Can I do the tail docking myself?: Gundog puppies

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Can I do my puppy's tail docking myself?

Puppies should be docked within two or three days of birth.

By David Frost

Thursday, 26 January 2012

My Springer is due to have pups in two weeks time and the vet who was going to dock them has moved from the area.

If I can’t find another in time I plan to dock two or three myself (as I always used to) and keep them for work.

My pal says this is illegal, but I always thought the law only applied if you tried to sell docked pups to someone else?

And anyway, who’s going to know?

Tail docking advice
David Frost
Tail docking in England became illegal in 2007 with some exceptions for working dogs.

In the ordinary course you would have no problem having the tail of a working Springer pup docked.

However the docking must be carried out by a veterinary surgeon who will issue a certificate and the dog must be micro-chipped.

DIY dockings are no longer permitted.

It doesn’t matter if anyone would know you had docked the dog yourself.

The plain fact is that it’s against the law and you would be bringing shooting into disrepute.