DOES DOCKING HURT?
Our vet is the senior vet in a practice. She will dock on two conditions one being that the dock is not too short and two that the pup is under 48 hours old. Under the new Animal Welfare bill, we have to satisfy certain conditions to have our dogs docked legally. When dogs are born all the nerves are not yet grown, they go through a process called myalisation where the nerves gradually grow down their spine in the days after birth. When docking is done early the procedure is more uncomfortable than painful because of the excessive handling rather than because of the dock. Lets face it how many of you would bat an eyelid at whipping a dogs testicles off or removing a bitch’s reproductive organs. If we want to debate needless mutilation then lets look at that!!! If you want to learn more about the case for docking these dogs then have a look at the Council for Docked Breeds website. www.cdb.
