how short do yorkies tails get docked?
 

mine just seems REALLLYY short. shorter than most i've seen!

Teddy's tail is docked about 2 inches I think, it's not really a nub it's just a little tail. I let his fur grow out on it and it looks like a feather duster haha. I'll post a pic of his tail and you can compare.

ohmygosh. mine is just like a little nub. i dont think i have pics though !!

How old is your pup? ZoE has a lil nub. It was tiny as could be when I first got her, but it's grown in proportion to her now that she's a year old. It's still short though...about 1 1/4" to 1 1/2"....shorter than some I've seen. I actually prefer a lil nub or a regular tail...I don't personally care for the longer than a nub, pump handle look.

yeah i agree! he is young... 11 weeks almost. so everything on him is really little still !! it just seemed weird to me how short it actually was! Lol :)

There are a lot of opinions out there about length, and actually it's up to you as to how long you have yours Docked.

But originally, Terriers Tails were Docked where the length was about the width of your hand (about 4" or so).

This was a convenient length...
Not too long to inhibit their activity when burrowing after prey, but
long enough to get hold of, to pull them out of the hole/back out of the way.

I was thinking the same thing! Andy's is so cute when it's wagging so quickly! He's got about 2" with about 2" fur.

Aaaaah! That was a little poem! :)

:eek: My husband's called Andy....:D Sally + Harry x

IMHO and not to start a war, but I kind of dont understand why in this day and age, tails and ears are still docked.
We got Smokey at 5 months and for some reason or other, the breeder did not dock his tail and I am glad he didn't.

Breed standard? Forgive my stupidity, but WHY?

Having spent a couple thousand dollars rushing a greyhound with infected "happy tail" into emergency amputation and dealing with the aftermath,
I am a bit put off by what I consider unnecessary cosmetic surgery.

Again, forgive me, but that's how I feel. :animal-pa

Ziva and Abby were docked by the same vet and both have little nubs. I never paid much attention to Ziva's since she tucks it down and it blends right in. Abbys nub sits differently into her backbone. She uses her "tail" and it made me start looking at how much they must have clipped off :eek:.
I wonder if we stopped docking tails would a breeder have to make sure the tail was held and feathered nicely?

I couldn't agree with you more :)

It's actually illegal in the UK now - if it's done at all then loads of paperwork and 'whys and wherefores' have to be agreed by a Vet and other official bodies - and only if it will benefit that particular animal. Thank goodness it's not the norm any longer.

And I too had a similar problem with a Boxer that we had many years ago. Even after all the pain and money it never did heal properly, infection set in and the bone always showed. Terrible :( Sally + Harry x

I agree with you as well, I got harley before they changed the law here, but in Nova Scotia, and some other provinces in Canada they have started to ban tail docking (and dew claws, and ear trimming), We are now trying to rally teh CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) to accept these tails, cause we can't have them docked anymore. I'm not a breeder, just a pet owner, but I'm going to join when I have some extra cash, apparently the Canadian Yorkshire Terrier association has a petition going on to change the standard, so that the CKC will accept the changes. (I could have my facts wrong, forgive me if they're off, but I know that breeders are now fighting up here to have their tails accepted, cause they refuse to dock tails illegally).

I agree. :)

I just happened to stumble upon a pup that was not docked but I did not do it on purpose. I was naive and did not know a whole lot about the breed when I got Jackson, so I did not even realize it was supposed to be docked! I used to think, as a kid, that dogs with short tails were born that way, lol. But I am so glad he has a tail!

Oz's tail was already docked when we met him, but I had no idea it was a breed standard at the time (dew claws removed and ears cropped also). We love Oz as is, but if it were up to me I would never request any of it be done, since, in my opinion, it is clearly mutilating the dog for cosmetic reasons. ESPECIALLY in pet stock dogs! I'm not showing Oz, so why would I care if he meets some subjective notion of what standard is? As I mentioned some time ago in another post, that's like making your children go through cosmetic surgery to make sure they turn out to look like super models, even though chances are they'll just be working as Super Store checkout girls!

