterbirth on this pups tail tip and on the side of one hind leg. Well, the dried scab on the leg I pealed off easily but it took the hair off with it. The dried scab on the tip of the tail also came off with ease and looked like I had done no more than took the hair off the tip. Well, as this pup grew to mature, it's tail was only about 3/4 normal full length and this was from only removing what looked like the hair from the tip at birth. So if you do it at birth, a little goes along way.
When we had Brit. Spaniels, the vet left about 3/4" of the tail from the base at 3 days old when he docked and this left you about 2" of tail when grown.
Personally, we don't like tail docking or the look of the hound after it's been done. Breed for a better brush on the tail is the way to go. Some hounds whip their tails so much it's hard to keep them from tearing them up...Patch

[Smoke]

Hey doc about that kinking of the tail. I have a little female that her tail kinks a bit some times what does that mean? Will there be any effects in that matter

[K.L.LANIER]

A huntimg buddy of mine recently brought two beagle pups back from Mississippi(about 15mo.old,Redtick& Bluetick)and their tails are docked.The Redtick male's tail is 3/4 in length and the Bluetick bitch's tail is "a la Rottweiler style!).I was like "Whoa! what's going on with the dockd tails on the beagles?? He told me the Hunter/breeder dockes them for I.D. purposes so when he goes rabbit hunting,and loses a dog,his dogs are the only ones with docked tails where he is and he gets them back if some other huner has them.It has'nt affected their hunting abilities,they can run rabbits into comas! K.L.