The Brittany is the only gun dog native to France, and there’s something pretty interesting about this breed (beyond its fabulousness).

In America, the Brittany most often seen has a docked tail as noted in the image seen here.

 

 

 

 

 

In countries that have banned docking, Brittanys seen there have a tail:

 

The lack of a tail, however, does not necessarily mean the tail has been docked. Most Brittanys are born with long tails (some even up to 10″ long, we’re told), but some are born with a short tail that can appear as a docked tail and is a biological phenotype. Some are born with no tail at all!

The AKC breed standard addresses this:  “Tail – Tailless to approximately four inches, natural or docked. The tail not to be so long as to affect the overall balance of the dog. Set on high, actually an extension of the spine at about the same level. Any tail substantially more than four inches shall be severely penalized.”