# Daisy's Tail DOES NOT CURL over her back...



## Pamelabous (Jan 19, 2010)

Hi Guys!
Little Daisy is just a JOY!! She is 5 months old now and her color has changed so much...I have to change my profile pic for you all to see.

This is the thing...her tail doesn't curl over her back...is this normal? I'm not especially bothered by this, but I know that the breed standard has a curled tail...I am more curious than anything else. Anyone else's baby this way? Do tell! ~Pamela


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Nope. Kodi's curled from the day I first saw him. He only uncurls it if he's really worried about something or if he's asleep.


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## pacehavi (Oct 20, 2008)

I have one with a very curly tail--it is never uncurled and even if she's worried it just gets half uncurled. My boy though has a lazy curly tail, when he's walking and happy it's curled (though not as tightly as his sister's) but if he's just walking to get a drink of water or something it sometimes hangs down straight. His is probably not perfectly in the standard (but we love him anyway!).

For Daisy: does she wag it normally? Any signs of discomfort? As long as it seems fine, she may just have a floppy tail. You can tell people she is a very rare and special form of Havanese!


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

The Lowchen has the same curl over the back tail. I got my little Bailey when he was 4 months old and although his tail was over his back, it did not curl the way I thought it should, but with in a few months it did. Not sure if this will help but thought it was worth mentioning.


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## JANEOC (Aug 28, 2009)

*Tail Does not curl*

My sweet Izzie is 9 mths old now but when she was 4 mths her tail had not curled and I was very concerned. I contacted the breeder and she told me as long as the tail goes over the back when she trots she will be fine. She talked to a judge who told her that the early Havanese had much looser tails and over time they got tighter and tighter. Sometimes they tighten up with age. Izzie's tail has still not curled but she carries it over her back and even if she didn't it wouldn't matter to me. Her sister's tail didn't curl either but that didn't stop her winning her champtionship.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

Pamela, I wouldn't worry about it. Some standards for the Havanese have the tail waving above the back (like a proud flag, they say) or curled and laying over one side. Others say it is to be more curled. 

You will see Havs with longer muzzles, shorter legs, curly Poodle-like hair, others silky, and of course tails carried in different ways. These may not all be show dog Havs, but they are still Havanese. 

Sammy's tail is wound like a pig's and Ricky waves his like a flag, curled over the back but held high. Ricky will also have his tail down many times. Sammy too, esp. when I'm trying to groom that part of him, little stinker! lol


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

Evye's curls like a pig too. It hits her back, curls and then leans to the side.


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## Pamelabous (Jan 19, 2010)

Marj, you described it perfectly...Daisy's tail "waves like a flag held high". So glad to hear everyone's details of the "tails" in their family!!! Isn't this forum fantastic??!! Thanks Everyone!! ~Pamela


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Pamela, that is also sometimes called a "lazy tail" if she holds it low. It's nothing wrong with Daisy at all and it doesn't mean that it isn't normal, it's just not necessarily what other breeders would want to be showing. I personally have seen quite a few Havs with lazy tails, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Just wanted to add that Kubrick's tail is extremely curly and Hitch's curls over his back but with a very loose curl.


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## DorothyS (Aug 11, 2009)

Pixie's is permanently curled. Even in sleep it only partly uncurls. Rascal's is often straight, but when he is happy or excited he curls it right over his back, but not so tight that you can't pull it straight if you wanted to. So we have two different "tail curlers" in our household, too.


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## susieg (Aug 28, 2009)

Lola's tail sounds similar to Daisy's & Ricky's. I was worried when it wasn't curling like most havs you see, so I did a forum search for tail curling and found that lots of others have "lazy tails" too. A few people told me it would curl as she got older, so I kept waiting & hoping LOL! It curls when she's playing or really happy, stands up straight like the flag description when she's walking and then most other times its down. Its always down when she sleeps. I used to think it meant she was sad/scared/etc when her tail was down, but now I think that's just how her tail hangs when she's relaxed. And she tucks it under real tight when she does her RLH, its hysterical! Like she's more aerodynamic that way?! Any one else's havs tuck their tails under when they RLH, or are they always wagging?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

No, Kodi's tail is up over his back during RLH, or even during a down-stay. It does relax when he's sleeping, and he is certainly capable of lowering it if he's scared. The only time I've seen him run with his tail down or tucked was when that Springer Spaniel tried to eat him a couple of weeks ago.

This is typical of the way he carries his tail. I could only find a couple of (sad or sleepy) pictures with his tail down. I included one from when he was a little puppy (maybe 14 weeks?) showing the structure of his tail. It LOOKS like it touches his back now, because the hair is so much longer. But the tail bone still arches just above his back.

Speaking about body parts, another funny thing I noticed about the two photos when he's older... they were both taken within minutes of each other, and in one his ears look long, and in the other, they look short. I think when he moves them forward, they look longer, and when he lies them flat against the sides of his head, they sort of blend in with his neck hair.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Cash Has a lazy tail. His is only up when he is very excited or extremely happy, when is just calm or going about his day it is usually down. When it is up it is gorgeous. I have heard the looser curl, waving like a flag, also referred to as a "cuban tail set." It is nothing to worry about, especially if it has always been this way. Jasper hurt his tail once and held it down for about a week and that worried me because his tail is always up.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

Great tail, Kodi !! 

This is Ricky's tail:
View attachment 29779


View attachment 29784


And Sammy's, corkscrew one. 

View attachment 29781


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

It looks like Ricky's tail is more like Kodi's (as it his coat... more silky). Sammy looks more cottony as well as having a curlier tail!


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## SMARTY (Apr 19, 2007)

I understand in the original description of the breed called for a “crosier tail” like a shepherd’s hook.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

krandall said:


> It looks like Ricky's tail is more like Kodi's (as it his coat... more silky). Sammy looks more cottony as well as having a curlier tail!


It's funny, Karen, because Ricky has always had a very thick, cottony coat for the most part. His head was always silkier, but along the back? It was a challenge combing through all of it! I'd say it's been a year that his coat is silkier all around, also silvering quite a lot so that might have something to do with it, and it's falling straighter down his sides. I used to thin the under coat out quite regularly.

Sammy always had a straight silky and thinner coat, but he's got this top layer of cottony, frizzy hair for a good year or more now. The rest of him is very silky. Go figure! lol


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

marjrc said:


> It's funny, Karen, because Ricky has always had a very thick, cottony coat for the most part. His head was always silkier, but along the back? It was a challenge combing through all of it! I'd say it's been a year that his coat is silkier all around, also silvering quite a lot so that might have something to do with it, and it's falling straighter down his sides. I used to thin the under coat out quite regularly.
> 
> Sammy always had a straight silky and thinner coat, but he's got this top layer of cottony, frizzy hair for a good year or more now. The rest of him is very silky. Go figure! lol


How old are they? Someone told me that their coats don't really finish changing until they are about 3 years old.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

Ricky's coat kept changing, though it was mostly that he was getting more white hairs throughout. I would say that it was just before he turned 3, last summer, that his coat really changed! It got silkier and there is so much white/gray throughout that he looks silver.


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

Bogart's tail is also tightly curled. I don't think I've ever seen it down...maybe unless he's cared. But Brando. I would say it's 50/50. If he's tired, lazy, hot, scared etc, he walks with his tail down. If he's happy and excited, it's curled. 

When going for a good walk, I can always tell when Brando has had enough. His tail just droops. At the first droop, I know that it's time to turn back. I have to admit, I hate how he looks when it's down, he looks like a totally different dog. But what can you do?


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