Hi Guys my bitch (Anna) whelped her first litter this morning and all are doing great.

She had a little girl who has a kinked tail.
It seems to look a bit better now compared to earlier.
Earlier it was turning right over on itself but now its just a little bit kinked, theres also a lump of what feels like bone there where the kink is.
I was just wondering if any of you have had this?
Does it cause any problems later on in life and how noticable will it be when shes older?
Been to the vet and she says that its fine and will probably be ok,but I was just wanting to know what your thoughts are on this.
Thanks for your views
Amy and Anna

Recently someone I know had a white Longcoat litter, one of whch has a screw tail.  It is about 4 inches long and bent right to one side and cannot be moved.

She was given to her owner by her breeder as a gift because of this defect.  It may be coincidence but she had urine leakag problems for quite a while and got terrribly stained.  She has recently ahd a season and appears to be able to hold her urine now.  It is actrually a deformity of the spine which is a breed characteristic in the Boston, French Bulldog and Bulldog.  It is listed as a fault in some breed standards, which would make one assume that it is something that happens from time to time.

A friend of mine whelped a GSD litter last year that had a bitch with a kinked tail, I believe it will stay that way, but will not cause the dog any problems, so purely a cosmetic problem.

depends on the severity of the kink too - they can sometimes get in the way :rolleyes:
I have heard that dogs with such a condition shouldnt be bred from as it can be hereditary

Hi

It depends on the severity of the kink what I do about it - if it is right angled or close to the base then I would have it docked, if it is just a slight kink then I don't bother.

I did a test breeding years ago of two with kinked tails (one docked, one natural) and none of the pups had them.

The trouble is in my breed that most of the evidence is cut off soon after birth so no-one knows (or admits) whether the dog was kinked in the first place or not.

Unless it is severe it is often not apparent for the first few hours/days anyway

Could it possibly be due to the way the pup was positioned inside Mum?  I have no experience of this, but when my son was born his foot was at a very strange angle to his leg, but over following few days it gradually straightened out.

Fiona

Kinked Tails are caused by a recessive gene.

Therefore it may skip a number of generations and then turn up unexpectedly.

A small kink should cause the dog no problems whatsoever, but can look unsightly.

Jayne

Thanks for all your help guys, this girl only has a small kink and its right at the end of her tail. I took them to the vets and she said that it shouldnt cause a problem at any stage of the dogs life.
I was just a little worried because I have never seen this before and didnt know if there was anything I can do.
Looks like Ill just leave it and see if it sorts itself out a little bit but i doubt it.
It isnt as noticeable than it was yesterday so hopefully it might get a little bit better
Thanks Again
Amy