I know that this story is sort of completely predictable. I don't know why I didn't predict it. I guess I never much thought about it before.

So here it is. When I went to see my puppy and choose which one got to go home with me and keep her tail, the momma, Chelsea greeted me very happily. She got happily out of the whelping box and seemed to invite me to see her puppies. She seemed very happy to be a mom and happy to have me there. I spent several hours with her in the whelping room, observing the puppies, sometimes picking them up. The puppies were not very vocal. They were active some of the time, and seemed very vigorous. Chelsea never body blocked me, lowered her head, stared, or any other thing that made me think she was bothered by my presence. When I had chosen Beatrice it was time to take the puppies to the vet for their docking. The breeder asked me to accompany her. I helped put the puppies in the box for transport. I held the box while we drove to the clinic. The puppies were calm, only an occasional peep. Chelsea was concerned when she had to stay in the car while her puppies went to the vet. We left the puppies at the vet and went for a little drive and came back about 40 minutes later. All the puppies were now fussing very loudly (except Beatrice). Chelsea was climbing on me and trying to get into the box with the puppies on the way home. One puppy cried very loudly, almost sobbing and I picked him up and put him on a teat, this seemed to calm Chelsea a little. When we got home I carried the box in and put the puppies back in their whelping box. Chelsea nosed the puppies over and over. The puppies cryed, and eventually settled into nursing. I left.

The next day when I returned to visit Chelsea growled and lowered her head when I came in the whelping room. I sat near the whelping box quietly and talked to her. Later I hand fed her a large meal with lots of good stuff. After 40 minutes or so she got out of her box and was friendly to me, but if I looked at her puppies she would body block me, or lick my face in a submissive manner, but in a way that moved me away from the box. The pups had changed as well. They were much fussier, and moved less. Except for Beatrice. She was motoring all over the box and only fussed when picked up.

I visited for 3 days after the tail docking. Each day Chelsea's behaviour was pretty much the same, growly, head lowered, body blocking...later accepting of my presence but suspicious of my touching or handling her pups. After the 2nd days the pups didn't fuss as much, but none of their tails were as active as Beatrice's tail.

So, when I decided to insist on an intact tail and dewclaws it was primarily about me. I wanted a dog with better physical abilities. I thought a poodle with a tail and dewclaws would be more balanced and able to turn more easily. After this experience, I'm very disturbed that we routinely subject our dear friends to this sort of thing. I am amazed at how forgiving Chelsea was. I don't like it that my puppy now has a mom who is much more suspicious of the people around her puppies. I hate it that the puppies clearly were in pain. I guess I could have predicted this story, but I really never thought that nice people who love their dogs would not be able to see the things I saw, the changes in their dogs and puppies after the docking procedure. It makes me sad.

On a happier note: here is Beatrice on her 1 week birthday