Full tail or Docked... please educate me

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:28 pm

I'm a setter person. I love their soft personalities, lush coats and full tails. I know I am in the minority here.

Now when I see dogs with docked tails, I wonder why people do it. No matter how many dogs I see like that, I have not gotten used to it and it still strikes me as an amputated limb, very unnatural to me. I miss the full emotions a dog can convey with his tail, the happy full wags or all the nuanced expressions I see from my dogs. I've had 4 setters and for every one of them I learned to read their own particular signals they would give with their tails depending on what they had found while out with me for a hike or hunt, or how they were feeling around the house.

My dogs are out in the brush and fields and woods several hours a day with me and I've never had troubles with their tails getting injured, which is the most common thing I've heard. So that reason does not make sense in my experience.

So why do people dock tails?
Is this something purely practical?
Has it become something people like the look of?
And finally, what does a Pointer or Brittany look like with a tail? Anyone have pics?

Its easy to judge something when you don't fully understand it. So I am asking for you all, whoever is willing, to explain to me why tails are docked. I truly want to know why this started, what's good about it and why it continues.

Thank you for any insights.

PS. If I'm stirring up a sore subject, I apologize in advance. I don't know where the sensitivities might be on this particular forum, so if I'm going somewhere that offends people, it is not intentional.

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:38 pm

My Australian shepherd, a born "rumpy" accepts your apology. It is what those who developed the breeds desired. I have never seen a dog social issue from it and I have everything from the Aussie to full tailed dogs.

displaced_texan · Post by **displaced_texan** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:39 pm

It's mostly tradition.

Pointers do have tails. Mine usually come home from hunting trips bleeding from the tails...

Post by **Greg Jennings** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:46 pm

It was originally done to prevent injuries and now has become tradition.

I've had a couple of dogs that beat the crap out of their tails. On one, we had to have the tail "docked" due to persistent infection.

gittrdonebritts · Post by **gittrdonebritts** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:46 pm

Its part of the breed Standard. and pointers have a long tail, Britts, GSP's WGP's Visla's , Griffs, PP's, wiems, and others have a docked or natural bob tail in there standard, and britts look silly with a tail.

Vonzeppelinkennels · Post by **Vonzeppelinkennels** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:51 pm

Sue if you have never seen a long tailed dog come from the field covered in blood from an injured tail you have not hunted over many dogs.There are many reasons it was started on some breeds.
The dogs that were originally bred for fighting had their ears & tails done simply to keep them from being TORN off.These breeds whether dock tails ,cropped ears,it became a part of the standard & looks normal now & some people like the looks.Have you ever seen a setter with a short tail or a GSP with a long tail? it just changes the whole looks of the dog.
There are long tailed dogs that have their tails shortened due to injuries that will no longer heal.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:53 pm

Because I hate to see bloody stumps for tails Like my S/O setters and pointers get

my buddy had a Setter that wagged his tail so hard the dog broke it on a post hitting it and the tail became infected and kept having to go back getting more and more amputated because when as adults it is harder to heal then docking tails as newborns

Same thing with cattle dogs seen plenty of broke tails with them

So practical Yes nothing worse then a bone infection set into a dog tail bone.

And yes I have seen a couple brittanys with tails..they carry the tails lower like a cattle dog and kinda looks like a red and white setter.

On the pointers I have as previously seen both setters and pointers with stumped tails from having to have amputations done one guy after his hunts last year his dog started off already with a rat tailed pointer ..this is where the end of the tail is so scared from constantly beating it and it bleeding no fur would grow back and this last year a bone infection did set in he had about half the tail amputated but infection was set deep in and all the antibiotics and stuff and how much the dog beat his tail in and out of the crate he ended up having to be put down as they never could get the tail to heal ..he tried drugs to keep the dog down to crating that was a bad mistake to trying to let the dog come in the house bad mistake as dog was like a bull in a china shop and it still didn't stop the reopening of the wound.

