Coat: Bobtails

Types of Bobtails

These rules apply to petz with tails that are 1-5 ballz long. Petz with no tails at all simply don't have any tail markings.

There are three main ways a tail of a dog or cat can be shortened:

1. Docking

This is the artificial removal of part or all of the tail either for cosmetic reasons or to protect against possible damage. Docking only occurs in dogs, not cats, and only in certain breeds.

Dog breeds: See individual standards

Cat breeds: None

2. Bobbed (Missing)

In these cat and dog breeds, part of the tail is missing from birth.

Dog breeds:
Australian Shepherd
Austrian Pinscher
Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog
Braque du Bourbonnais
Boxer
Brazilian Terrier
Brittany
Croatian Sheepdog
Danish/Swedish Farmdog
Jack Russell terrier
Karelian Bear Dog
Mudi
Old English Sheepdog
Pembroke Welsh Corgis
Polish Lowland Sheepdog
Pyrenean Shepherd
Rat Terrier
Savoy Sheepdog
Schipperke
Spanish Waterdog
Swedish Vallhund

Cat breeds:
Manx
Cymric

3. Bobbed (Miniaturised)

In these cat and dog breeds, the tail is much shorter and smaller and may be twisted, kinked, or curled. The tail may be complete or part of it may be missing.

Dog breeds:
Boston Terrier
English Bulldog
French Bulldog
King Charles Spaniel
Miniature Schanuzer
Parson Russell Terrier
Rottweiler

Cat breeds:
American Bobtail
Desert Lynx
Japanese Bobtail
Kurilian Bobtail
Pixiebob
Highlander
Chausie

How docked & bobbed tails affect colour

Several patterns specify things like "half the tail must be x" or "the tail tip can be y" and patterns like this may be affected differently depending on which group the pet is in.

Generally you should assume the following:

Group 1 Docked breeds and Group 2 Bobbed (missing) breeds: The tail has been truncated, cut off (either by a human or by genetics) and thus any colour on the end of the tail is also gone.

Group 3 Bobbed (miniaturised) breeds: The tail might be complete (and have all it's markings, just in a miniaturised form) or it might also be partially missing (and so lose the markings). It is up to you which bobbed option to choose to depict for these breeds

Those are the general guidelines, but we have some specific advice for the following patterns:

Grizzle and Sable (dogz) and Tabby (catz):
All 3 groups can still have the optional dark tail tips mentioned in these patterns.

The optional dark tips on the end of grizzle and tabby tails are caused partially or totally by the fact that there are lots of hairs lined up at the end of the tail, which gives a dark appearance regardless whether the tail is a full 6 ballz long or 1 ball.

Van catz:
Normal Van rules state that the first tail ball can be white in a Van cat. However some bobbed breeds only have one tail ball.

In those cases, Group 2 Bobbed (missing) cats can have a solid white tail, but for group 3 Bobbed (miniaturised), they must have at least a paintball of colour on the tip of the tail. A solid white single ball tail is not allowed in group 3 breeds.

Colourpoint catz:
Normal colourpoint rules state that the first tail ball can be body coloured in Colourpoints. However some bobbed breeds only have one tail ball.

In those cases, Group 2 Bobbed (missing) cats can have a solid body coloured tail, but for group 3 Bobbed (miniaturised), they must have at least a paintball of colour on the tail. A solid body coloured single ball tail is not allowed in group 3 breeds.

White tail tips in dogz:
Low-white dogz (trim, low-white Irish Spotting, strict Irish Spotting) in groups 1 and 2 must not have white tail tips.

If the remaining tail is at least 3 ballz long, higher white Irish Spotting, Piebalds, and Extreme White dogs may have white tail tips.

If the tail is shorter 1 or 2 ballz, long it may only have white on it if the dog is a high white Piebald or Extreme White.

Simply speaking, imagine the dog with a full tail - if it would fit the white definitions for the dog to have white on the bit of the tail remaining, it can do so, otherwise no white.

Dogz in group 3 may have white just as a normal tailed dog does (i.e. if their tail is miniaturised but complete), or may lack white like groups 1 and 2 (i.e. if their tail is miniaturised and also partially missing).