Lederer, Rose (2014) Investigations regarding tail injuries in working gundogs and terriers in pest control in Scotland. MVM(R) thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5629/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/
[email protected] Investigations regarding tail injuries in working gundogs and terriers in pest control in Scotland Rose Lederer BVSc, Dr. med.vet., PhD, MRCVS Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MVM School of Veterinary Medicine College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences University of Glasgow July 2014 i ii Abstract Non-therapeutic tail docking was until recently performed on 29% of dog breeds in the Scotland but was banned by the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. This work was commissioned by the Scottish Government to ascertain what effect the total tail docking ban had on working gundogs and terriers and whether legal exemptions to the ban should be made to improve the welfare of working dogs. Three studies were conducted to examine the risk of tail injury, especially in undocked working dogs, as well as details regarding tail injuries: A retrospective internet survey for working dog owners, an analysis of clinical veterinary data, and a prospective study of tail injuries.