WGD Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 (edited) I have copied here, with consent, an e-mail I received from Airlie Bruce Jones. He is compiling survey results which will be used to demonstrate to the Scottish Government that tail injuries are far less prevalant in docked dogs in an attempt to have the ban overturned. At present he has roughly half the response he requires so please, please, if you own and work (or are training for work) a spaniel or an HPR and whether it is docked OR NOT take the time to complete the survey and return it to him - it takes a few minutes to complete and can be faxed or e-mail to Airlie. I have copies of the forms so if anyone wants to PM me their e-mail address I will forward copies. Thanks in advance for your help & support. WGD "Dogtail Survey 08/09 Spaniels & HPRs I am sure you are as concerned as we are about the continuation of the tail docking ban for our working dogs in Scotland. The Dogtail Survey 08/09 is designed to gather the evidence required to show what its effect is on working Spaniels & HPRs dogs. The Survey has been running since January and the returns to date are up to nearly half the number of dogs we require to get statistical validity. Thank you to those who have already answered. As we had expected there are a frighteningly high number of young dogs with long or full tails that have received serious tail tip injuries. Some were injured just in training but mostly in the first weeks of real work in the 2008 season. A lot of these young injured have been unable to work the whole season and many of them have already had amputations during December and January. So much for Animal Welfare! On Friday April 3rd at 7.00 pm viewers of the new Landward program will see a terrible example of the direct effect of the tail docking ban. Poppy, an 18 month old full tailed Springer Spaniel was repeatedly injured in her tail tip in her first working days in October and November last year. Due to infection complications she has had to have 3 amputations and now has no tail at all. The dog and her owner were filmed for the new series of programs last week. It is vital that we get the other half of the Spaniel and HPR owners to complete the survey so please fill in forms for your dogs if you have not done so already and chase up any other working dog owners you know to do so too. Every completed form filled in for Spaniels and HPRs strengthens our case because they help to build an accurate record of the confirmation and activities of our working dogs. From your entries we can get the evidence required to prove how vulnerable the full tailed working dogs are and how effective is the protection of a shortened tail. We already have a clear picture emerging from the returns so far of what happens to young full tailed dogs but I must emphasise that we need the details for all the working Spaniels or HPRs that each respondent has. Obviously most of them are going to be uninjured - but we still need to know about them because they complete the population record. Only by getting the short tailed and uninjured in really high numbers can we show the MSPs, the media and those who support the ban the evidence that short tailed dogs do not get injured and the full tails just do. It may be obvious to us but it certainly is not to the policy makers in the Veterinary Associations, the SSPCA or the MSPs who listen to them. In the interests of the Welfare of our Dogs we need numbers and numbers we must get. Enclosed are the Survey forms but if you want more printed copies please let me know [dogtails@abjcon.co.uk] how many and who to send them to. I look forward to hearing from you and your dog working friends in the next few days. Yours sincerely Airlie Bruce Jones" Edited March 30, 2009 by wgd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
activeviii Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 send to me please PM sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallarben Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 can i have a copy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdunc Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 WGD - it is my understanding that the docking ban is to be reviewed in Scottish parliament sometime in April. I'm certainly hoping that it is and the ban is at least amended to mimic the England / Wales condition of showing SGC etc. Can anyone confirm when this review actually is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Fallarben - can you PM me your e-mail address please? gdunc - I am not sure of the exact timing of the Parliamentary review but it is imminent, and ABJ only has half the responses he needs - disappointing considering that from the dog handling community he ony needs 600 responses in total. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdunc Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Had a search to find a date for this supposed review and found this http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/commi.../08-PE1196C.pdf Not good. Idiots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3xspringer Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I have 4x springers 1 docked 1 with half tail 2 with full tails yes I am haveing probs with the full tails so please send all details to me, many thanks, Bob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdunc Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I have 4x springers 1 docked 1 with half tail 2 with full tails yes I am haveing probs with the full tails so please send all details to me, many thanks, Bob. You're exactly the kind of case they need to hear about. Well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted April 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 COME ON GUYS - we have hundreds of forum members, many I'm sure with spaniels and/or HPRs and I've only had FIVE PMs Thanks to those who have been in touch; it's very dissappointing that in 3 months the survey responses have only just totalled 300 (600 are required) from a sporting "community" which is alleged to stick together and support each other's causes. Anyone else want a survey form? PM me if you do. WGD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren m Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 (edited) WGD - you have pm ps , do you have any detail on the landward programme at 7pm friday 3rd Edited April 1, 2009 by darren m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted April 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Darren, cheers - that's SIX PMs I've had now.... great response from our esteemed membership For the avoidance of doubt the dogs do not need to be in Scotland! Anyway, the Landward programme is on BBC2 Scotland which I think is Sky Channel 990 (or thereabouts... roundabout the regional stuff, just after the porn). If you don't have Sky you'll probably get it on BBC iplayer. Cheers WGD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 PM me a copy please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M4X Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 PM Sent Copy please I used to live and work with a vet, a town practice, but occassionally we got working dogs, those that had not been docked or dewed had injuries much worse than those that had. Particulary nasty were the injuries which were caused by dew claws being ripped out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 and that is the bloody stupid thing, a lot of the younger particularly female vets are against docking yet they should be the ones seeing the injuries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevitree Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 I dont have my own companion (yet, but continuing to work on Mrs Kevitree) However i have seen in my local syndicate over the course of last season the damage that can ocour to a non-docked tail. Unfourtunatly it also tends to take a while to heal. If my personal experiences can be counted then send me form, however these are from observing working dogs on a shoot. regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren m Posted April 3, 2009 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 and that is the bloody stupid thing, a lot of the younger particularly female vets are against docking yet they should be the ones seeing the injuries so true mate -- when i first took maize my spaniel for her jabs , she ( the vet freshed faced approx 20 to 25 yrs old ) noted she had been docked and said " oh what a shame " , shame my ar*e i said she is going to be a working dog as well as a pet . pee'd me off a bit now i prefer the older chap ( vet ), who himself as long coated working retrievers and refuse to see her ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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