At Finish Strong Kennels much study and research was done before coming to the decision that we will not dock tails or remove dewclaws. We always want to honor our dogs and do what is best for their health and well-being.

Natural Tails

The practice of docking tails on working dogs started as a measure to prevent serious injury. Australian Shepherds that were working livestock in rough terrain could easily get a painful tail injury that required emergency medical attention. Docking tails become common to prevent those injuries. It just made sense. However, through the years, Australian Shepherds became popular as family pets and were bred in smaller sizes like the minature size we breed here at Finish Strong Kennels. Our dogs are bred and trained as family pets. We purposefuly produce dogs with lower herding instinct, lower drive, mellow and loving temperments, all in a smaller size dog that lends itself nicely as a family companion. It is extremely unlikely that our dogs will ever wind up working livestock on rough terrain! For that reason, their tail is in no danger and we see no reason to remove it. The common practice in removing tails in minature Aussies is purely aesthetic and completely unncessary. Tail docking requires cutting through skin, muscles, and bone. It is a complete amputation procedure and breeders do it simply because that is what people expect to see in this breed. At Finish Strong Kennels, we decided that we will not put our dogs through unncessary pain and amputation for absolutely no reason than common practice. it doesn’t make sense. Besides that, Aussies have gorgeous tails! Why would we want to remove such a beautiful part of this dog? When you get a dog from Finish Strong Kennels, you get the whole dog-complete with his natural tail- exactly the way God designed him.

Dewclaws

There is no medical need for puppies to have their dewclaws removed. They do serve a purpose. Dewclaws help stabilize the wrist joint when the dog puts pressure on the front paws. They also aid the dog in traction when they run at a high rate of speed (especially while turning), climbing, and holding objects (like a chew toy.) The dewclaw is connected to bone, muscle, and ligaments and removing them is similar to amputating a finger or toe. Removing dewclaws is linked to a higher incidence of the carpal (wrist) ligaments stretching and tearing. When this happens, there is an increased risk of laxity and arthritis over time. Many beeders still practice removing dewclaws even though most veterinarians do not recommend it. Common practice does not equal good practice so we have decided that it is in the best interest of our dogs to keep their dewclaws and we don’t remove them. When you get a puppy from Finish Strong Kennels, you will get a puppy who has his complete, perfect little body-including all his toes!