Necks and tails

I havent noticed the necks as much as the tails...I was thinking the same thing last weekend when I was watching judging...the judge was practically yanking down on the tail to get it to the hocks on some dogs, and the seemed to be placing too

 

There are short necks and tails. There are also dogs that have enough length of neck and tail, but the grooming is lacking to the point that the dog looks like it has a really short neck.
One thing to remember is neck and tail length go together. You won't see a long neck with a short tail or vice versa. That being said....you also get a longer back with a longer neck and longer tail. We sometimes call that "rangey". I seem to see it more often in bitches. It can be tricky with dogs (males), in that the longer, pulled out dogs, can really ride the height chart, possibly going over. If your goal is a longer neck, the overall balance, length of leg, to neck, to back, to tail, you can end up with a lot of dog. Picture this: A long neck and tail, a shorter back, and not too high on leg. Either the head piece would be too big (if it fit the neck) for the overall balance, or too small, and then it would look like a bunch of parts that don't fit.
Yes, we would all like more neck, and thus more "outline"....but it is much more of a "balancing" act!

 

Those of two things I love in my dogs. My Aurora's tail is the envy of everyone who sees it... Long past the minimum required, and the hair itself drags the ground. It is also paired with a nice long, elegant neck. I want nice length of neck... A short necked dog does not jump as nicely as a dog with a longer, well set neck. They just can't use themself as nicely over a jump with one who has better length of neck

 

Riley is one of those rangey shelties. When I went to the confirmation shows I was often wondering why on earth Riley had this long, full sweeping tail when those at the show were short and some were rather skimpy looking in comparison! This explains it really nicely! Thanks


Riley has a long tail that can touch the ground (fur, not the bone obviously!!), but he is also long legged and long bodied...perfect for running and jumping, but definitely NOT good for confirmation!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dquatrella/6135950153/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dquatrella/5565185707/

 

Zak has a long tail, we measured it once and the bone part was 9 inches and the white extended beyond that at 2 inches. It drags on the ground.

 

I didn't realize this. That's interesting and would explain Koji's body line a lot.

 

We seemed to have a lot of short tails over here, but thankfully over the last 2 - 3 years, longer tails are definitely coming 'back into fashion'! What is rarely seen is the graceful upward sweep at the end of the tail:

from the AKC Standard:
"Carriage of tail at rest is straight down or in a slight upward curve."
from the UK Sheltie Standard:
"Set low; tapering bone reaches to at least hock; with abundant hair and slight upward sweep."

I find it interesting that the AKC standard suggests the curve at the end is optional whereas the UK standard describes it as part of the ideal picture. Certainly many of the herding breeds (German Shepherds, briards, border collies, beardies etc) exhibit this feature to a greater or lesser degree. It is very pronounced in working border collies but much less apparent in their show ring counterparts. I don't know the reason/functionality of this feature but it really adds to the overall picture when a sheltie has a low set tail with a beautiful flowing plume brushing the pasterns, a slight upward curve at the end and gently waving with pleasure - utter perfection!!

As far as necks are concerned, there does appear to be a trend towards very stuffy short necks (usually associated with poorly angulated shoulders) or even worse, the 'poodle neck' which is set on almost vertically. It might look smart to see a sheltie standing with a neck set on like an L to the back but it's totally incorrect and would severely hinder a working dog. I always think of the part in the Black Beauty story in relation to necks. For those who haven't read it, it used to be the fashion to string carriage horses' heads up as it looked smart, but having their heads restrained in this manner put terrible strain on their backs and chests and usually resulted in an animal with ruined health. Without having the full mobility of their necks the horses were unable to function effectively. A dog which is bred for effortless running and jumping prowess is ruined by a stiff upright neck. This is exactly what HopeShelties has described.

To the other extreeme there are dogs (not just shelties) which have necks like swans that are totally out of proportion to the rest of the dog, making it look 'top heavy' and unbalanced.

Both the American and UK standards have identical wording in relation to necks:
"Muscular, well arched, of sufficient length to carry head proudly."

However, seeing a well arched neck is pretty rare over here. An unfortunate trend is to show the dogs with the muzzle pointing towards the heavens as the sheltie gazes adoringly up at its handler (or the piece of bait!). This just produces a 'ewe necked' appearence and even dogs with decent necks have their outline spoilt by doing this. I used to get Revel to look up as the judge was assessing his expression as he has rather heavy ears and this lifted them, but when the judge stepped back to look at his profile, I dropped his gaze. It is also important to take markings into account, especially with necks as a wide white collar makes a neck look much longer. A short collar has the opposite effect.

 

It's interesting that this has come up here when there was just a discussion on the sheltie studies list of Cheryl Anderson's which talked about the minimum length of neck. and her dogs typically having more than the average amount of neck.