What is the normal tail length

[R Taft]

Katy went to a newf Specialty show under some European Judges (Finland and Norway). Placed dogs had a critique written up. Katy's was very good structure wise except she has a short tail (well carried), eyes could be tighter( I fully agree) and too much neck skin under her Jowls (I can see that easily). But I cannot understand her tail. It comes past her hocks. Is there a good way to compare tail lenght to body shape/size............. Ronnie

 

[ardeagold]

According to the NCA Breed Standard (which may not be the same in Europe) the tip of the tail (the actual bone, not the hair) should come to where the hock meets the leg bone.

Tail
Tail set follows the natural line of the croup. The tail is broad at the base and strong. It has no kinks, and the distal bone reaches to the hock. When the dog is standing relaxed, its tail hangs straight or with a slight curve at the end. When the dog is in motion or excited, the tail is carried out, but it does not curl over the back.[/B]

I can remember a specific Judge who went back over Molly's tail one day. She actually gently encircled the tail with her hand and slid it down to where the hock started and held it there for a second. It reached to exactly that point, but with the hair, it appeared longer.

 

[dblsr]

When the dog is standing, the tail hangs down with, possibly, a slight curve at the tip; reaches to or slightly below the hocks. When the dog is in motion or excited, the tail is carried straight out with a slight upward curve, but never curled over the back or curled inwards between the legs.

 

[janices]

FCI standard doesn't look to mention the distal bone like the US Standard

TAIL : The tail acts as a rudder when the Newfoundland is swimming ; therefore it is strong and broad at the base. When the dog is standing, the tail hangs down with, possibly, a little curve at the tip ; reaching to or slightly below the hocks. When the dog is in motion or excited, the tail is carried straight out with slight upward curve, but never curled over the back nor curved inward between the legs.

 

[ardeagold]

FCI standard doesn't look to mention the distal bone like the US Standard

No it doesn't, but maybe they feel it's a given that the "tail" only extends to the distal bone, and the hair, is just...hair.

 

[R Taft]

Thank you........Katy's tailbone just reaches her hock. Her hair makes it look even longer. It might just be a personal preference.

 

[hdnewfies]

our 6 month old male puppy's tail almost hits the floor. Will he grow into it? LOL it seems really long.

 

[Abbey]

Zeke's breeder told us that because his tail was so long as a puppy, he would be a tall boy and She was right. Zeke is now 35" at the shoulder and the hair on his tail touches the ground.

 

[hdnewfies]

I hope Tucker is tall. I love it...

 

[new_2_newf]

man alive, if Tucker is a tall boy, you are gonna need a bigger truck!

 

[ardeagold]

our 6 month old male puppy's tail almost hits the floor. Will he grow into it? LOL it seems really long.

Frankie's is really long too. But he IS getting taller...and the tail isn't getting longer, so I suspect he'll grow into it. LOL

He's going to be big too. Bigger than Cole, I'm sure.

 

[JackandKelly]

Frankie's is really long too. But he IS getting taller...and the tail isn't getting longer, so I suspect he'll grow into it. LOL

He's going to be big too. Bigger than Cole, I'm sure.

Donna,
What does Frankie weigh now? I have never had a boy and even though he is younger than Ty, he is closer in age than any of the other pups I know. Ty just hit 100 pounds and turns 8 months tomorrow.

Oh, and btw...where are some new photos of Frankie? Impatiently watching your FB page for some

 

[ardeagold]

I don't know what he weighs now Kelly. I suspect around 80 lbs. He's tall and thin. And he's 6 mos 11 days old. LOL

I bathed him today, and trimmed a little, but then the sun went down. Maybe some pics tomorrow. Figured I'd better do it while it's 70 degrees. Tomorrow's high is 50.

 

[JackandKelly]

I don't know what he weighs now Kelly. I suspect around 80 lbs. He's tall and thin. And he's 6 mos 11 days old. LOL

I bathed him today, and trimmed a little, but then the sun went down. Maybe some pics tomorrow. Figured I'd better do it while it's 70 degrees. Tomorrow's high is 50.

