U.K. Kennel Club shares lessons learned from rules on cosmetic surgery for dogs

The Kennel Club in the United Kingdom says it has learned lessons from varying laws about cosmetic surgery on dogs, and Canada could benefit.

Prince Edward Island recentlyoutlawed docking tails and cropping dog ears as part of the new Animal Welfare Act. The act has passed, and the new rules will be in place in 2016.

• Ear cropping, tail docking rules get thumbs up from P.E.I. dog breeder

• Animal Welfare Act passed in P.E.I. legislature

The challenge for breeders on P.E.I. is there are only two provinces that will have such laws. And people who show dogs still have to meet standards set by the Canadian Kennel Club.

[The Kennel Club] put in a clause to cover the natural tail, about two to three years before the law changed.- Caroline Kisko

"I would strongly suggest that the Canadian Kennel Club should be looking at the breed standards, and encouraging judges to judge whether the dog is full tail or docked," said Caroline Kisko, the secretary ofthe Kennel Club in the United Kingdom.

The club also had to deal with changing laws in UK seven years ago when tail docking was being outlawed.

"We put in a clause to cover the natural tail, about two to three years before the law changed."

"So people knew roughly what they aiming for when breeding a dog," added Kisko.

"But is also significantly meant that the judge was required to judge the dog whether or not it had a tail."

Kisko said the Kennel Club put in the new rules so people who purchased a dog with a natural tail would not feel the need to make it conform to standard.

"A dog with a full tail would be brought into the countryand would, quite illegally, have its tail amputatedits full tail amputated as an adult," said Kisko.

She is worried that with varying rules across the country,dogs sold from P.E.I. to another province that allows docking could be harmed.

"You have to question the welfare of that. Certainly in the case of docking that would be dreadful."