The act of docking a non-working dog's tail should not be legal

REBUTTALS:1) 'The dog's tail is not crucial to its survival in the world, especially for domesticated dogs, which are the dogs who's tails are usually removed.'While it may not be crucial to survival in the world, it is still very useful for communication and agility. What if a dog had to run away from a threat such as another dog? It's tail could save its life. Dogs are pack animals, so communication makes interaction with other dogs much easier. 2) 'If anything, it should be illegal to remove a service dog's tail, because they use them the most.'Drop. That statement is irrelevant because this debate doesn't involve working dogs.3) 'http://www.dogsbestlife.com...... states that "The only reason that [tale-docking] made since, were for safety and cleanliness [reasons]. Working and hunting dogs were less likely to collect debris or amass feces around their rump. They were also less apt to getting caught in farm equipment, wagons, and carts." This being said, for working dogs, tail-docking helped them.'CON says: '"The only reason that [tale-docking] made since, were for safety and cleanliness [reasons]. Working and hunting dogs were less likely to collect debris or amass feces around their rump.' However, this debate is not about working dogs, but about pet dogs. Even if this debate involved working dogs, this debate is not about rumps, but tails, and tails cannot be much work. Also, James Serpell, PhD, director of the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society at the University of Pennsylvania, argues that docking itself could be considered an injury. On the other hand, he says, “research shows that an intact tail is unlikely to become injured, and if it does, injuries are usually minor and heal easily' [1].4) '(With the exception of service dogs,) Most dogs are tail-docked for cosmetic purposes. If the owner has done their research, then they would understand how much dogs use their tails to convey emotions, and accept the sacrifice.'Drop. That statement is irrelevant. Just because the owner 'accepts the sacrafice,' doesn't mean that tail docking is right. 5) ' Tail-docking of puppies does not hurt them, and if the owner of the dog is fit to be a pet-owner, they will either tail-dock the dogs when they are puppies, or laughing gas them, so the process is easier on the puppies.'CON says that 'Tail docking of puppies does not hurt them,' but that statement is totally unwarranted. There is no source. (S)He seems to not respond to my last contention in round 2: 'They are generally not even given any anesthetics to numb the pain of having their tails cut off.'' ''That’s another reason, experts have argued, to object to tail docking, a barbaric procedure in which several inches of a puppy’s tail are amputated, often without anesthesia.' I gave sources. Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, happens to be used as an anaesthetic [2].CON's post in round 1 stated the following:'Docking a dog's tail should not be illegal if it is done right. Docking a dog's tail should not harm the dog, and if the dog is domestic, it should not effect the dog's survival skills.' CON still hasn't told us what 'docking a dog's tail right' means. Docking a dog's tail does harm the dog, and does affect its survival skills. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------=== CONTENTION 1: COSMETICS ===Even CON stated: '(With the exception of service dogs,) Most dogs are tail-docked for cosmetic purposes.' DEFINITION OF 'COSMETICS':noun 1. a powder, lotion, lipstick, rouge, or other preparation for beautifyingthe face, skin, hair, nails, etc. 2. cosmetics, superficial measures to make something appear better,more attractive, or more impressive:REFERENCE: http://dictionary.reference.com....So that means that most dogs are tail docked just to look nicer. I've already demonstrated that tail docking causes pain and decreases a dog's communication skills and agility, so it shouldn't be worth your dog looking nicer if you lose 2 important skills and causes pain in a dog. === CONTENTION 2: NEUROMA ===According to the article 'Ear Cropping and Tail Docking; Should You or Shouldn't You?' [3], states: 'Docked tails can also develop a neuroma, or nerve tumor. This can cause pain and make your dog snappy if her tail is touched. Studies show that dogs communicate emotions like anger and excitement by wagging their tails, so docking 'may interfere with your dog’s ability to interact with other dogs,' says Andy Roark, a veterinarian at Cleveland Park Animal Hospital in Greenville, S.C.'Also, the article 'Confession of the Week: My Dog Eats his Tail' [4] states: 'Ever since we brought Logan home, he’s always bothered with his nub (aka his tail). I remember pointing out to the vet on his first puppy check-up, the irritated scab he had on the tip of his little nub. The vet said it looked that Logan was chewing on his tail. So, with that, they gave him 10 days worth of anti-biotics (which I gave him), to help with the healing, and was told to keep an eye on it.'It then says:'A friend of mine, who’s also a Doberman mom, was able to track down some very interesting information for me. I think Logan’s tail has a name. TAIL DOCK NEUROMA.Have you ever heard of this?Nope. I’ve never heard of it either. Amputation neuromas (traumatic neuromas) are non-neoplastic, disorganized proliferations of peripheral nerve parenchyma and stroma that form in response to amputation or traumatic injury. They are most commonly identified after tail docking in dogs or neurectomy in the distal extremities of horses. The most common clinical presentation is a young dog that continuously traumatizes its docked tail. In horses, such a lesion appears as a firm, often painful swelling at a neurectomy surgery site. Excision is curative. Neurofibromas and neurofibrosarcomas (perineuromas, neurilemmomas, nerve sheath tumors, hemangiopericytomas, neurothekomas, schwannomas) are spindle-cell tumors that arise from the connective tissue components of the peripheral nerve. They are believed to arise from Schwann cells, but they could also arise from mesenchymal cells, which produce the nonmyelinated connective tissues that surround the myelinated nerve fiber. In dogs, forms of this tumor can be virtually indistinguishable from hemangiopericytomas and may be the same tumor. Luckily, his tail isn’t as sensitive as it could be (I can touch it, etc), so I think it’s just a matter of getting him to leave it alone for a few days. I’m sure a new bone will help with that part! I’m very hesitant about surgery to repair it, although, I know it would fix it completely.'-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I have shown the audience that docking a dog's tail takes away a primary form of communication, makes the dog less agile, causes long-term and short-term pain, causes tail dock neuroma, and people do all of this in non-working dogs because it makes the dog look nicer. However, it doesn't seem to make dogs look nicer: Tail-Docked Doberman Non-Tail Docked DobermanTherefore, vote PRO.[1]- http://pets.webmd.com...[2]-http://en.wikipedia.org...[3]- http://pets.webmd.com...[4]- http://thehydrantblog.com...