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Originally Posted by gemy  I guess the outlying question is, if we left all tails undocked, say 10 yrs down the road, would that tail thicken up? It is not only a Yorkie question, but an all breed kind of question, where historically we have docked tails. |
No, that's not the way evolution works, breeders would have to choose those dogs with a thicker tail and breed them. In the wild, it could happen, because those with a thick tail would have an advantage. A dog with a broken tail, couldn't get food for a while. Joey and Ralphie are approximately the same size, Joey being a few ounces bigger, but Ralphie has much bigger bones and teeth. My guess is that Ralphies teeth are twice the size of Joeys, and his docked tail is much thicker than Joey's docked tail. Breeders would be wise to start taking the tail into consideration when choosing traits to breed, that's why I hope this evolves slowly and breeders are given a choice. I am concerned about the reports of broken tails in some countries, and I hear that it's extremely painful, and often full amputation of the tail has to be done. So for me, this is a little like “A stitch in time, saves nine.” Visually, I think they are adorable each way.