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Tail docking is done in modern times either for prophylactic, therapeutic, or cosmetic purposes.

Procedure
Docking to puppies fewer than 10 to 14 days old is routinely carried out by both breeders and veterinarians without anesthesia. In an Australian survey, only 10% of vets used some form of analgesic or anesthesia. All vets used surgical amputation for the procedure while 16% of breeders used rubber bands. More than 1/2 of pups were docked within the first 3 days of birth and a further 1/3 were docked on day 4-5.

Controversy
Docking of the tail and ears for aesthetic or as a preventative measure have been subject to controversy in recent times. Proponents say that the procedures are not significantly painful and can prevent future health problems that cause more pain and risk of infection than the docking. Proponents also believe that docking done almost immediately after birth ensures that the wound heals easily and properly, saying that whatever pain the procedure causes is a worthwhile trade-off.

Prophylactic
Opinions Australian survey showed that 63% of breeders cite breed standards as the main reason for docking, 16% cite preventing tail damage, 10% hygiene, and 5% preventing damage to household items.

For dogs that worked in the field, such as some hunting dogs and herding dogs, tails could collect burrs and foxtails, causing pain and infection and, due to the tail's wagging, may be subject to abrasion or other injury while moving through dense brush or thickets.

Opponents of these procedures state that most tail dockings are done for aesthetic reasons rather than health concerns and are unnecessarily painful for the dog. They point out that even non-working show or pet dogs are routinely docked. As a result, tail defects that docking proponents claim makes docking necessary in the first place are perpetuated in the breeds. They point to the many breeds of working dogs with long tails that are not traditionally docked, including English Pointers, Setters, Herding dogs, and Foxhounds.

Robert Wansborough argued in a 1996 paper that docking tails puts dogs at a disadvantage in several ways. First, dogs use their tails to communicate with other dogs (and with people); a dog without a tail might be significantly handicapped in conveying fear, caution, aggression, playfulness, and so on. Certain breeds use their tails as rudders when swimming, and possibly for balance when running, so active dogs with docked tails might be at a disadvantage compared to their tailed peers. In 2007, Stephen Leaver, a graduate student at the University of Victoria, published a paper on tail docking which found that tail length was important in the transmission of social cues. The study found that dogs with shorter tails (docked tails) would be approached with caution, as if the approaching dog was unsure of the emotional state of the docked dog. The study goes on to suggest that dogs with docked tails may grow up to be more aggressive. The reasoning postulated by Tom Reimchen, UVic Biologist and supervisor of the study, was that dogs who grew up without being able to efficiently transmit social cues would grow up to be more anti-social and thus more aggressive.

Wansborough also investigates seven years of records from an urban veterinary practice to demonstrate that undocked tails result in less harm than docked tails.

Critics point out that kennel clubs with breed standards that do not make allowance for uncropped or undocked dogs put pressure on owners and breeders to continue the practice. While the American Kennel Club (AKC) has no rules that require docking or that make undocked animals ineligible for the conformation show ring, standards for many breeds put undocked animals at a disadvantage. The American breed standard for boxers, for example, recommends that an undocked tail be "severely penalized." The AKC position is that ear cropping and tail docking are "acceptable practices integral to defining and preserving breed character and/or enhancing good health," even though the practice is currently opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Legal status
Today, many countries ban cropping and docking because they consider the practices unnecessary, painful, cruel or mutilation. In Europe, the cropping of ears is prohibited in all countries that have ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals. Some countries that ratified the convention made exceptions for tail docking.