[Suellen]

In the last ten years I have rescued two wonderful standard poodles. Very sadly my lovely 80 pound male died of lymphoma at age 4 years old and now I have a chocolate female from a puppy mill. She was wild and frightened when we got her a year ago. She was 1.5 years old and had at least one litter of pups. She has become trusting, happy and much calmer in our quiet home.
I am now interested in purchasing a standard poodle puppy with no docking on the tail
Why are the tails docked?
We live in Iowa and I would love to find a good breeder in/near Iowa who does not dock the tails.
Good to meet all of you. I hope to learn good things from this forum.
Suellen

 

[Ava.]

The tails are docked because it is breed standard. The continue to be docked because of things such as "happy tail" Happy Tail Syndrome in Dogs - West Park Animal Hospital .. Lots of dogs wack their tails into things. There are a few members here who's dogs have natural tails, its not a look I like, I do not like the tail curled over the back, a personal preference, though. If done correctly, it causes no pain (its done shortly after the dogs are born, before nerve endings are developed). I say done correctly, because sometimes it gets cut wrong and dogs are irritated by the tail, some having to go under surgery to get pieces of bone pulled out to keep the skin for being so tight on your dogs tail bones. Usually though, reputable breeders know what they are doing and your dog should live a long happy life with their docked tail.

I only know of breeders who do dock tails in states surrounding you, this includes:

Alue in Nebraska (my ALL time favorite breeder, who happens to also be close to you!!)

Natalies Poodles In Illinois

Dubois in Illinois

Court Hill in Kansas

Here is a breeders directory, but I don't know any of the other breeders in your surrounding states, but they do the minimum health testing required to be on the list, at least...

🐩 Breeders Listed by Location 🐩 Plus Additional Resources 🐩

GEOGRAPHICAL BREEDERS LIST AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES PLEASE READ THIS FIRST What this list is NOT: This list is not an endorsement of any breeder by Poodle Forum This list is not a list to just go buy from without doing more investigation This list is not comprehensive What this list IS: This...

www.poodleforum.com

 

[Johanna]

Poodles are water retrievers. Hunters docked their tails to increase swimming speed. The pom-pom allowed the hunter to more easily see the dog's position in the water and to hold an identifying ribbon. If you have ever had a bunch of black standard poodles, they all look alike from a distance, so having different colored ribbons in the tail made it easier to identify your dog. If the tail is not docked, it curls over the back, so the identifying ribbon would be hard to see.

Tails should be docked at 3-4 days of age before the nervous system is well developed. I have done tails and dewclaws on at least a couple hundred puppies - they don't react at all when I dock the tail, but the dewclaw removal is briefly painful. I currently have a Labrador retriever who has dewclaws - they give her no end of trouble. She has torn them a couple of times and chews them constantly. So I'm all for removing dewclaws.

 

[cowpony]

In the last ten years I have rescued two wonderful standard poodles. Very sadly my lovely 80 pound male died of lymphoma at age 4 years old and now I have a chocolate female from a puppy mill. She was wild and frightened when we got her a year ago. She was 1.5 years old and had at least one litter of pups. She has become trusting, happy and much calmer in our quiet home.
I am now interested in purchasing a standard poodle puppy with no docking on the tail
Why are the tails docked?
We live in Iowa and I would love to find a good breeder in/near Iowa who does not dock the tails.
Good to meet all of you. I hope to learn good things from this forum.
Suellen

I don't know if Pink Begonias docks or not. They are in Iowa City and just had a litter this week, I believe.
I also don't know if Apres Argent, in Missouri, is still docking all their pups.

Some I know for sure don't dock are:
Karbit - Texas (renowned for true moyens)
Shyre - Ohio
Perigeaux - Ohio
Autumn Shades - Ohio
City Lights - New York
Pristine - Ontario
Heart Song - Alabama
Two Acre Wood - Wisconsin
Moonrise - South Carolina (miniature/moyen/small standard)
Magenta Bay - New York (moyen/small standard. Somewhat controversial, as one of her bitches was Continental Kennel Club registered)

I'm aware of a few high volume breeders who don't dock; the current interest in undocked puppies seems to have given them an excuse to avoid the trouble and expense. Just something to watch out for.

I've never had a dog injure its tail by wagging too hard or thumping against something. I have had a dog break a dewclaw and require emergency surgery to get the dewclaw properly removed.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

For those interested, here is the AVMA’s position on docking:

Canine Tail Docking FAQ

Questions/answers about tail docking in dogs, including: When/why did it begin? Why is it done on working dogs? Is it painful? Do dogs need tails? Etc.

www.avma.org

From that link, on the topic of pain:

Q: Is tail docking painful?
A: Tailing docking is painful. The intensity or duration of the pain under ideal or typical circumstances is difficult to quantify. Painful procedures conducted in the neonatal period when the nervous system is vulnerable can result in negative long-term changes which affect how pain is processed and perceived later in life.

And an interesting, nuanced counter-argument here:

Tail Docking of Canine Puppies: Reassessment of the Tail’s Role in Communication, the Acute Pain Caused by Docking and Interpretation of Behavioural Responses

Laws, regulations and professional standards increasingly aim to ban or restrict non-therapeutic tail docking in canine puppies. These constraints have usually been justified by reference to loss of tail participation in communication between dogs, the acute pain presumed to be caused during...

www.mdpi.com

Welcome to Poodle Forum, @Suellen! It sounds like you have a very big heart and I do hope another poodle comes along soon to fill it. It’s such a tricky time for puppy-finding, but while you’re likely facing a waitlist for a healthy, genetically-sound poodle from a reputable breeder, it will surely be worth the wait. I recommend starting your search here: Finding the Right Puppy & Breeder

 

[Ava.]

@cowpony was your dogs dewclaw firmly attached?

Deacon never had his dewclaw removed, he was whelped at a foster home. His dew claw is attached, never had an issue.

 

[cowpony]

OK folks, I just removed half a dozen posts arguing over the merits of tail docking. This argument has been well thrashed in many previous threads. No need to keep spinning it up.

 

[cowpony]

@cowpony was your dogs dewclaw firmly attached?

Deacon never had his dewclaw removed, he was whelped at a foster home. His dew claw is attached, never had an issue.

Yes, it was firmly attached; it wasn't one of those weird floppy dewclaws you sometimes see on hind legs. The dog was a bit of a klutz at the best of times. That night he had the zoomies and decided the best place to zoom was up and down the wooden stairs. He slipped and hooked his claw as he tumbled down the stairs. Doofus dog move.

 

[Ava.]

Awh, poor dude.

Deacon is a dummie too, but his dew claws have never been hurt. Luck, I guess.