Faryn Griffin
Christina Hitchcock
Composition II
22 October 2017 In “Taking Dogs Seriously?” Marie Fox states that “the practice [of tail docking] entails cutting or crushing skin, bone, cartilage, muscle and nerves of the tail of a puppy less than a week old.” This common procedure began in ancient Rome. The surgery can be performed in two different ways. One way includes using a scalpel to surgically remove part of or the entire tail. The second way is to use a rubber rings (latex bands), which are tight around the tail and causes sloughing (to remove or shed dead skin) of the tail (“Cosmetic Tail Docking: an overview of abuse and report of an interesting case”). The Romans believed that by docking their tails it could prevent diseases,
…show more content…
Depending on a tails position, it can mean a wide variety of things. If the tail is raised higher, it might mean confidence or aggression. If a tail is lowered, it might mean fear or submission. A very common meaning for a wiggling tail is excitement, playfulness or comfort (Leaver & Reichmen, 378). Another way dogs use their tails as a form of communication is through hunting. For example, some dogs that are used in hunting, specifically bird dogs, will point out where exactly the birds are located. Their tails stick straight in the air to give the owners or hunter a que on where the birds are at. Their tails are also used to communicate with other dogs. In “Behavioural responses of Canis familiaris to different tail lengths of a remotely-controlled life size dog replica”, S.D.A. Leaver and T.E. Reimchen use a study to experiment how dogs would react to another's whose tail was short/moving, long/moving, short/still and finally long/still. They created a life sized model dog that had black fur, somewhat like a Labrador Retriever. Their study concluded that the dogs smaller than the model were suspicious. However, they were suspicious to the model no matter what size the tail was and whether it was moving or not. The dogs that were larger than the model stopped more times than not when the tail was short. The main conclusion from the study was that “results, thus, provide that the signal communicated by …show more content…
In fact, 42% of people thought that cropped ears and short tails were apart of a dog's genetics (Katelyn E. Mills, et al., 9). Both cropped ears and short tails happen because people get to choose whether or not they want those characteristics in a dog. Now, some breeds do have “bobbed tails” that are in the offspring of certain breeds (Welfare Implications of Tail Docking-Dogs). To denounce the act of tail docking, people need to become more educated on the dangers and negative affects that come along with it. Nothing will happen if not enough people know about the
Life gives us the opportunity to act and behave in ways that would make us either live a happy or dreadful life. Human intelligence is the basis of our society and can either make us unhappy or happy. In the novel, Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis, the two human Gods, Apollo and Hermes make a bet on if an animal had human intelligence, would they have a happy life? As they were bickering upon this bet, they passed a veterinary clinic. They then enter the clinic to realize majority of the animals were dogs, therefore, that was the animal that was chosen for their bet. Throughout the novel, fifteen dogs have the challenge of having human abilities. The two dogs, Majnoun and Prince, both live a life with human intelligence but very differently.
Throw around words such as boxer and ear cropping and people will probably figure you’re referring to the sport know as boxing. Specifically to a notorious world championship bout in which one boxer did indeed crop the ear of another. Our discussion is here, though, it focuses on an entirely different species of boxers, and an entirely different style of ear cropping. The boxer, of course is the boxer dog. A breed that by custom and by standards typically undergoes a surgical procedure designed to turn it’s naturally floppy-style ear into ears that stand tall, stiff, and erect.(Abraham 8)
Feelings are the most significant part of human’s creature, but what if it comes to the goal that one’s life is based on? Would it still be that important? In the article, “Dog Lab”, Claire McCarthy discusses her own experiences as a medical student at Harvard school. McCarthy was born in 1963. She did her residency at Boston’s Children’s Hospital and she is now working as a pediatrician at the Martha Eliot Health Center in the Jamaica Plains. During college, she used to keep a journal with her that provided the outline of her writings which she referred to for her books such as Learning How the Heart Beats: The making of a Pediatrician and Everyone's Children : A Pediatrician's Story of an Inner City Practice. In addition to McCarthy being
Every year an estimated 4.5 million dog bites occur in the U.S. BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) is a law that suggests that certain breeds are more prone to aggression than others. By banning or restricting the breeds in question, it is believed to help reduce the number of attacks. BSL determines which breeds are dangerous using statistics. These statistics cannot be relied on for two reasons. One, there is no concrete method to determine a dog’s pedigree. Thus, a victim, animal control officer, or owner is trusted with identifying the dog through appearance. According to Scott and Fuller, authors of Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog, “It has been known for decades that the cross-bred offspring of purebred dogs of different breeds often bear little or no resemblance to either their sires or dams (1965).” Visual assessments are questionable. Two, population is not accounted for. Population is important, in that it provides context to percentages. Because a dog’s breed is impossible to pinpoint, we cannot provide numbers. BSL’s cause is rendered useless when we consider these points.
Upon approaching the subject in question, one must first ask, “What are dogs?” Evolutionarily speaking, the modern domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is the descendent of an ancestor held in common with the grey wolf (Canis lupus) (Melina, 2014). As their Latin nomenclature suggests, dogs are only a subspecies of wolf. Therefore, no great genetic misalignments exist to prevent successful reproduction between breeds (hence why mutts are possible). This is conversely untrue of wolves--distinct only in species--as well as any members of any two separate geni, families, orders, classes, phylums, or kingdoms. Breeds--merely typecast mutations from the original--alone enjoy this special privilege.