Yeah is happens but I have never seen an adult brittany have an issue with a tail that required medical intervention

as for a pup well I have seen a pup where momma got the stitches off which created a problem causing the pup to go blind as the infection when they are that tiny goes asymptomatic settling else where but 1 pup in over 30 years of dealing with dogs that get tails docked versus literally 50 plus dogs I have personally seen that broke tails and required adult amputation which is a serious pain much less about the people I know that have had to deal with them.

Docking did start for a reason

solon · Post by **solon** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 1:08 pm

Sue wrote:I'm a setter person. I love their soft personalities, lush coats and full tails. ....
So why do people dock tails?
Is this something purely practical?

I like long tails and setters and SMs too. Here is one reason:

Post by **Greg Jennings** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 1:42 pm

Ouch!

RoostersMom · Post by **RoostersMom** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:03 pm

I have a GSP with a full tail. It gets bloody and nasty at the top 1-2 inches after a hard working day. My pointer gets a lot worse than the GSP. Her tail is a bloody pulp of a mess after a days hunting. My beagles are the same. My Vizsla doesn't ever bloody his tail (his is docked to breed standard - 1/3 taken off). I see the docking of the tail on a working dog to be useful. I see docking on a non-working dog to be unnecessary. Overseas, the Vizslas are not docked. They are not supposed to be deducted points in the show ring for this but I think the bias is there. Same with Dobermans - it's o.k. to leave the dog with ears and a tail, but it's not the way most folks do things. To me, the ears are simply for aesthetics and I can't get behind that.

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:09 pm

OK everyone, thank you so much.
What I'm learning from you all is that many of these dogs are very hard on their tails.
My comparison with my dogs was not at all a fair way of seeing things..
It sounds like for these type of dogs it truly makes sense to doc tails while young and prevent horrific problems later.
Thank you for the education!

SHORTFAT · Post by **SHORTFAT** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:16 pm

Honest question... does the terrain in the area the dog is hunting make a difference in how much a dog will hurt an undocked tail?.. meaning Prairie or cornfield vs. something like timber or Grouse/Timberdoodle cover?.. just wondering as I've never hunted out west...

RoostersMom · Post by **RoostersMom** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:19 pm

My GSP out of a GSPCA Gun dog of the Year. She was a "cull" because of her coloration - so they didn't dock the tail and I got a FANTASTIC pointing and retrieving fool. The tail is ugly - and she never holds it very high. It also has quite a bit of hair on the end.

mcbosco · Post by **mcbosco** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:25 pm

In England, tail docking is banned by the way, all breeds.

For Spinone, the AKC standard and Italian standard allow docked or undocked tails.

Vonzeppelinkennels · Post by **Vonzeppelinkennels** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:29 pm

If it was up to the animal rights people all of it would be banned in this country aswell & don't think it isn't being tried by starting out small here & there already.

birddog1968 · Post by **birddog1968** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:33 pm

I think that GSPCA Gun Dog of the Year had some pointer in the woodshed.

Vonzeppelinkennels · Post by **Vonzeppelinkennels** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:34 pm

Which GDOTYR would that be????????????

snips · Post by **snips** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:55 pm

I think dogs with docked tails still reveal their emotions, intensity, birdyness, ect...

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:18 pm

Sue wrote:OK everyone, thank you so much.
What I'm learning from you all is that many of these dogs are very hard on their tails.
My comparison with my dogs was not at all a fair way of seeing things..
It sounds like for these type of dogs it truly makes sense to doc tails while young and prevent horrific problems later.
Thank you for the education!

All docked breeds should have the tails taken off before five days old. Many herding dog breeders do it at birth because the tails are so short.

RoostersMom · Post by **RoostersMom** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:33 pm

On my tailed - GSP. My GSP had no "pointer in the woodshed". She just came out with more white than they wanted. She looks and acts nothing like a pointer. She is the spitting image of her brothers from the litter - just not the "right" color. She was a cull because of the color - which I applaud the breeder on - trying to stay true to the breed. I know the breeders of this line of dogs, I know the folks that raised the litter and did the breeding. There was no monkey business. All the other pups in the litter looked like your traditional GSP's except for mine. She was given to me because they didn't want her in a breeding program because of the color. Same reason for not docking her tail - they did not plan to sell her, they planned to cull her. Why amputate if you're just planning to cull the dog?

