I am toying with the idea of not docking tails next year to give things a test run.  Before I take this step with my solid poodles (we have not been docking our Parti pups from the beginning, the very few I have produced) I wanted to ask everyone who visits my blog their opinion.

1.  Do you think it makes them look strange and less like a Poodle?

2.  Would you consider getting a puppy without a docked tail?

I’ve been docking my dogs tails long for a while, even longer with this last litter.  Some pups just have naturally short tails so that when you dock they look shorter than the rest of their litter and some docked long grow out even longer.  It just depends on the dog.  Courtney had all the pups in Georgie’s litter docked at 1/4 off the tip yet Zane has a short tail and Jay has a super long tail, the rest fall to varying degrees between those two even though they were all docked exactly the same.  If you look at yesterday’s videos of Jay and Murray, you will notice Jay’s tail is a lot longer than Murray’s.  When he walks the tip of his tail bobs back and forth.  I find this very enduring.

I do not breed AKC conformation dogs, so there is no real reason to dock the tails, except to complete a look.  Poodles with a natural tail have some curl so the tail isn’t low enough to get damaged in daily life. I do not breed high end hunting dogs who might damage their tails in brush if the owner decides to shave off the tail, as many hunters do.

Please watch the following videos and tell me what you think of these natural tails.  This first video was an ad done by Canine Horizon with her two young Parti boys.  This shows what a natural tail will look like sitting, running, and just being a silly poodle.

This second video is of Tag running agility.  Tag is a male 2 year solid brown Std Poodle.  He will probably be the sire of our first litter with Mocha in 2014.

This is Boomerang running agility.  Boomer is from a litter Gloria Ogdahl and I co-bred.  He is a Blue and White Parti boy.

Eventually docking will be banned here in the States as it is already in Europe and Australia. As for now we have a choice. I don’t think docking harms the pups immune system as some people state, but I do think it is simply for looks and not needed in daily life. It is an early life trauma that could be avoided. A counter point could be made that for agility it actually provides balance for better turning. Think of a Cheetah. Without their tail there is no way they could make such hairpin turns. Hardcore agility people are seeking out un-docked dogs for this reason.

EDIT: Here is a video on docking done by a vet so everyone can see exactly what is involved in the removal of dew claws and tails.

So tell me, what do you think? Do you think it makes them look like a doodle or do you find the long tail interesting?
~Becky