Quote Originally Posted by dizzy View Post
I'm rediculously in love with Rots and when I get one I do plan to have the tail cropped, which suprises most people that I know. As I'm an animal lover they all assume I would think it cruel.

I say the same thing, that it's selfish on my part but it just looks better and I don't want that massive tail beating on my anemic little legs. I have enough mystery bruises already.

To be honest I know nothing about how it's done though, so I do hope that it is done humanely.

The only dog I've had so far was a german shepard and I wish his damn tail had been cut off. lol
http://www.vet4petz.com/articles/cosmetic_surgery.htm
Docking Your Dog's Tail

This procedure is typically done on puppies between 3 and 5 days of age. No anesthetic is involved, and the tails are docked to an appropriate length for the breed. Some of the breeds normally docked include the Rottweiler, Doberman pincer, Boxer, Schnauzer, Miniature pincer, Toy Fox Terrier (amongst other terrier breeds), Corgi, Poodle, and Sckipperke to name a few.

This procedure is much preferred done while the puppies are less than a week of age. Afterwards, the puppy has to wait until it is of age appropriate for anesthesia, which is much more involving a procedure, with a much longer healing process. There is also associated pain with the procedure when done on an older animal, and complications include bleeding, premature stitch removal by the dog, poor healing of the area, and more chances for scarring to occur.

Unless the dog is being utilized for show purposes in the conformation ring, tail docking is best left undone if beyond the age of 5-7 days.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has recently made a statement with regards to cosmetic tail docking in the dog. Essentially, and ultimately the AVMA would like to see this type of cosmetic procedure discontinued for cosmetic purposes only.