Puppy born with a short tail - Page 1

I have a new litter born on Monday, all puppies healthy and fat BUT 1 male puppy has a very short tail ~~~ like 2 vertabae (like a Rottie) ~~~ And no it wasn't damaged in the birthing process it is completely closed off.
He is of course the largest in the litter, very beautiful, and I Bet he gets 2 testicles, my first thoughts though were that it was posible that he could have other problems eg. spinal but no all is fine still, he is very active and getting a lion's share of milk.
For me though it is always disappionting to whelp a puppy that is not quite right, at least it won't stop him from doing anything in life and he will even be able to wag his little tail .

Has anyone else ever seen a puppy born with a tail this small?

Sometimes tail abnormalities indicate a spine deformity or issue. On the Manx cat it is a defect that has been cultivated while not seeming to effect the cat's physical abilities for the most part. I'd have him checked when you have the rest of the litter checked, but if he seems healthy otherwise than good for him. One common issue of this may be lack control of bowels or sphincter, so keep an eye out for that. It won't be obvious until after the mother stops taking care of potty duties in a few weeks.
I believe it is considered a genetic issue, not a congenital one, so keep that in mind if you are planning on using these bloodlines in the future. I'm sure there are genetic experts around here that can verify that better than I.

Annette

This is my females 3rd litter and probably her last, there were no issues with the previous puppies and I will steer clear of these lines in the future for sure.

Would this abnormality require both parents to carry the gene?

I will have a complete Neuro exam done on him at 6 weeks.

I was thinking of keeping a female from this mating, what are your thoughts on this?

Thanks Annette

I had a bitch puppy born exactly like yours in a litter I bred in the early 80's. She was fine in every other way & grew up into a lovely dog in every other way. I gave her away as a puppy as I did not feel I could sell her.
Caz

Honestly I'm not sure how the gene for NBT (natural bob tail) works in dogs. In cats I believe it is one of those genes where both parents have to be carriers, but in dogs I have no idea. I have a couple of cats who are bob tails so I did a bit of research a few years back on the phenomenon but only as it applies to cats.

Annette

I once had a puppy born with quite a short tail, just about down to the hocks, no where near as short as yours but it did look a bit odd - lovely puppy otherwise.....you cannot necessarily blame the parents' bloodlines as sometimes mutations just happen or things go wrong during development, it probably would never happen again with the same parents, though the puppy itself could possibly pass it on if its a mutation.  Anyway I hope the puppy is OK and healthy otherwise, if so I am sure you will be able to find a good home for him.

"you cannot necessarily blame the parents' bloodlines as sometimes mutations just happen or things go wrong during development, it probably would never happen again with the same parents, though the puppy itself could possibly pass it on if its a mutation."

I'm not looking to assign "blame" here, but if you, or a breeder of any animal, doesn't truly know if this is something that is genetic or not, then I would hope any breeder who is interested in the future of whatever they are breeding would do some research to try to determine genetics vs fluke. Saying it would "probably" never happen again is not an indication of any actual knowledge, just hopeful wishing. Just like a pup that develops a seizure disorder or an eye disease, I would absolutely expect a breeder to want to know more. I know I have checked up on pups I've sold years later to see if there were any issues I should be aware of. 

Annette

Of course you are right in a way, what I meant was that some things definitely run in certain lines - missing teeth, dysplasia, allergies etc, but I believe (as a biologist) that something like the tail issue is more likely a mutation or a developmental problem - a one-off.   If it is something that has cropped up several times before in these lines then I may be wrong.  Obviously we should know s much as possible about the background, history and health outcomes of our breeding stock and puppies to try to minimize the chance of genetic defects, but strange things can and do crop up in any lines and do not necessarily mean that the same dogs should not be bred again.

There are known hereditary traits for bobtail, the best known one (as used in the Boxer/Pem Corgi cross - Cattanach) is dominant mode of inheritance, so this can't be that one.  There may be others of recessive mode and these could crop up in any breed or cross, but I tend to agree with Oso.  It could just as likely be a blip in development with no genetic basis, or a chance mutation.