Take a moment and picture a dog in your head. What do you see? You may see many different things depending on your own personal encounters with the species. There are many types of dogs out there. Some small, some large, long-haired or short-haired. There are many variances in what a dog can look like. One thing that does not change, or should not change, is the importance for every dog in this world to be given love and affection, no matter its characteristics. This is what leads me to believe that the obsession with producing and owning purebreds needs to come to a halt. Continuing to create these so-called “best dogs” is dangerous to not only the purebred’s health, but also devalues mixed breeds and can cost them their lives in animal shelters where they may never escape. My interest in this topic caused me to look into seeing what other people felt about it.
Mary Crow Dog is a woman of the Brule Tribe from the Sioux nation. The Brule Tribe is from the Western Sioux, which is known as Lakota (5). Mary Crow Dog spent her time growing up at a Catholic missionary school called St. Francis Boarding School (4). Her transition from growing up in a Catholic school to embracing her Lakota culture and religion during times of Native American oppression by the U.S. government can be best explained using Bruce Lincoln’s definition of a religion from Holy Terrors. Lincoln’s definition of religion is applicable to both polytheistic and monotheistic religions, because the definition focuses on explaining four principles that are imperative for any religion. Lincoln believes that in order for a religion to be
Throughout the world there are many different countries that contain diverse cultures, religions, and life styles. There is however certain aspects within these countries and cultures that acts as a common ground between one another. One dominant aspect is the existence of dogs within these cultures. Dogs are common throughout the world, either as a domestic pet, a protector on a farm, or an assistant for hunting; amongst others. Regardless of the reason for having a dog most people have either owned one for themselves or has known somebody who has owned one at some point in their life. Despite the relative normality of having a dog in your life in one way or another, the reasons for dogs coming into existence is not common knowledge among most people. Throughout a great portion of mankind’s history dogs have been an essential part of life. The truth is dogs were actually created in part by man. It was evolution from wolves in the form of natural and artificial selection that brought dogs into existence (Harris 3). This is the most modern and widely excepted theory at this time, however this was not always the case considering the theory of evolution in of itself is relatively new in our society. After evolution as a theory was accepted there were several other variations on the theory such as, the evolution being from jackals opposed to wolves, and artificial selection being the only form of evolution to have taken place. According to Jarret A Lobell and Eric A Powell of Archaeology magazine “The idea that dogs were domesticated from jackals was long ago discarded in favor of the notion that dogs descend from the gray wolf (2)”. As for the theory that artificial selection ...
Boxers, Pit bulls, Schnauzers, and Great Danes are some of the dog breeds that have been subjected to ear cropping and tail docking. Show dogs, for example, also have their ears cut to a certain shape or tails deducted to meet the standard look of their breed. Some pet owners also prefer their pets to have these surgical procedure done on them to have more of the “traditional” look. Ear cropping and tail docking have been banned in many countries such as, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, and other countries. The American Veterinary Medical Association has also “denounced cosmetic ear cropping in 2008.” Even Benfield, the Pet Hospital, has stopped practicing ear cropping and tail docking surgeries since 2009. Most veterinary schools do not teach or practice these two procedures anymore.
To some people, declawing is known as a simple and minor procedure. Declawing is much more complex than just clipping their toenails. It’s actually an invasive surgery known as feline onychectomy (PETA). The problem is that declawing a cat is basically another form of mutilation. declawing leads to the removal of a cats bones in their feet which then leads the cats to have less than the paw they were
many reasons. The most important reason they hang by their tails is because they catch their food that way. They hang over water to catch bugs and drink water. They will also sometimes eat hanging upside down. Some other reasons are to look out for predators, scare predators, and sneak up on their prey. Also, they just want to have fun a with one another. Hanging by their tails is crucial to their survival and to have fun.
To prepare for my media interview on tail docking, I researched multiple tail docking experiments from Penn State libraries` databases and the “Talking to the Media Guide handout. Looking back, I should have been more relaxed during my interview. I believe that it would`ve helped me in giving my responses faster and clearer. However, I made sure that I had my “management decision” terminology, Texel breed standards, and facts about tail-biting in pigs as the three areas that I could bridge back with. I believe that what I did best during my interview was containing the discussion to areas of tail docking that I knew a lot about. I was prepared for a wide array of questions, but I was most comfortable with sheep and working dogs. I also think that I did a good job at establishing credibility. I answered the questions completely, but maybe I provided too
Holistic dog treatment needs to be understood as for what it represents. A holistic veterinarian seeks to promote the animals' natural healing capabilities from within as well as through harnessing the energies from the body. They use the least toxic, least invasive and most nurturing path to healing. Holistic medicine is defined as any system that diagnoses and treats a disease in the context of the whole patient.
TRANSITION: Now that you know how intelligent cats are, lets talk about their tail signals.
They are pack animals, which means people should spend lots of time with them, so they do not get lonely. A dog goes woof, bark, growl or howl, which is the complete opposite of a cat. The canine group also has a defined social status, and they strictly determine their order of rank. The deciding factor in dogs is the tail and how high they hold their tail is how they determine pack position. If one dog meets another dog, and one holds its tail up, it that indicates it is the of the higher social class. Another noticeable difference between dogs and cats is that dogs are usually much bigger than cats. Dogs are also somewhat smarter than cats in the area of verbal command. For example, one can call the dog by name and usually it will come to, unlike a cat. Also, one can train dogs to do a trick on command. Some of the most commonly seen tricks for dogs are roll over, fetch, shake hands, sit down, lie down, and play dead.