Hi this may seem very niave on my part, but here goes I have just bought a lovely little cocker spaniel, but I did'nt notice untill I got home that she has a non existent tail, I know some are docked but this seems even beyond that!! she has not wagged her stump as yet although she is exeptionally friendly and sweet, my question is would an over docked tail not beable to physically wag. I am sorry if this sounds stupid but I just wondered, apart from this she is absolutely georgoues. ( Apologies for the bad spelling)

I've got a springer with a very small stump as he had to have his tail amputated at a year old due to damage.  His tail is about the same size as my thumb and wags perfectly well with no restrictions!  I've also got two cockers with a 'long' dock that I prefer - their tails reach down to their "knee" joint (if that makes sense).

Did you ask the breeder who docked the tails and why she/he chose such a short length?

Why don't you register so you can discuss your new pup further.

From a personal point of view (and SharonM will agree I am sure), you've made a good choice with a cocker! :-)

Yes, excellent choice.......cockers are lovely dogs! :-)

Thank you jackyjat for your reply re: my cocker spaniels stump of a tail, I have now registered on this website. I only bought my cocker 24 hours ago and she is extremely timid-but her little stump has managed to move a llittle bit, I did'nt ask the breeder about the docking because stupidly on my part did'nt notice that part-plus there was three men in the room and I was on my own!!! Do you think she will be ok? she is a golden cocker 11 weeks old just, kc papers to follow the man said?

A good breeder should have spent lots of time with you making sure that you knew as much as possible about your new pup and showing off it's relatives, and will have given you instructions to ring him/her to keep him updated on pups progress and to ask nay questions.

I do hope you had a receipt in writing saying that the KC reg was to follow, as sadly some people will use this excuse when pups never have been registered, knowing full well that once the owners have pup home they won't want to give it back if there are no papers, or may even forget all about them.

I do hope that your breeder was the best of teh first, and if he/she was then they will be all to eager to advise you on any aspect of your pups rearing and future wellbeing.

One of my Spanish who has been docked hardly has a tail (unhappy about how shortit is) but it wags away at times.  Anton my other Spanish was born naturally with a very short tail which goes in different directions depending on the kind of mood he's in.  If he sees a female dog that he fancies it goes up and down very, very quickly.  If he's happy to see you but not overly enthusiastic it goes from side to side and if he's very excited it goes up and down, side to side and round and round :d  Yep, he's as mad as his owner and it has to be seen to be believed.

I really hope your papers follow.  It's a very common story on these boards that it doesn't all go to plan.

Did you know him well or have visited often since the pups have been born?

I am sure that little tail will start wagging soon.  Keep us posted!

I hope those papers do follow on..........it sounds as though the tail docking is also a home docked tail, no vet under the CDB would dock that short.  Did you see the parents of the pup, or other pups from the litter?

Sorry to worry you, but these stories are all too familiar!

Actually vets can occasionally dock Cocker tails too short so this is not necessarily an illegal "home dock" -a Cocker bitch we bought a while ago is docked way too short & the docking was done by the same experienced vet practice we use ourselves. It doesn't bother our girl - she just wags her whole bottom :-)

Jane

My dogs are done by a qualified vet and yes he too has docked to short at times and he always does my dogs !

We have occasionally found that even with a litter who all appear to have been  docked identically, one pups tail simply does not grow at the same rate.  This happened with the buff puppy we kept from one of our Ch bitches final litter - a gorgeous puppy, but only had a tiny stump of a tail, even though it was identical to the rest when done.  At 8 weeks it looked a little shorter, but not to a worrying degree, but at 4 months it was obviouse it simply was not going to grow, so she has a tiny stump, about one inch long, wapgs it not problem ( and her whole rear end) but could never be shown, as it makes her look out of balance.
bye
Gwen

Thank you so much for your post. My little cocker is also a lovely looking little girl, but the tail just about covers her bottom-(but only just). The breeder said she was not for the show ring, for pet home only. I suppose the tail or lack of it must be the reason why.I have not got the kc papers through yet, but I have a signed letter from breeder saying they will follow, he wanted to sell the whole litter then send the paperwork off altogether. In this letter it says if the pup was to go to the show ring the kc papers would be endorsed, could somebody explain to me what this means? Many Thanks for your helpful replies.

The breeder can't put endorsements on the pup's registration now, because that can only be done while the pup is still in his physical possession. The only endorsements which he would have been able to put on (which many good breeders do as a matter of course, because they can be lifted at a later date) is to prevent the pup being granted an export pedigree (so preventing it being re-registered abroad) and banning the registration of any progeny.

As I understand it if the registration was applied for when then pups were with the breeder the endorsements can be placed as long as the owners were made aware and signed to that effect.  I can't see why the breeder would wait to register this long though as registrations go through pretty quickly now, not like a while back when I waited 10 weeks for papers to come back.

hi , i am going to be looking to buy a puppy soon or may rescue one if i can find the right type of dog around the right age,
as my staffy girl needs a friend sooo badly.
this is a bit worrying to me about all the people getting caught by rouge breeders.

Im not saying you have been done....

Just that the comments of others saying they see it posted so often.

But forewarned is forearmed..and i will be sure to be careful when buying a pup if im unable to rescue one.

so thanks all for the heads up ..

Hi I hope your search for a dog goes well. I'm afraid I was told the mother and father of my pup was available to be seen but on the day the breeder said the dogs had gone on holiday with a family member. I have not recieved the kc papers still. I have phoned the breeder quite a few times with no answer. So I can only say to you if it's a pup you are buying insist on viewing at least the mum. You have done the right thing by coming onto this website. Only got my computer for christmas otherwise I would have been forwarned by the excellent information on this site by people who know what they are talking about. I think I have been rather naive, but on a positive note my pup is lovely, and she has managed to wiggle her little stump I jumped around the kitchen thrilled, think the pup thinks i'm crackers.

My aussies who have no tail, still manage to get it wriggling, and the whole bum goes aswell, the eldest bitch we own wiggled her whole body! who needs a tail!?

Hello Windybreeze

I too have a golden cocker bitch with a tiny tail.  It also is the smallest of stumps (I personally think there may have been an error in the docking because it is so short)  but you can still see when she's  trying to wag because her whole back end shakes like she's trying t ohula hoop :D

Welcome to the Forum, you will learn more than you thought possible about your new dog on here.