Yorkie tails...

[Lovetodream88]

I think like with all surgery's you should make sure blood work is done before hand and that pain medicine is given for a few days at least after. I hope it goes well and helps your little one.

[Britster]

I'm confused -- is the only reason for this amputation because your dog 'doesn't like' her tail? When you say she detests it, what does she do?

I've just never ever heard of a dog hating their tail... and I wouldn't amputate a body part simply because a little poop gets stuck on it. It's a MAJOR surgery - nothing like docking at 2-3 days old. Do you think if your dog could talk, that she'd rather you cut her tail off or be annoyed with it? If anything, she may miss the body part once it's gone (since she knows what it's like to have one). It's different when they are docked little ... the dog has nothing to miss, of course they don't remember.

so if those are your only two reasons, I don't agree with it, at all, but I wish you well and hope surgery goes well.

[scrapindee]

I think I might get a 2nd opinion. Maybe from a dog behaviorialist. This sounds like it could be something else. Maybe even an MRI of the brain. I have been around small dogs for a long time and this is a first. While I can only talk for the Biewers specifically, I wouldn't rush into surgery. Is the vet board certified for this kind of surgery? I might want to take the dog to the nearest vet school and really have her checked out. JMHO.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by scrapindee

I think I might get a 2nd opinion. Maybe from a dog behaviorialist. This sounds like it could be something else. Maybe even an MRI of the brain. I have been around small dogs for a long time and this is a first. While I can only talk for the Biewers specifically, I wouldn't rush into surgery. Is the vet board certified for this kind of surgery? I might want to take the dog to the nearest vet school and really have her checked out. JMHO.

[Teresa Ford]

My heart goes out to you. One of my foster Yorkies had a long skinny tail that had been broken. It drove her crazy she chased it chewed on it and it was long healed. Our Vet thought she would benefit from amputation above the area where it was broken. I was skeptical that that would help her. I really am against tail docking for cosmetic reasons. Many of you know I am active in trying to get the AKC to allow Yorkies with natural tails to be shown. After surgery her tail about 2 1/4 inches long. It took about 4 weeks for the tail stub to heal. She was like new dog, no more tail chewing and chasing. She never carried the tail up, it hung down unless it was wagging. I hope you little beauty has excellent results.

[brezofleur]

Originally Posted by scrapindee

I think I might get a 2nd opinion. Maybe from a dog behaviorialist. This sounds like it could be something else. Maybe even an MRI of the brain. I have been around small dogs for a long time and this is a first. While I can only talk for the Biewers specifically, I wouldn't rush into surgery. Is the vet board certified for this kind of surgery? I might want to take the dog to the nearest vet school and really have her checked out. JMHO.

Agree with this and Brit.

[gracielove]

If you really feel you need to have this done I hope you find someone who is an experienced surgeon to do it. The tail is a moveable part. Dogs wag their tails without thinking about it so during the healing process there is a lot of pain after a tail amputation. A skillful experienced surgeon needs to do this. Many vets refuse to do the surgery and send their clients to a specialist.

There are many different lengths that breeders are using when docking tails. The Yorkie standard calls for a medium length tail. If you look at the tail of a Yorkie that was bred by a show/breeder you will generally see a tail that is approximately 3 to 4 inches long depending on the size of the animal. It used to be the person docking would count a certain number of vertebra out when doing the procedure. Maybe an experienced Yorkie breeder could tell you how they estimate the size of a docked tail if that is what you are interested in.

[nlb1947]

Originally Posted by Teresa Ford

My heart goes out to you. One of my foster Yorkies had a long skinny tail that had been broken. It drove her crazy she chased it chewed on it and it was long healed. Our Vet thought she would benefit from amputation above the area where it was broken. I was skeptical that that would help her. I really am against tail docking for cosmetic reasons. Many of you know I am active in trying to get the AKC to allow Yorkies with natural tails to be shown. After surgery her tail about 2 1/4 inches long. It took about 4 weeks for the tail stub to heal. She was like new dog, no more tail chewing and chasing. She never carried the tail up, it hung down unless it was wagging. I hope you little beauty has excellent results.

Thank you, Teresa. This is exactly what I was hoping to find - somebody who understands! I, too, am against docking for cosmetic reasons (and when I was younger helped my Dad many times docking the tails of his German Shorthair pups). I fully planned on leaving her tail intact - she isn't a show dog, she is my baby! From the beginning, her tail has been "different" from her sisters, and both my groomer and I thought that she had an issue with it. She truly HATES her tail!!! I am not new with "little dogs" and have had them for many years, I have had a Yorkie previously - my Molly, who now is at Rainbow Bridge - and I have worked with YTNR for a lot of years, including fostering and designing their Christmas card one year, but I had to stop when my husband was dying of cancer.
My vet is very qualified to do this surgery, and if I merely wanted it done due to the Yorkie standard, she would not do it any more than she would declaw a cat or debark a dog. She has known Jilly since she was six weeks old, and she agrees that there is something about that tail that is troublesome to my baby. We discussed it at the time she was spayed, but she felt that one thing at a time was kinder to Jilly. While I hate the thought of her having surgery and being in pain, I also hate watching her wish that she could rip her tail off. It clearly bothers her somehow, and she would like to remove it herself - and always has! When I decided to leave it, I knew that I would have to deal with it being covered with poop all the time and have made the best of it. That said, now that she is almost a year old, it is obvious that there is something wrong, and to make HER comfortable, the surgery has to be done. It isn't like we haven't tried or hoped that she would outgrow her aversion to it; instead it has become more and more a thorn in her side as she has grown. I asked here to make sure that I got the right advice as to the length - at the request of my vet, as she has her idea where the docking should be done but wants to do what I want regarding that. Thinking about it has made me draw a blank - including about how long Molly's was - and I just wanted some help with the decision so that she will have the "right" tail when the surgery is done. And by right, I mean right for her, because if it was not bothering her so much, there is no way that I would put her through this.
Thank you all again, please be assured that this isn't being done on a whim, and thank you again, Teresa, for understanding the issue and sharing with me.
Nancy
Sara, Manny, and Jilly

[brezofleur]

Poor Jilly... I can't imagine why she would hate her tail so much! I hope that the surgery goes smoothly and she's not in much pain! Please keep updated

[Verbena]

Originally Posted by nlb1947

[B]
Verbena, being a parti, Jilly has a lot of Biewer traits. Her chest gets whiter by the day! (And her sister, Mia, is blonde/gold). She is basically "yorkie colored" with a white chest.
Thanks again everyone - I really appreciate the help, and I will be a wreck the day that she is done. Thankfully, she will come home the same day...

When I starting looking I saw parti's also. Got to love the Biewers and Parti's they are so special.

[nlb1947]

Originally Posted by brezofleur

Poor Jilly... I can't imagine why she would hate her tail so much! I hope that the surgery goes smoothly and she's not in much pain! Please keep updated

Thank you, Heather. It isn't being done until after her birthday next month, but I sure will. I can't imagine either, but she sure wishes she didn't have it! Poor baby...

[nlb1947]

Originally Posted by Verbena

When I starting looking I saw parti's also. Got to love the Biewers and Parti's they are so special.

I so agree!!! I am a senior citizen and couldn't afford a Biewer, so I started looking for a Parti. I just love her!!! And, as I said earlier - I think - she is getting whiter on the front all the time. So special!!!!! (And so irritating when people say she isn't a "real" Yorkie! )