Short Tail

Short tail

Within a race, dogs can present several types of tails length. Tails can be long, short (brachyuria) or totally absent (anuria). The cut of the tail, also called caudectomy, is allowed in France but is prohibited in many countries. Owners must then prove that the short tail is natural so that dogs can be registered and take part in exhibitions.

Australian shepherd, Australian Cattle dog, Bourbonnais pointer, Brittany, Terrier Jack Russell, Croatian Shepherd dog, Polish Lowland Sheepdog, Spanish Water dog, Finnish Karelian Bear dog, Mudi, Australian Pinscher, Schipperke, Brazilian Terrier, SwedishVallhund, Catahoula

The mutation responsible for the short tail in the races indicated above is dominant. Recently the team “Génétique du Chien” of the CNRS-University of Rennes I (Dr Catherine André) and her partners, the University of Helsinki (Dr Hannes Lohi) and ANTAGENE, have determined races for which the short tail resulted from a mutation in the gene T (Hytönen et al. 2008).

ANTAGENE has developed a DNA test of this mutation causing the short tail. Breeders, publics and veterinarians can prove by a simple and effective mean, that the short tail of a dog is natural.
This test cannot be used to differentiate the anuria (tail totally absent) from the brachyuria (short tail) at the genetic level.