The Truth About Natural Rottweiler Tails
by Erika Butler - Dreibergen Rottweilers

There is an amazing amount of untruthful information about Rottweilers with tails written by people that have only owned docked Rottweilers and would NEVER consider owning a Rottweiler with a natural tail. I am speaking from EXPERIENCE! I have owned Rottweilers with natural tails for the past 6 years, almost immediately after the law change in Germany. I have been to countless shows during those years, including the Klubsieger Show in Germany and have seen all the different tail carriages and sets. 

There is an article on an internet website written when the FCI Breed Standard was first changed that describes the disastrous effect the natural tail would have on our breed. Well, it just didn't happen. The article describes tail sets that don't exist in quality breedings any more than they existed prior to the standard change and depicts structure changes that would be necessary for a tailed dog that simply aren't true.

This photo is from the anti-natural tail website depicting the Rottweiler that "we recognize"

 

 

This photo describes a tail set as seen in Sweden

 

 

In the hundreds of natural tailed Rottweilers I have seen, I have NEVER seen this tail set on anything but an Akita!

This photo describes the tail as an elongation of the topline.

 

 
A Rottweiler's natural tail is carried hanging while at rest, and often over the back when excited. A Rottweiler does not hold it's tail in this type of stiff position, but it can be captured by a camera, with the picture taken at exactly the right moment, as the tail wags back an forth. 

Some additional reasons the author is against tails:
"To add a long, heavy tail to the structure described in the standards would change the center of gravity, moving it towards the rear of the dog..."
"...would lessen the Rottweiler's ability as an endurance trotter, unless the croup we desire today changes."
"...the Rottweiler's presently desired croup and tail set would have to change to accommodate an undocked tail."
"I also would expect to see the undocked Rottweiler change proportion, too, and become a longer dog."

The author would have us believe that a natural tailed Rottweiler might look like this

 

 

The truth is, this Rottweiler has a falling croup, and was born with a falling croup with or without a tail!
Does this croup somehow become more correct without the tail?

 

 
The structure is already determined at birth, the genetics for the croup and tail set were already set in place long before the puppy arrived in this world. The puppy was born with a tail and the croup remains the same whether docked or natural.
Using the author's own drawing, it is easy to see how correct structure remains unchanged, with or without a tail.

The authors depiction of a docked Rottweiler with correct structure
    =
The author's tail taken from the tailed dog with a falling croup

There you have it. A dog with a tail, with the same structure as the dog without the tail.

I successfully finished one of the first tailed dogs in Canada - where they allow tailed dogs in the show ring (CanCh USRC NYS'04 SWRYS'03&'04 NCRSA'04 SWRSA'05 Redwood Krest's Friday BH). To date, between myself and my close friends we have finished over 10 dogs in Canada. Both AKC and CKC judges have put up our quality dogs, Friday received a 5 point major under a well known, highly regarded AKC judge. When I approached him after the show and told him "Thank you for finding my dog with the tail." he simply replied "What's not to find, he is a beautiful, correct Rottweiler and the tail doesn't make a bit of difference." Hmmm, Apparently the judges are still able to assess a dog's structure with a natural tail.

"...tail selection will suddenly move from no consideration at all to major consideration in the selection of breeding stock"

To date, I have whelped 5 litters and left natural tails. I have found no need to change our breeding program to accommodate some imaginary problem with the tails or structure. I have yet to produce a dog with a faulty tail*, apparently despite the fact that we cut them off all these years, the tails still knew what they were supposed to be if left intact. I bought a dog with a ring tail once - on purpose. The dog was a Belgian dog and was for sale to a pet home. On request from the new owner, I bought and imported the dog, neutered him and send him to his new family. They didn't care about the small ring at the end of his tail, he was still the loving, faithful, family companion that they always wanted.

"...a long tail would probably become injured by beating it against the wall, the table, etc."

In my 6 years of experience of owning Rottweilers with natural tails there has only been one incidence of injury. The tail was not injured by beating it against an object, rather my dog was playing with his tail, running in circles while holding and pulling on the end of his tail. It was a game he usually enjoyed in the front yard in the mornings. One day, while playing his tail-chase game, he pulled his own tail so hard that he sprained it. He did not cry or show any distress, his tail simply went limp. I rushed him off the the vet in a panic, only to be told that the tail would resume to normal within a few days. Sure enough, by that evening he was once again wagging the bottom of his tail and by the next morning it was back to it's normal, happy, wagging self.

So in closing, the bottom line is, docked or natural is purely personal preference. It has not, and will not change the structure of the breed. In the United States of America, ALL Rottweiler fanciers should striving for the same thing...

THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE!

*Update: 2/18/08
It has been close to 9 years since the breed standard was changed in Germany but nothing has changed here in the U.S. regarding discrimination against natural tailed Rottweilers. I still own Rottweilers with Natural tails, and I still leave the tails on my litters. I have had one additional tail injury since I originally wrote this article, I awoke one morning and discovered one of my young female's tail was completely limp. I have her some natural anti-inflammatory supplements and in 3 days her tail was back to normal. I have also finally produced a dog with a faulty tail - the dog has a ring tail. He is neutered and his owners love him!


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