TOY FOX TERRIER HISTORY OF THE DOCKED TAIL
by ANNE KIEFFER
A lthough this has become fairly recently a very hot debate for our breed, I believe looking into the history of docking terriers is critical to understanding the Toy Fox Terrier and why it is a docked breed. Working terriers are docked for the same reason as gun dogs. A number of working gun dog breeds and of course, terrier breeds have to hunt game through heavy vegetation and thick brambles, where their fast tail action can easily lead to torn and bleeding tails which are painful and extremely difficult to treat. Docking the end of the tail eliminates the risk of injury and subsequent infections resulting from such injuries. Terriers that are bred to hunt below ground for pur- poses such as fox control, have their tails docked to a length which is more practical when working in a confined space and this is especially true for the Toy Fox Terrier that historically has worked primarily in barns filled with heavy equipment, stall doors, nooks and crannies. The conditions under which these mighty Toy terriers must work makes their long, often poorly controlled tails an obvious hazard. The drive of the Toy Fox Terrier to remain true to its historical roots doesn’t sim- ply end at the pet home or the show ring. Research has shown that even non-working breeds which have an enthusiastic tail action, are also liable to damage their tails, even in the home (UK Council of Docked Breeds). According to the Council of Docked Breeds, since docking was banned in Sweden in 1989, there has been a mas- sive increase in tail injuries amongst previously docked breeds. Within the 50 undocked Pointer litters registered in that year with the Swedish Kennel Club, 38% of dogs suffered tail injury before they were 18 months old and in 1991, the number of individuals with
tail injures had increased to 51% of the group. Sadly, there is no such study of the very few Toy Fox Terriers present in Sweden or other countries outside of its country of origin, the United States of America, as to what types of and how many injuries our breed has suffered due to the popular trend to leave their tails natural. It is unlikely until the tide turns in these countries back to dock- ing that we will ever have an accurate and truthful account of the effect of leaving natural tails on the Toy Fox Ter- rier has been or will be. It is commonly known that the dock- ing of tails for dogs is a practice which has been carried out for centuries in order to avoid tail damage, for hygiene control and other reasons. There are over fifty traditionally docked breeds which are recognized by various Kennel Clubs, currently and the Toy Fox Terrier is one of those breeds docked not for appearance alone but for a working purpose. Unfortunately docking has, in recent years, come under the scrutiny of the veterinary establishment, which has condemned the practice as an “unjusti- fied mutilation”, but more importantly, under the scrutiny of the animal rights activists. These activists are frequently against breeding and exhibiting dogs, as well. However, breeders, dog owners and an ever growing number of vet- erinary surgeons disagree with this trendy view. Contrary to popular views on animal welfare, they believe that if docking ceased, dogs would suffer! They fight back the tide by demonstrat- ing that docking is a perfectly humane procedure when properly carried out and one, which prevents far more distress than it causes. Like spaying and neutering, it is simply a practical animal management technique which should remain available to dog breeders and owners.
Now, what do we do with the Toy Fox Terrier exhibiting in the conformation ring when the history and standard clearly indicate that this is a docked breed with specific guide- lines to the length of the tail? After all, there are exhibitors importing dogs from Sweden, Russia and other coun- tries. Some countries are under the tail docking ban, so what should be the response of judges when viewing the Toy Fox Terrier exhibiting with a natu- ral tail? The answer should be a simple one. Judges are required to understand the history of the breed and its standard, then judge the dogs in the conformation ring accordingly. Judges are more than capable of determining how to respond to natural tails for the Toy Fox Terrier just as they are able to determine appro- priate responses to natural bob tails on dogs exhibiting. But remember judges, you are at the forefront of any trends for our breed. What should breeders do when confronted with requests to leave tails undocked? Breeders should keep in mind the breed history, the breed standard and whether they wish to allow animal rights activists and foreign countries to dictate to them how their breeding programs should be managed. We, as breeders, should all ask our- selves if “personal preferences” or mak- ing a sale to foreign buyers should ever take the place of preserving the history of the Toy Fox Terrier or the rights of American breeders to maintain the American breed standard of this incred- ible All-American breed. REFERENCES D http://www.atftc.com/breed_std/ breed_std.htm D The UK Council of Docked Breeds © 1991, 2010; http://www.cdb.org/ case4dock.htm D http://www.nationaltoyfoxterrier. org//standard.php
t5 01 / 05$) 5 0:4 % &$&.#&3
Powered by FlippingBook