And I don't necessarily want to share the breeder information just because of comments like this. They did not "add" pointer to their lines - they have multiple champions and they are reputable breeders and well respected in the GSP world.

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:37 pm

RoostersMom wrote:On my tailed - GSP. My GSP had no "pointer in the woodshed". She just came out with more white than they wanted. She looks and acts nothing like a pointer. She is the spitting image of her brothers from the litter - just not the "right" color. She was a cull because of the color - which I applaud the breeder on - trying to stay true to the breed. I know the breeders of this line of dogs, I know the folks that raised the litter and did the breeding. There was no monkey business. All the other pups in the litter looked like your traditional GSP's except for mine. She was given to me because they didn't want her in a breeding program because of the color. Same reason for not docking her tail - they did not plan to sell her, they planned to cull her. Why amputate if you're just planning to cull the dog?

And I don't necessarily want to share the breeder information just because of comments like this. They did not "add" pointer to their lines - they have multiple champions and they are reputable breeders and well respected in the GSP world.

Some days you get up and your genes just don't fit........

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:57 pm

Vonzeppelinkennels wrote:Sue if you have never seen a long tailed dog come from the field covered in blood from an injured tail you have not hunted over many dogs.

This is very true. The only dogs I've hunted with have been my own setters.
I came to hunting late in life.
Got my first deer rifle at age 35, then later got into hunting with my setters because they wanted to!

So you'll find I have some pretty elementary questions to ask.
But that does not mean I am without other knowledge. It's just the my knowledge base is going to be different from all you folks with decades of breeding/training/hunting experience.

I do bring some stuff to the table that might be helpful at times. I spent 2 years working for a veterinary orthopedic surgeon, doing anesthesia, radiology, etc, and learned a ton there. My field of study was biology, including genetics.

My experience with professional dog trainers has been limited. One I knew worked with a friend's dog and the trainer was extremely brutal, lots of angry shouting and yanking the dog off its feet. That turned me off. The dog was only collar-wise and otherwise totally out of control. I looked for a trainer for my dog, who seemed better, but unfortunately he over-used the e-collar on my male and made the dog a nervous wreck. At that point I decided the only one I trusted to train my dogs was me. I've been the only one to work with Tessa (my avatar) and she is doing great.

I've done a lot of reading about dog training from Tarrant, Wolters, Karen Pryor, Jean Donaldson, Patricia McConnel and Turid Rugaas. We have a local pet dog trainer from whom I've learned PR training techniques. How I've worked with my dogs has been a combination of all those things tried out for what works for them as individuals.

So anyway, when you all see me asking quite simple questions its because I want to learn. I believe in learning throughout life, and at 48 I certainly don't thing think I'm finished learning yet!

Thank you all for your patience.
Sue

PS. I just want to add that a couple of influential DVD's I've liked were one by Sherry Ray Ebert called "Training Setters" and another called "Silent Hunting: No Whistles No Whoas"

So now you guys all know where I'm coming from, for better or worse!

Post by **Sharon** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 4:04 pm

mcbosco wrote:In England, tail docking is banned by the way, all breeds.

For Spinone, the AKC standard and Italian standard allow docked or undocked tails.

Only for dogs participating in conformation.
Working terriers are still allowed to have a docked tail for safety purposes.

http://www.cdb.org/awa/index.htm

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 4:25 pm

@ Sue, your reference list made me laugh. I did a click for calm demo today with my GSP as a pressure dog to a pit bull with no training whatsoever. The target dog actually dozed off, dreaming of liver bits, I figure.

You might like Alexandra Horowitz's "Inside of a Dog" and John Bradshaw's "Dog Sense."

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 5:16 pm

Cajun Casey wrote:@ Sue, your reference list made me laugh. I did a click for calm demo today with my GSP as a pressure dog to a pit bull with no training whatsoever. The target dog actually dozed off, dreaming of liver bits, I figure.

