12/05/2026
✨ Thank you to The Canine Chronicle for publishing this piece from breed expert Robin Kelly (owner of Hatch's sire!) ✨
One of my favorite things about Swedish Vallhunds is the huge variety of natural tail types: long tails, curled spitz tails, sickle tails, stubs, and sometimes no visible tail at all.
I have both a spitz tail and a stub tail myself, and I have heard plenty of opinions about tail length from the fancy. Some people assume a short tail must mean a health problem, or worry that stub tailed dogs are automatically higher risk as breeding prospects. The science is a lot more nuanced than that, and this article from Robin does a helpful job separating evidence from rumor.
In Swedish Vallhunds, natural tail variation is part of the breed’s heritage. A stub-tailed or naturally tailless Swedish Vallhund is not defective, less healthy, or doomed to spinal problems. That does not mean breeders should ignore genetics, but rather that breeding decisions should be based on accurate science, and a look at the whole dog: health, structure, temperament, pedigree, genetic testing, breed diversity, and honest evaluation.
My own stub-tailed Vallhund is not missing anything other than the tail itself. Spend five minutes with him, and you'll quickly realize his body works just fine - especially when he's stealing my socks or chasing lizards in the yard 🥰
bt.e-ditionsbyfry.com/article/Many+Tails%2C+One+Truth+-+Facts+About+Breeding+Short-tailed+Dogs/5150252/864549/article.html