Ok, I *guess* I can wait until tomorrow for photos LOL :whistling:

Ty at 27 weeks was 80 pounds and at 28 weeks was 84 pounds. Good to know he is pretty much on track. I don't have his weight chart broken down in to months, but I think 6 months 11 days should be around 27 or 28 weeks...



...and back to your regularly scheduled prgramming (after my hijacking )

 

[Ginny]

The general rule of thumb is 10#/month of age. Boys tend to be a bit heavier. If Ty is 8 months he should be 80 - 90 #. Can you easily feel his ribs? The last thing you want is for them to grow too quickly or be heavy.

 

[JackandKelly]

The general rule of thumb is 10#/month of age. Boys tend to be a bit heavier. If Ty is 8 months he should be 80 - 90 #. Can you easily feel his ribs? The last thing you want is for them to grow too quickly or be heavy.

Yes Ginny,
He is very thin.
Lola and Sophie grew approx 5-10 pounds per month. At 10 months they were both around 80 pounds so they averaged 8 pounds a month and almost stopped by the time they were a year... but Ty is growing more. He would gain 2 pounds one week , but then 5 pounds the next. He is really different than the girls despite being on the exact same food they were as pups.
When he came here at 9 weeks he was only 11.5 pounds so I thought he was going to be little. I think he is going to prove me wrong. I worry so much about him growing so fast so I am careful to keep him thin. He shows no signs of any joint issues, no pano or any kind of growing pains. Even his head is already as wide as Lola's.
Right now he is approx 1" taller than Lola, but weighs 15 pounds less than her because he is not as long head to tail as she is...YET ;-) He is averaging 12 pounds per month

Here is a photo of him with Lola approx 10 days ago. I know it's almost impossible to tell in this photo, but he is thin

The reason I was drawn to this thread is because his tail is REALLY long also

 

[Ginny]

I have been extremely careful to limit the calcium in Jill's pups' dog food. The food has a maximum (most give minimum value) of 1.4% Ca and I've not supplemented with yogurt or other dairy. Studies have shown that once a dog hits 3% calcium, ortho problems can easily arise. My two are definitely smaller than their littermates - I'm assuming it's the way I've grown them out.

Check out the dry matter Ca level in the food Ty's eating and continue to keep him on the thin side.

 

[ardeagold]

I think it also depends on genetics. Frankie's sire and dam are both large. His sire is a good deal larger than Cole. Frankie's paws are already larger than Cole's. And Cole's no tiny thing...although he's not huge either. He's about 28.5" at the withers...or close to 29". I've seen larger.

I also limit their calcium to around 1.2 to 1.4 per day. BUT the key is the calcium/phosphorus ratio. If you throw that off, you'll be asking for problems. Keeping it around 1:1 is probably best from what I've read.

The only time I gave any sort of calcium is when he went down in his pasterns a bit during teething. I fed raw chicken backs for a meal a day, or added a can of sardines or yogurt to his food. That helped, I think. He came back up fairly quickly after I started adding those items. The Vet said to make sure it was a food based calcium (free calcium), not a supplement pill and not Tums. (Although I had never heard of adding Tums, apparently he knows of breeders that do. He said the problem there is that Tums bind calcium and then you throw off the phosphorus ratios, which can cause major issues.)

 

[JackandKelly]

This is what he eats (Eagle Holistic Select)
http://holisticselect.com/product.aspx?pet=dog&cat=5&pid=9#guaranteed-analysis
and yes it only shows the minimum calcium, but it's 1%. When I emailed them and asked for the maximum (can't remember exactly what they said since it was back when I got Lola), but it was around 1.3 to 1.5% because I remember thinking it should be fine. Both girls grew nice and slow on it. Ty does not get yogurt either. He gets exactly the same food Lola and Sophie did except Lola got Jack Mackeral (canned) as a pup. Then we found out she had issues with it. Once we stopped the Jack Mackeral, her allergy related anemia, ear infection and any other problems magically went away

 

[ardeagold]

Ours HATE Jack Mackerel. They really do. But they sure love their Salmon.