Natural Bobtail
A natural bobtail is a tail which due to a mutated gene grows to a shortened length, or is completed cut off at the base of the spine. The term also refers to animals carrying the gene for a naturally short tail or animals that naturally have no tail. The genes for the shortened tail may be dominant or recessive, depending on the species.
Due to anti-tail docking legislation, natural bobtails are growing in importance in the hobby of dog fancy for some traditionally docked breeds. For example, one Boxer breeder in England has reputedly successfully petitioned the Kennel Club for permission to cross corgis into his lines and then backcross to Boxers, to introduce the gene into his lines. This would have been unheard of in decades past.
In Australia, the prices for a registered purebred Miniature Fox Terrier bitch carrying the gene have more than tripled.
Animal species with a natural bobtail:
Domesticated breeds with a natural bobtail:
- American Bobtail
- Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog
- French Bulldog
- Pembroke Welsh Corgi
- Japanese Bobtail (cat)
- Manx Cat
- Old English Sheepdog
Breeds in which bobtails are known to occur:
- McNab Sheepdog
- Miniature Fox Terrier
- Tenterfield Terrier
Wild species with natural bobtails:
- Bobcat