You might like Alexandra Horowitz's "Inside of a Dog" and John Bradshaw's "Dog Sense."

That is so cool!
I'm excited to find some cross-over here with some of the "newer" training methods amongst all you wise and experienced bird dog folks.

Makes me feel not quite so crazy as I'm trying to blend the two as best I can...

Thanks for the book ideas.
Amazon is my friend.

SetterNut · Post by **SetterNut** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 7:50 pm

I love the long tails. The cover you are hunting in does have an impact on how likely it is that your dog will get a bleeding tail.
The plum thickets around here are hard on the tail. If you are in the prairie grass its not much of a problem.

I don't have much problem with it for the first month or two of the season. But toward the end of the year he has knocked off enough of the hair on the tip of his tail, that it bleeds some. I end up putting some light tape on it some times. It will stay on for an hour of so if it doesn't get wet.

But you can see a little red on the tip of his tail. Not a big deal as long as you keep it clean and prevent infection.

Post by **Sharon** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:02 pm

SetterNut wrote:I love the long tails. The cover you are hunting in does have an impact on how likely it is that your dog will get a bleeding tail.
The plum thickets around here are hard on the tail. If you are in the prairie grass its not much of a problem.

I don't have much problem with it for the first month or two of the season. But toward the end of the year he has knocked off enough of the hair on the tip of his tail, that it bleeds some. I end up putting some light tape on it some times. It will stay on for an hour of so if it doesn't get wet.

But you can see a little red on the tip of his tail. Not a big deal as long as you keep it clean and prevent infection.

Beautiful setter. Looks like a Llewellin head.

jimbo&rooster · Post by **jimbo&rooster** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:24 pm

To add another input on the docking of tails...... Im not sure how many of you are familiar with the Cur and Feist breeds, but somewhere among the swapping and trading of coon hounds and running hounds I ended up with a couple of leapord and mountain curs and got interested in these "mutts". Somthing I read that stuck with me about docking tails had to do with back in Europe hundreds of years ago hunting and hunting dogs were a benefit of nobility and the way I remember reading it, hunting dogs were taxed by the length of their tails and common folks started docking the tails for that reason.
Also and Im sure others have seen or heard this poachers used to dock the tails on their dogs so that the 12 o'clock tail we all love didn't give their position away.
Just some other info. Right or wrong.....

Jim

Fireside · Post by **Fireside** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:26 pm

I have also had a labrador retriever tear a dew claw almost all the way off. It was a total mess and cost a fortune to have it (and the other side) removed on an adult dog. I am a firm believer in removing them shortly after birth!

northern cajun · Post by **northern cajun** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:27 pm

In the book "The Complete German Shorthaired Pointer" by Herr Seiger and Dr. Dewitz-Coplin

Herr Seiger makes the statement that if it were for simply for tail injuries then the German Long tail would have also had tails docked and they dont.

Just what happened at the times.

SetterNut · Post by **SetterNut** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:43 pm

Sharon wrote:
Beautiful setter. Looks like a Llewellin head.

Thanks Sharon,
You are correct, Ace is a Llewellin. That picture was from a two years ago before he was a year old, he has a lot more feathering now, but still a pretty light coat for a setter.

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 6:54 am

SetterNut wrote:
Sharon wrote:
Beautiful setter. Looks like a Llewellin head.
Thanks Sharon,
You are correct, Ace is a Llewellin. That picture was from a two years ago before he was a year old, he has a lot more feathering now, but still a pretty light coat for a setter.

He's a beautiful chesnut (like my Tessa)! Are you willing to share with us his breeding?

Ahumphers91a · Post by **Ahumphers91a** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:43 am

I had a lab shorthair mix that beat her tail bloody very often! You couldn't get it healed because it would just get bloddy everytime she got happy and wanted to either play or hunt. I don't think it's just "tradition" as mentioned before, its for the animals saftey and well being.

displaced_texan · Post by **displaced_texan** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 11:32 am

Ahumphers91a wrote:I had a lab shorthair mix that beat her tail bloody very often! You couldn't get it healed because it would just get bloddy everytime she got happy and wanted to either play or hunt. I don't think it's just "tradition" as mentioned before, its for the animals saftey and well being.

