hook tail - Page 2

Thanx ATHREYA!My pup is only 6 months old. I will certainly try ur suggestion. Thanx again.

Thanks Preston, you are absolutely correct about surgical alteration being a no-no. One may view the splinting of a tail as a similar thing to not do, or possibly compare it to taping an errant ear. But as you said, a correct tail is very important for conformation, possibly as critical as a correct ear set. There was a thread the other day about "dead" tails and another about a kinked tail. Perhaps these "dead" tails were caused by a bit of surgery done on the QT? Or by the early stages of DM. Bob-O

Not to mention there must be a considerable amount of pain suffered by a puppy that is having it's tail "corrected". What sort of person would even do something like that?

I have a female with a remarkable "hook" tail. It is one of her physical characteristics that set her apart. A few years back when I was working her in SchH someone wanted to lease her because of her nice work. This was not her only fault and she had already been spayed. The person who wanted to lease her said "there is no perfect dog". At 8 years of age I had this female's hips x-rayed and she certainly would have OFA'd good. In the grand scheme of things, I would prefer a healthy dog with a kink or hook tail than a sick dog with perfect tail carriage. She is kind of lucky though because she does not have to be anything other than my beloved pet. Her conformation faults are what make her unique and I still think she is beautiful.

I was told a guy in (Italy?) I think it was, years ago did an adjustment like a chiropractic adjustment and fixed a bunch of hooked tails.

Kevin Geagan, I hope that for his sake he anesthetized and/or muzzled everyone first. I think that my chiropractor was ready to muzzle me the other day, or call a time out so we could both don boxing gloves. The guy was killing me. For a youngster it sounds like an issue where an ligament is too short, such as what happens with Genu Recurvatum issues in the hind legs of a young puppy. That is why the splint sounds harmless. But if it is a fault that is easily passed, then breeding an effected dog will no doubt pass it to some of the progeny. Bob-O

It needs to be emphasized that many top V and VA GSD dogs and bitches have slight spirals at the end of their tails that are often not noticeable when relaxed. This is one of the most minor genetic faults possible and is of littkle concern when breeding such an animal. When there is a noticeable curl of over 25 degrees or a pronounced spiral, and these seriously detract from the dogs appearance, this must just be considered one of many minor faults, but must be taken into account when deciding to use this animal for breeding or not. I think that seriously hooked or curled tails are simple dominants but "dead tails" due to faulty spinal innervation are probably a combination of dominant and multiple recessives.