Waiting until 6 months old to dock?

[gruveygirl420]

Hello Boxer World Folks:

I did a little homework (thanks to all the great information I've found here) and discovered that indeed there are 2 very distict sides to the tail docking debate.

I am still undecided. I found the name of a reputable, local vet here in Long Beach, California and I contacted him about when I could schedule a tail amputation (dock). Since my pups (Elvis and Presley) are both au naturale (they are much older than the 5 day limit on tail docking) and now qualify for the much less affordable and more importantly, much more painful amputation. I was told by the vet that I would have to wait until Elvis and Presley were 6 months old before their tails could be amputated. I have no reason to doubt this doctor, but I'm hearing on various posts that other pups are getting this done at 9 and 10 weeks as opposed to 6 months.

:confused: Does the waiting depend on the individual vet? Should I look around for one that will do it earlier than 6 months? I'd like to get some opinions.

Sincerely,

Angelica (Proud mama to Elvis and Presley 9 week old twin fawn and white boxers and one mean black cat named Peanut).

 

[leenasmom]

Angelica, every vet has a different oppinion on every issue. I would just call around to other vets to see what they say. You may find a vet that says it's a very bad idea to wait this long. Did you buy these puppies? I think I remember you posting on this, but I can't remember. There are several members on the board that have boxers with tails intact, you may want to talk with them on this.

 

[Zsara]

My baby just had his tail done...

He is 9 weeks old this week! He is doing great after having his duclaws removed too. I don't think you should wait that long. Shop around and do it asap if that's what you plan to do.
Oh by the way, It cost me $100 for the tail.

 

[RileyMom]

I would be inclined to leave the tails intact. I thin kwe would have even left the duclaws if they hadn't been done before we picked up our pup. We also opted not to crop the ears because we like them floppy and couldn't personally find a reason to crop them.

Unless you're planning on showing the dogs, in which case I guess you have to do all that. But it just seems to me that the longer you wait the worse it would be for them!