should dog tails be docked?

no. it's down right cruel.

Simple answer - no

in what context? If for fashion then no. It's cruel.

No never, it doesn't need to be done, so therefore it is cruel and inhumane.DOGS ARE THE BEST.

Never its evil. They communicate with tails, its like cutting out your tongue

We do it here to a kind of horses, and it's considered a useless, very painful and cruel mutilation to the animals. No one in their right mind would want to do this to the animal.

NO!!nonononooooooooo!!!

No - it's cruel and is only done to satisfy the owners' over-inflated egos.

seeing a dog wag it's nub would be very depressing....NO!

Only if it's neccesary and if it's done humanely(ie,pain reliief b4 hand!)

It's not necessary, but not quite cruel, but they try to do it as humanely as possible. I don't think we need to do it, as the days when tail docking kept dogs tails clean are over. I haved a docked dog (they docked him before I could say anything) and I can tell you, that docked tail isn't doing much, and he communicates just fine with other dogs. And remember, other breeds like the brittany are raised in packs where they need to communicate, yet they have no tail...

No- cruel, painful and not necessary. God gave the dog a tail for a reason.

No....... It surely must upset the animals' natural balance, and it is a usefull tool (eg wagging !) in communication with other animals --including US.

Absolutely Not - Its Cruel And Unnecessary

No. I've never understood why it's done.

well it doesnt matter really after April 17 it will be illegal to dock dogs tails.

No they should'nt be I think its cruel and unnecessary. I think part of a dogs character is their tail, and the way they wag it when their happy, how humans can take that away from them I don't understand. Surley its needed for better balance as well (I'm not actually 100% sure of that) but either way its cruel!

I'm not going to jump on the "no" bandwagon.A lot of breeds that are docked are "gun dogs" or hunting dogs. If these dogs are used for what they were originally bred for, then docking should be done. The reason being that these dogs are required to traverse dense brush, and their natural, un-docked tails are thin and whip-like and often become chronically inflamed and damaged, requiring painful treatment and amputation later on. Having to perform the surgery on a damaged tail in an adult dog is a lot more painful and horrible for the dog than doing it when the dog is a puppy. (Puppies are generally docked at less than 10 days old, before their eyes even open.)If the surgery is done for purely cosmetic reasons, then no, it should not be done. But if the dog is going to do the job it was bred to do, it can save the dog a lot of pain later on.Some countries where docking is illegal, such as Germany, have special considerations for gun dog / hunting breeds to allow docking.

I'm going to agree with Abby and also add there are a few other situations where it is needed.. I am definitely against it for cosmetic reasons, but I have bulldogs and they have screw tails sometimes they are born and the tail will interfere with them going to the bathroom. Also a friend has a great dane that broke her tail so many times from wagging it and hitting the walls or the door she had it removed as it was causing her alot of pain.