Aussie Tails

Ancient Romans believed removing part of a dogs tail or tongue would protect it from getting rabies. During the 17th and 18th century the Puritans of early America would cut off the tails of dogs because they believed the tails were possessed by demons. In England up until 1796 dogs were taxed but working dogs were exempt, so people would cut off the tails of dogs to show they were working dogs. Today people still dock tails to achieve a certain look or standard usually for show.

In 1998 the European Union banned tail docking, followed by the UK in 2001. It does not look like America will be following suit anytime soon. The American Kennel Club (AKC) requires, according to their breed standards, over 50 different breeds to have docked tails.

The Australian Shepherd and the miniature version known as the Miniature American Shepherd are both historically seen without tails. Many people think that they are just born that way, and although that can be true, most have their tails chopped off when only days old. Sometimes this is done by a veterinarian but most often by the breeder, usually even without local anesthesia. Often dewclaws are removed at the same time.

Puppies can most certainly feel pain, even at a couple days old!

We at Kindred Spirits never dock tails or remove dewclaws. Their tails are beautiful and show so much emotion. All of our dogs use their tails to help them communicate with us and with each other. They also use their tails to help with balance and quick turns, helpful in work and play. The argument for cutting off their tails to keep them safe from getting them stepped on while working livestock doesn’t make sense when most Border Collies who are considered the top livestock workers generally keep their tails.

We breed to the AKC standard (except for the tails) and are working to improve the breed. We look forward to the day we can show our dogs with their beautiful tails in conformation and our dogs will be noticed and appreciated for their quality and not be passed over simply because we choose not to chop off their tails!

Some breeders claim that they have natural bob tailed puppies. It is true, there is a gene that produces puppies with very short tails. It is a dominate gene, meaning that it only takes one gene to express the trait, however; it is also lethal in puppies that are homozygous, having two of these genes , one from each parent.

This is yet another reason why genetic testing is so important when breeding dogs. With the practice of tail docking in our breed, it is sometimes difficult to know if a dog has the bob-tail gene mutation also known as C189G. A breeder might unknowingly allow two dogs to mate that both have the bob-tail gene. This would cause 1/4 of the puppies on average to inherit two copies of the bob-tail gene. These puppies are most often reabsorbed and never born or they are born dead and in rare cases live only a day or two with severe disabilities usually of the spine. Of the remaining puppies 2/3 will have bob tails and 1/3 will have a long, normal tail.

If a breeder has bob-tailed puppies that does not make them a bad breeder! If they are using genetic testing, are knowledgable about the C189G gene mutation and are only breeding bob-tail to non bob-tail, they can produce healthy bob-tailed puppies. If both parents are bob-tailed, it doesn’t mean the bob-tailed pup they produced is not healthy, I would just question their knowledge and/or integrity.

Genetic testing is super important for making breeding decisions and knowing what health conditions your dog might be susceptible to. We test all of our breeding dogs through Embark and make breeding decisions based in part from these findings. Aussie tails are just one of these decisions, but all of our puppies have full, beautiful tails!