Re: tail....

In Reply to: tail....
Category:   Breed Standard
Posted by:  Joshua. S. Lee
Posted on:  December 27, 2002 at 00:59:48

: One of my friends just adopted a Jack Russell Terrier.
: He got it from Germany and in Germany they don't dock the tail. And its tail has curl and it makes a circle.
: Even though I have a Jack, I never seen an original tail like that. (As you know, we all dock the tail... right?)
: I would like to know about the tail before they got docked.
: And, is it okay not to dock the tail???

Response:

Hi Joshua,

Leaving tails and ears intact seems to have caught on in several countries in Europe that now ban the cropping of ears and docking of tails.

I'm not sure what it is you are looking to know about the tail before they got docked, do you mean when did docking tails come into fashion? The breed standards for many working breeds have called for either tail docking to reduce injuries to the tail or ear cropping or both.

Working terriers, especially those bred to go to ground have had their tails docked for centuries, as hunters believe a terrier with a docked tail can work better in a confined space with less of a chance of tail injury.

Here's a link that you might find interesting to read:

Tail Docking

I would imagine if you aren't going to show or work your terriers (here in the USA) then it's okay to leave the tails intact. Can you show a JRT with an intact tail without being penalized? That I don't know, you would probably have to contact the Club office for further information, all I can tell you is our breed standard calls for a docked tail.