aerial1313
Posted : 5/29/2008 7:36:00 AM
nataliem
Is Harry's tail docked or natural? I thought that my dog was born with a naturally short tail until I looked closer and found a scar at the tip. Harry even has hind dewclaws. Very unique.
We're not quite sure about his tail. It was like that when we got him, and we never bothered to ask the folks at the shelter if they knew. I can't feel a scar at the end of his tail, but I've never been able to look at it very closely. He doesn't like anyone messing with his tail. I've tried desensitizing him to it, but he just plain doesn't like it. It's also crooked in the middle, kinda like an "L" shape, but not quite 90 degrees, so I think it was broken when he was very little, maybe even in a couple of places so that part of it fell off or had to be amputated. It definitely wasn't deliberately docked...it's too long for that, plus the crook in it I think rules that out, but it's quite possible that he was born with a long tail and something happened to it. I must say it's nice to not have to worry about him knocking things off tables with a long tail, LOL! He wags his tail so hard he would probably injure it a lot if it was long.
His hind dewclaws worry me a little. They're fully detached (not sure of the word, but they're not connected to bone at all). The vet said that sometimes dewclaws like that can get caught on things and rip. I don't really want to have to put him through a surgery just to have them removed, but I guess if he ever has to have a dental, we could have them done then. He was neutered when we got him, so that option's out to have them removed during that procedure. I would love to get Harry into agility once he's a tad bit older, and I worry that he could rip his hind dewclaws on the equipment. If it comes to that, then I will just bite the bullet and have them removed.