In recent years, people's living standards have improved, and their enthusiasm for keeping pets has also become higher and higher. When we walk the streets, it is easy to meet all kinds of pet dogs, corgi, teddy, husky... According to statistics, in 2019, there were as many as 55 million pet dogs in the country, and pet dogs are also people's favorite animals.
There are also races for pet dogs
Because of the love for dogs, many dog lovers have to cut off the tail of the dog as soon as it is born.
The origins and benefits of cutting a dog's tail
It is not surprising that the tail of a dog is not surprising in the eyes of modern people, and the earliest popular time to cut off the tail of dogs dates back to the Roman period. Because the dog's anus is close to the tail, the connection is prone to parasites, which in turn leads to rabies in the dog. At that time, people generally believed that the dog's tail was too long, which led to the dog's rabies; therefore, the rumor that "cutting the dog's tail short can avoid rabies" was rife. At that time, people did not have enough experience to distinguish between true and false, and such a custom was retained.
Corgi without tails
Of course, since the existence of humans, the relationship between humans and dogs has been very close. In slave society, dogs acted as hunting dogs and went out hunting with their owners. In the process of hunting, the hounds inevitably cross the jungle and thorns to hunt down the prey, and sometimes the long tail of the hounds will be hooked by the thorns and cannot continue to hunt the prey. In order to improve the ability of hounds to catch, some people will cut off the tail of the hounds, making it more convenient for the hounds to catch prey.
Hunting dogs
By the eighteenth century, the rise of the Industrial Revolution had also changed the fate of dogs. Since then, dogs have not only tended to homes and catch prey, but in some cases have even been able to help people with farm work. For example, the early corgi dogs played a role in driving cattle; there are also very common sheepdogs, which are also used as walking "guards", which can watch over cattle, sheep, horses, etc. for their owners, prevent loss, and avoid theft... They are often referred to as "good helpers" for people to do farm work. However, most of these competent dogs have also had their tails cut off. After all, compared with cattle, sheep, and horses, dogs are more agile and brisk, and their long tails are easily stepped on by other animals, and in order to help with the work, the only way to cut off the dog's tail is to cut off.
Shepherd dogs herd sheep
In modern society, there are more types of dogs, and the most obvious example is the emergence of police dogs. Looking back at the police dogs we have seen, we can almost all find that the tails of these police dogs have also been cut off. As we all know, the different states of the dog's tail represent the different psychology of the dog at that time. The tail rises and swings, indicating that the dog is very excited; the tail is upright and stationary, which indicates that the dog is in a state of alert; and when the dog clips the tail between the legs, it represents fear and fear.
police dog
Even police dogs will show such a state; simply people directly cut off the tail of the police dog, so that the police dog no longer shows fear and fear when facing the enemy, but appears more fierce.
Does it hurt to cut the dog's tail?
It can be seen that the dog has many benefits of cutting its tail. Is it that no matter how many years the dog has lived, it can be cut? Of course not. The older the dog, the more unforgettable the pain of breaking the tail. Generally speaking, if you really plan to cut off the dog's tail, it should be done within 2-7 days of the puppy's birth. Because the tail nerve line of the puppy is not fully developed during this time period, the pain caused by the broken tail can still be borne, but after 7 days, the tail nerve line of the puppy will further develop, and the pain will become more and more unbearable. If the puppy is born more than a month before the tail is cut off, the puppy will have to suffer as much pain as a person being amputated. It is conceivable that if the puppy is raised for a year and a half, only to think of breaking the tail, the puppy is estimated to have to take half a life into it.
Nervous system of dogs
The timing of tail surgery is different for puppies, and the pain suffers from puppies is also different. When the tail is broken for a puppy within one week of birth, the veterinarian generally uses a thin line to tightly tie the puppy's tail to the position where it needs to be cut off, so that the blood between the severed tail and the puppy is no longer circulating, and after a long time, the broken tail will naturally fall off. At this time, the puppy does not quite understand what pain is, and may feel uncomfortable, but because it does not have many sequelae, it can recover from the pain as soon as possible.
Broken tail
When the puppy is born for 1 month or more, the puppy has to bear physical and psychological pain. You know, the puppy is born 20 days ago, just like the function of our 1-year-old child. At this time, choose to operate on the puppy, the veterinarian can only use a scalpel to directly cut off the tail, although the choice of general anesthesia surgery can make the puppy avoid pain at that time, but when the anesthesia effect fades, the puppy still needs to bear the "pain of the broken arm", and this pain period is as short as half a month, more than a month.
Tail wagging can indicate the dog's emotions
Perhaps more painful is the heart of the puppy, the tail is a way for them to express their emotions, but because of human preference, it is ruthlessly cut off; but even so, the puppy is still willing to stay loyal to the owner, no wonder there are always people who say that "the dog is the most loyal friend of mankind".
There is also something wrong with cutting a dog's tail
The puppy's tail is cut off, not all of which is a benefit. In addition to enduring pain, adapt to life without a tail. Generally speaking, after the dog's tail is broken, its body balance will be affected, and its running, jumping, and turning need to be re-adapted. For example, puppies used to suddenly want to stop when they were running wildly, and they could use the swing of their tails to get a certain balance and thus slow down; but after the tail was gone, they needed to readjust the angle to keep their bodies balanced during the run.
The tail helps the dog maintain balance
Nowadays, we see all kinds of pet dogs dressed up in fancy fashion, and the biggest common denominator of these pet dogs is that many of them have their tails cut off. Why did they cut off the puppy's tail? To look good. Many people cut off the tail of the puppy in order to let their puppies participate in the "dog beauty contest". In order to compare beauty, cutting puppy tails and dressing puppies has become a kind of custom for the "Aisai" family to compete with each other.
epilogue
In fact, in real life, is it really necessary to cut the tail of the puppy? These pet dogs, like our close friends, can we bear to cut off their tails for their own preferences?
A golden retriever with a large tail
Puppies have no tail, which may look more cute in people's eyes, but except for dogs such as corgis, Dobermans, and Rottweilers, which need to be cut off, other types of dog breeds do not have to cut off their tails. In the face of pros and cons, different people will make different choices, what we can do is: as far as possible to minimize the damage, so as not to waste the puppy's affection for the owner!