WHEN Crufts dog show banned some dogs with docked tails from competing they were barking up the wrong tree.

That’s the view of Sue Harris, 69, from South Moreton, near Didcot, whose gundogs have been competing at the famous show for almost 30 years.

When she attended this year’s event at the NEC near Birmingham yesterday, two of her Hungarian Vizslas, called Razdl and Posh, had to stay at home.

A 2007 law banned dogs with docked tails from competing at shows where the public pay an entrance fee.

But Mrs Harris, who has attended the contest for 28 years, said Vizslas’ tails need to be docked, because they could get caught in foliage, which could lead to the dogs losing their tail.

She is giving her support to the dockedanddenied.com campaign to reverse the ruling.

However, the RSPCA says that docking is a cruel practice.

Mrs Harris: “These are working dogs and the shows are a sideline.

“You shouldn’t work them if their tails haven’t been docked, because then they pick up injuries in the brambles. It’s very disappointing.”

Her third Vizsla, Mika, has been allowed to compete at Crufts since the change in the law, after being docked before the ban came into force.

Mrs Harris said: “I have picked up awards every year, which is no mean feat.

“I believe that there should an exemption for working gundogs who have been legally docked.

“There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be shown in competitions like Crufts.”

The law exempts some working dogs or where docking has been carried out on the advice of a vet for health reasons. The ban does not apply where a dog is shown to demonstrate its working ability.

The Kennel Club, which organises Crufts, was not available for comment. A statement on its website says: “As Crufts charges the public for admission, the law in England declares that even dogs legally docked on or after April 6, 2007, will not be allowed to be shown there.

“It does not matter where they were docked – the law says that if the docking was on or after April 6, 2007, they may not be exhibited at shows such as Crufts.

“All dogs docked before April 6, 2007, will, however, still be able to be shown at Crufts.”

RSPCA Katia Mira said tail docking was cruel. She added: “It is a surgical amputation which involves cutting or crushing a puppy’s skin, muscles, up to seven pairs of nerves, bone and cartilage. It is usually performed without anaesthetic when puppies are three to five days old.

“Puppies can feel pain at this age and research indicates that they do so with greater intensity than adult dogs.”