# How do I tell if my dogs tail has been cut?



## Jackdog (Jun 16, 2014)

I have a 4 month old puppy I got from the local shelter. He looks like a rottweiler in the face, and has white spotted feet but is an unknown mix. His tail looks sort of funny, and isn't very long. The only other dog I have ever owned was golden labrador retriever, and his tail was long. Here is a picture of his tail.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

That does look like a partial amputation.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

One of my dog's sisters had a short tail, and I asked the shelter if it had been docked, and they said she was just born like that.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I don't think it's been cut. . .it looks more "rumply" like a natural variation. Plus the fur grows different over a cut than if it's natural. Probably just a weird genetic thing or something went hinky in utero. It's what make him unique!


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## Foresthund (Jul 17, 2013)

It does seem like it's docked,the end just seems oddly blunt,the long docks can be because of injury though. You might be able to feel scar tissue,but it doesn't tend to be visible and you have to work through all the fur to feel anything. You can have ruffed up, sticking out fur over a docked tail end,mine does and I have seen it in others.


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## Jackdog (Jun 16, 2014)

The shelter said both him and his brother were born like that, but to me it seems like it has been docked. It seems a little too rumply to be natural.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Are the bones smooth or do they clump up in a knot? If they're knotty, that's a natural mutation. A dock would be a clean cut between the vertebrae, so the tail would just end. Anything other than that means it's probably natural. A natural tail will usually taper at the end too (not necessarily the fur, but the last vertebrae will be smaller than the ones before).

If you look really closely you can usually see the scar at the end of the tail if it's been cut. Fur won't grow from scar tissue, so even though the surrounding fur might grow long and stick up around the cut, no fur will grow from the actual cut. So there will be a small bare spot at the tip of the tail. If it's natural there shouldn't be any bare spots.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

That is a Dock...


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

You can't really tell by just looking at a picture of the whole tail. That length suggest a dock or amputation, but weirder things have happened. What does the end look like? In a poorly done dock or amputation, the hair may not grow back along a scar which may be narrow or wide.


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## BubbaMoose (May 14, 2013)

It looks similar to my dog's tail. His was docked incorrectly. 


















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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

I am also in the camp that's a poorly done dock job. The end of that tail is oddly stumpy.


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