It started to prevent injuries, ie, safety and well being.

It continues because of what is traditionally done for a given breed.

Saying safety of the animal is the only reason almost implies that Pointer, setter and lab people don't care about the safety of their hounds...

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 11:38 am

displaced_texan wrote:
Ahumphers91a wrote:I had a lab shorthair mix that beat her tail bloody very often! You couldn't get it healed because it would just get bloddy everytime she got happy and wanted to either play or hunt. I don't think it's just "tradition" as mentioned before, its for the animals saftey and well being.
It started to prevent injuries, ie, safety and well being.

It continues because of what is traditionally done for a given breed.

Saying safety of the animal is the only reason almost implies that Pointer, setter and lab people don't care about the safety of their hounds...

I do know of some breeders that will tip tails on their pointer and setter pups just enough to help tough the tip of the tail with a little bit of a scar

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 12:31 pm

displaced_texan wrote:
Ahumphers91a wrote:I had a lab shorthair mix that beat her tail bloody very often! You couldn't get it healed because it would just get bloddy everytime she got happy and wanted to either play or hunt. I don't think it's just "tradition" as mentioned before, its for the animals saftey and well being.
It started to prevent injuries, ie, safety and well being.

It continues because of what is traditionally done for a given breed.

Saying safety of the animal is the only reason almost implies that Pointer, setter and lab people don't care about the safety of their hounds...

Dogs rid themselves of stupid through their tails when they wag them. We stub tail fans are just trying to accomplish that a little faster.

displaced_texan · Post by **displaced_texan** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:09 pm

Cajun Casey wrote:
displaced_texan wrote:
Ahumphers91a wrote:I had a lab shorthair mix that beat her tail bloody very often! You couldn't get it healed because it would just get bloddy everytime she got happy and wanted to either play or hunt. I don't think it's just "tradition" as mentioned before, its for the animals saftey and well being.
It started to prevent injuries, ie, safety and well being.

It continues because of what is traditionally done for a given breed.

Saying safety of the animal is the only reason almost implies that Pointer, setter and lab people don't care about the safety of their hounds...
Dogs rid themselves of stupid through their tails when they wag them. We stub tail fans are just trying to accomplish that a little faster.

How is that working out for y'all?

Cajun Casey · Post by **Cajun Casey** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:35 pm

displaced_texan wrote:
Cajun Casey wrote: Dogs rid themselves of stupid through their tails when they wag them. We stub tail fans are just trying to accomplish thata little faster.
How is that working out for y'all?

Beanie is turning green from walking in circles in a mudpuddle for hours and Rufus has taken up eating spiders. Oh, and I'm clicker training the brown dog to lick his lips. In other words, it's not working for stupid.

big steve46 · Post by **big steve46** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 6:18 pm

Nothing prettier than a Setter on point! I've Setters almost 40 years, and did have one big E. Setter that always had a bloody tail, but most Setters I've owned had little problems.

By the way just to remind, I am the Membership Chairman for the National Llewellin Gun Dog Club. We are accepting members, and you don't have to own a Llewellin.

mcbosco · Post by **mcbosco** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 6:35 pm

Steve,

Can the fuzzy short-tails join?

Truthseeker · Post by **Truthseeker** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 6:57 pm

50 broken tails? i have been around bird dog, cow dogs and mutts my whole life and have never personally seen a broken tail. i have seen some bloody tips and limber tail but i think the reason certain breeds are docked is because "thats the way we have always done it
" . the perceived saftey aspect is way overplayed

Post by **ezzy333** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 7:19 pm

Nothing to do with safety, I agree, but I have never had a pointer in the kennel that wasn't spraying blood around most of the time from beating their tails against the wire sides. Just better for the dog to have it shortened. Prettier to have it longer if it's carried right.

