short tail.

J

Jarlshof

Forums Novice
I had a litter of pups born last week. One had a bob tail. I am trying to find out if this is an anomaly or a genetic issue. I can find nothing about this topic as in regards to the sheltie breed. Second request.
 
Shelties do not carry the gene for bob tails. The only reasons I can think that you'll see a bob tail is a malformation in-uterine or the sire was not a sheltie.

Btw - my male has a shorter than usual tail which he was born with. Once he grew long fur you don't notice the shorter tail.
 
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I'm not an expert in this. But I know a breeder who has had close to 200 puppies, and the last one had a short tail. He's the only one out of that many. I believe that it is an anomaly. Just a bizarre thing that happens once in a great while, but doesn't mean the puppy will "have something deadly wrong with it".

I think that is what you are asking.

And if a big breeder wants to pipe in and tell me I am wrong, then I defer to their knowledge.
 
I have seen certain lines/families have short or kinked tails pop up. It's not an easy defect to breed away from, and it is definitely not correct for the breed, but it is not life-threatening.

Out of curiosity, is the dam of this litter the puppy you bought in January? That would make her what, ten or eleven months today, and with a litter already?
 
The dam is over 2 years old. I am familiar with ethics of breeding, and will not breed a dog with a genetic problem. This is not a mix breed litter. So I asked. The pup with the short tail is healthy and will be placed with a spay contract. I asked so that if it was genetic, I would not repeat that breeding. As the breed standard discusses the length of the tail, I thought perhaps it was genetic. Thank you all for your comments and your concern.
 
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