Just to respond to the no-tail by birth issue..... with our litter of Australian Shepherds last summer, we did have one with a "natural bob" tail. We did have it docked though along with the other ones just because it wasn't quite the right length. In his case, it actually runs in the family. His daddy was born a "natural bob" also. That's actually a choice on the registration forms (with ASCA - Aust. Shep. Club of America). Docked, not docked or natural bob. We originally were selling one pup to someone in Germany and she requested that we not bob that one. She ended up buying two though - although the one was already docked.
So, yes, natural bob does happen.
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~ Angie |