Hi, I have a question about my new 8 week old puppy's tail. It seems to be an otter tail, although not as defined as the other pup in the litter that we also considered purchasing. My concern is that my puppy's tail seems to be not very stiff. Is it normal for them to be pretty limber as they are younger? Shouldn't it be more stiff and straight? Or is this normal at this age? She holds it high and moves it around a lot. A couple of times I have noticed a slight curve at the end. The other puppy we liked a lot too. It had a little bigger more blocky structure and as I mentioned the tail was more otter like. The other puppy had more a more dense coat that seemed different than this puppy too. The breeder knew we were struggling with our choice between the two and said I could switch them if I changed my mind. So, now I am second guessing myself. I really do want a puppy with the more standard English lab features. They both seemed quite similar in temperament. Thanks for your help!
Hi, and welcome from Holly and me in Wales. A tail needs a bit of flexibility to absorb some of the energy when its wagging. I don't think that tails change shape that much as the puppy grows, but they certainly fill out a bit. Our last Lab, Cocoa, has a slightly droopy and thin tail as a puppy. As an adult it still drooped but filled out into a nice otter tail. Holly's tail has changed very little as she's grown. Its a bit thicker now, which helps her swimming, but is essentially the same. It curves upwards at the tip. Sometimes she holds it high, especially when she's on a scent and excited, but most of the time it's horizontal or hangs. This is Holly's tail as a puppy: And this is her adult tail, on all its magnificent otteriness:
Thanks for that information Hollysdad. You have a beautiful girl!. As I read and research and look at more photos, I am also thinking my puppy may have a gay tail. It goes straight up sometimes. This may be what is getting my attention directed to her tail in the first place. How should the coat of a new puppy look and feel?
My show Lab Luna has a nice tail. It was pretty silly at 8 weeks, though! Most puppies have "gay tail", it's quite normal for them to hold it up - see the second picture there. It's not even a reason to lose points in the ring at a young age. The faults aren't with how they hold the tail but the set of it - that is, when it's held out from the body, is there a straight line along the back to the tip of the tail? As for the coat, it will be pretty fluffy as a baby, but a "proper" coat is very dense. You can see from the first picture that she hadn't got the coarse hair along her back at this point. That came much later. To be honest, unless you're interested in showing, I wouldn't worry. It has no bearing on temperament, which is the main thing. I can't imagine I would ever swap once I had brought a puppy home! You know how changing your answer in a multiple choice exam is never a good thing? You will love your dog. If you change her, you'll always be thinking "what if?".
Thank you. I think she's beautiful too! Its five years now, but I remember her puppy coat being very soft. As she grew she developed the normal two-layer coat of an adult Lab. She developed a lovely wave that runs right down her back from shoulders to her tail. Its not very common to have such a prominent wave, and would probably be frowned upon in show circles. It makes her look like a bit of a punk!
Cooper is definitely a Field type dog, while Tilly looks more like a traditional English Lab. That said, Cooper's coat is a much coarser double coat than Tillys, and Cooper's tail could win prizes. She can clear full pints of the center of a coffee table. Tilly's coat is much softer, but not as water proof as Cooper's. Her tail is no where near as big, and doesn't feather out as much.
Thanks Snowbunny! That helps a lot. Does Luna still have her "gay tail" or do they just grow out of that? She's asleep now, but I will look at the set of her tail better when she wakes up. Also when feeling her tail, the part closer to her body is pretty sturdy and closer to the end feels pretty limp. Is that normal? We are wanting to keep our options open as far as showing. We don't know if that will happen, but want a dog that could work for that. As far as switching dogs...that's just it. I think our gut might have told us the other one was the better choice and we switched to this one. So we are already second guessing everything. They were both as sweet as can be though. I am so glad I found this forum. I appreciate the expertise of those here!
She does a bit, but that's also a training fault of mine. Her stack isn't what it should be, either. I've decided to work on that a bit more over the hot summer. To be honest, the judges prefer to see a dog who is wagging his tail at a million miles per hour, rather than one that's just plodding through the motions, and an experienced judge will be looking for the structure rather than the way the dog is holding it. Yep. The spine tapers towards the tip of the tail, so it is more flexible at the end. I'm not an expert at showing, by any stretch, though! I've only entered a few shows with Luna as a puppy. I've not done any this year as I'm just too busy. Maybe I'll get back into it next year, but it does mean travelling pretty long distances and I have three other dogs, so it's a big commitment.
Welcome! Here are some pictures of my big boy Pongo's tail aged 10 weeks, about 15 weeks, and 4 years. Just because it's an excuse to post pictures of my boy! You have a beautiful puppy there.....
I feel for you, the second guessing. I felt the same with my pup until he was about 10 months. I didn’t have the opportunity to swap him - the one I thought I wanted (too late!) had been picked up already. I had booked my boy before the mating took place and had first choice from photos. And then second guessed my choice, too. I hope you don’t waste those precious first months like I did - I struggled to connect with my pup because of my “buyer’s remorse”. Thankfully I adore him now and would never swap him for the world.
My pup is growing rapidly and his tail seems to be growing faster than anything else. When he first arrived at 8.5 weeks it was a silly, conical little thing. Now, as my OH put it last night, it is a tail of substance (at 13 weeks). So... they do grow into their otteriness!
I have an otter tail question as well. My 5 month old lab doesn’t seem to be getting is “otteriness”... he’s a large puppy of 50lbs yet his tail isn’t seeming to match in size.