Ezzy

remington202 · Post by **remington202** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 7:36 pm

Having had Pointers for a long time, I have found that the best thing to stop tails from bleeding is to brush on some Nu-skin liquid bandage. It's very inexpensive and you can find it at about any drugstore. I've tried other remedies - most of which fell off - but this stuff coats the skin and helps it heal. If you catch bare or bloody spots early it especially helps. And yes, there have been a few times where there are blood spatters on the walls, etc, from wagging tails, but I think the value of what the Pointers have added for me outweighs those little "issues"

big steve46 · Post by **big steve46** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 7:39 pm

mcbosco wrote:Steve,

Can the fuzzy short-tails join?

Sure can. We have several Llewellin restricted trials a year. Sometimes once a year we have a AF horseback open trial.

It's a small club of less than 200 people, but anyone who enjoys good dogs can join. We have a website, and specific info can be given with a PM to me.

cullenwruth · Post by **cullenwruth** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 9:53 pm

Interesting I've been wondering about this

Ahumphers91a · Post by **Ahumphers91a** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:37 pm

The only reason I said safety, was more towards the point of the dog could get infections and such. I would rather dock a tail then have to have it cleaned every single day to avoid infection. And I have owned labs and never had a problem with tails, when I had gotten the lab shorthair cross is when I had the problem. The shorthair is just so much more of a "wag happy" dog, and that's probably why they started docking the tails, besides the look is too ugly for my blood when shorthairs have a non-docked tail xD

Edit: By the way Remington, that is one NICE profile picture of that EP. I love it!

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 8:59 am

ezzy333 wrote:Nothing to do with safety, I agree, but I have never had a pointer in the kennel that wasn't spraying blood around most of the time from beating their tails against the wire sides. Just better for the dog to have it shortened. Prettier to have it longer if it's carried right.

Ezzy

Well, of course the solution to that problem, is having the dog live inside, where he belongs!... you know, rest on the couch and sleep on the bed with the humans!

(I'm razzing you gently BigSteve!

)

Post by **kninebirddog** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 10:29 am

Truthseeker wrote:50 broken tails? i have been around bird dog, cow dogs and mutts my whole life and have never personally seen a broken tail. i have seen some bloody tips and limber tail but i think the reason certain breeds are docked is because "thats the way we have always done it
" . the perceived saftey aspect is way overplayed

I have worked with different ranchers helping in the high country watched one rancher do a field dock on a young dog which lost a battle with an old momma cow with a worked with Vets plus being around a lot of dogs he slapped some wonder dust and furazone on it and said he'll either make it or he won't ..and I have seen a lot everything from owners that stepped on the dogs tail or accidentally slammed in a door or a couple of the worst ones was car doors to dogs that smacked their tail on a post right before a brace to beat it in the kennel that dog now has no tail literally after 3 operations to keep taking off more and more that was a setter over in Texas to other that cracked bones in the tail to the point the bones never had a chance to heal from the dog consistently banging the tail around and got bone infection was a pointer here in AZ this was just in less then 2 years of major needs of surgery and the pointer ended up having to be put down the infection got into the back. Dogs that my vet has worked on So yes Over the years adding with where I did work and who I worked with
I have an old setter here in front of me how has stress lumps in her tail from years of her banging her tail which when we had x rays taken as she was having issues it was shown she had cracked her tail a few times over the years ...Not all tail breaks end up in dragging tails. So people probably see more dogs with tails that have been fractured then one could even realize.

markj · Post by **markj** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 12:35 pm

I had a long tailed dog once, he was slow getting out the door and it broke his tail. He also swept the coffee table clean many times a day.

Excited he could whip yer kid for ya

The current shorthair dock is very long I imagine soon it will be left 2/3 long

Sue · Post by **Sue** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:38 am

markj wrote:I had a long tailed dog once, he was slow getting out the door and it broke his tail.

Gosh, if I had broken my dog's tail by closing the door on it, I'd feel pretty bad about it, and be blaming myself, not the dog, or the length of his tail! I hope you are joking here!

(although it certainly must not have felt very funny to the dog

)