Do the Australian Shepherds are born with a long tail?
A hallmark of the breed is a short bobbed or docked tail in countries where docking is permitted. Some Aussies are born with naturally short bobbed tails, others with full long tails, and others with natural partial bobs, where the tail is midlength and appears stubby. Most breeders dock the tails when the puppies are born.
Although these dogs do not have a tail to wag, the wagging movement of the hind end still occurs.
Some Australian Shepherd owners opt to keep the tail on the dog for the natural look, which can still be shown in the breed ring.
Every Aussie Shep I have ever known has had their tail docked at 2 days old. It's sad that they continue to do this. In the old days it protected the tail from getting damaged in the field. now it's generally cosmetic.
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Yes they are, but when they are puppies their tails are docked. Meaning they cut them off, although it sounds rather cruel, it's the way the breed is presented. Another example would be the Minature Pincher.
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A hallmark of the breed is a short bobbed or docked tail in countries where docking is permitted. Some Aussies are born with naturally short bobbed tails, others with full long tails, and others with natural partial bobs, where the tail is midlength and appears stubby. Most breeders dock the tails when the puppies are born.
Although these dogs do not have a tail to wag, the wagging movement of the hind end still occurs.
Some Australian Shepherd owners opt to keep the tail on the dog for the natural look, which can still be shown in the breed ring.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Shepherd
yes they are
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i heard that the docking happens because when aussies herd, they herd cattle and sheep. and that they dont want the tails to be trampled on.
it was from another answerer in a different question. i thought that you might of wanted to know…
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Some Aussies are born with natural bobtails, but the majority are docked at 3 days old, at the same time the dew claws are removed.
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Raise, train & show Aussies. Aussie owner for 30 years.
Yes,Australian Shepards are born with a long tail, but their tails are docked shortly after birth.
Why Dock Tails?
1. To avoid tail damage – This is the most important reason for docking a tail. Australian Shepherds were raised in the rought Western areas of the United States, which, if you have never visited, have tough weeds, tall grasses, and plenty of other hazards. Working in this condition will easily lead to torn and bleedin tails, which, of course are very painful and hard to treat. If the tail is docked, it eliminates the rist of injury. it also lessens chances of matting.
2. For reasons of hygiene
Dogs with thick hair have a good chance of getting feces on themselves and caught in the tail. Docking can greatly reduce the hygiene problems.
3. To maintain breed standards
Should the docking of tails be eliminated, hundreds of otherwise good breeding animals wouuld be removed from gene pools and this could be a huge downfall for the breed.
There are numerous other minor reasons, but these are the BIG THREE.
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Classically an Aussie will be born with a short or malformed tail. Because of this, most of them have their tail docked. The Aussies that are born with a full tail usually won't have it docked unless they are to be a show dog.
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Blackroot Miniture Aussie Breeders