Iv had both, dogs with and dogs without, and one dog that had one!!!
The only time they have ever caused any trouble is when i ran my dog on really rough ground, and he knocked one up and it made him lame, but he recovered
I don't think they are as big an issue as people make out unless a dog has really damaged one, as it sounds like runforyourlife's has, then they need shifting.
lurchers can injure there tails, does that mean they should be docked??