ETA: Oz's is really short, too. Maybe 1 1/2". It's a nub.

Harrysmum,

HA HA, I didn't realize that ! Actually if I had, I'd done a bit better job on the Meter.

My Male Sneakers is Docked, but My Female Becca is not.
I REALLY like the way her Tail looks. I trim both of their Bodies rather short because of the heat, but, leave their Tail Hair long. Her Tail looks like a Plume, since she carries it almost straight up when she's moving around.

Geno's is barely an inch maybe half an inch but he's got like another half inch to an inch of fur off of it. I barely even notice it. I wish I did though cause I cannot tell when he's really wagging his tail which I think is so cute!

The breeder had his docked when he was really young. His ears were cropped as well and dew claws removed.

I wholeheartedly agree that the dog should keep whatever anatomical attributes were gifted to him at birth by his parents...unless a medical emergency or situation exists. :)

I have one Yorkie whose tail is undocked...he carries it up, and one whose tail is about the length you describe...she carries it tucked down behind her body. Both dogs were each just over 1 year old when they came to live with me.

I prefer the long tail to a docked tail, especially a really short tail, although, were a full-length, full-coated tail to hang straight down on a short-legged hunting Yorkie, I can see how it could have been a nightmare to keep it clean and free of burs, mats, and the like from a hunting Yorkie running through grass, weeds, brush, etc...which may have been the original reason for docking the hunting terrier tails...just guessing, but some things that don't make sense today did make sense at their inception.

The YTCA Standard to the AKC is just to describe a 'finished product' so 'genetics' breeders have a mental picture what they are trying to create from a limited and specific genetic set, and the judges have a mental picture of what the breeders should have been trying to create...to see if they hit that target and how close they got to it.

I believe this is also why such controversy exists regarding "white" (or other colored) hair on a Yorkshire Terrier...the target is to NOT get white (OR other colored) hair...only blue and tan...regardless of whether "white" (or any other color) is a recessive parti gene or accidental breed stock mixed into the genetic set. Plus, you then have multiple 'competitors' aiming for different targets, making judging who hit the bulls eye closest an impossibility. Then, there is the health-related-hair-color issue vs. canine soundness. Regardless, mis-marked, parti colored, and/or Biewer babies are precious and I'd welcome any of them at my place! ;)

The Registries (AKC, etc. ) are for disclosure of which genetic sets were used in the mix...for fairness as well as to ensure a lack of 'cheating' and polluting the breed stock/gene pool...at least, that is my opinion of what the deal is. ;)

I have often thought I wanted to be, and have had a couple unplanned (by me ;)) litters (re-homed/rescued mixed breeds...not Yorkies), but I am not a breeder. If I was to become a breeder, because I do very much like the genetics part and have been fascinated by genetics, and working Punnett Squares for fun, since I was a child, I would breed specifically for genetics...and both the Standard, complete with judging, and the Registries make sense from the point of view of them that I have accepted. ;)

Oh, and I am guessing you meant a 'war' on YT...'cuz if there is a full/docked tail war, it's been going on for a lot longer than YT has even existed. ;)

I think you may be mistaken about his ears, most Yorkies ears are naturally upright. Cropping ears is a much more serious operation than tail docking, it used to be done in many breeds because they were prone to ear infections and an upright ear helps with this because it allows the ear to dry better. Some yorkies do have floppy ears, but I've never heard of anyone say they cropped them.

I think too many breeders cut the tail too short, it was originally done to prevent breakage and only the skinniest part was cut off. Joey’s tail is around 4 inches, we’ve grown out the hair, so it looks like a little plumb. I just love his little tail.

Sorry I was mistaken when I typed that. I meant taped, not cropped. Taped is definitely a lot less stressful than cutting a portion of the ear off! lol

Oh okay, yes, taping is is much less stressful than cropping! :D

:D I thought you'd like that!! :D

Harry's tail's the same - especially when he's been bathed. He trots and minces around as if he's at Crufts (not a chance!!! ;)) Sally + Harry x