POODLE TAIL

Question
QUESTION: THIS AFTERNOON,MY FAMILY COMMENTED ON THE LENGTH OF MY STANDARD  POODLE'S TAIL.ALTHOUGH I WAS RAISED WITH A POODLE AND HAVE NOW GOT MY THIRD,50 YRS LATER(!),A CHOCOLATE BROWN ONE,THE RESULT OF A WHITE MOTHER AND A BLACK FATHER,I WAS UNABLE TO ANSWER THEIR QUERY ABOUT:

         A) WHETHER THEIR TAILS ARE CUT.
         B) IF SO, AT WHAT AGE?
         C) AND,IDEALLY, TO WHAT LENGTH?

MY POODLE'S TAIL IS ABOUT 10-12 INCHES LONG,AND WHILE HE STILL LOOKS IN PROPORTION,HIS TAIL IS CERTAINLY LONGER THAN MY OTHER TWO POODLE'S TAILS WERE.

I WOULD BE SO GRATEFUL IF YOU COULD ANSWER THIS QUERY;ALSO,CAN YOU TELL ME WHETHER I CAN EXPECT HIS BEAUTIFUL RICH CHOCOLATE BROWN COLOR TO FADE OVER THE YEARS?

         MANY THANKS,
         YOURS SINCERELY,
         
         DOMINI

COAT TO FADE OVER THE YEARS
MY POODLE'S TAIL IS

ANSWER: Hello Domini,
Great to hear from a Poodle owner.  You couldn't have a better breed of dog, and of course they are super intelligent, but you probably already know that. :)

On to your questions:
A) Yes they typically dock a Poodles tail (B) when the puppy is about 2-3 days old.  (C) Generally they take about 1/3 of the tail off, maybe a bit more, but not as much as 1/2.  Vets can dock a Poodles tail when the dog is older, but tend not to do so as there is risk of infection and more and more Vets are stopping docking or cropping (ears) on any breed just because they think its inhumane.  In some countries, its now illegal to dock or crop any breed even if its in the breed standard to do so.  
If you would consider having the tail re-docked, wait until the dog is fully grown, leave about 2/3's length left, and be sure to have the Vet put a couple of sutures in the end of the tail so that hair will grow over the end of the bone.  

As to your color question, I would love to say that your Brown will stay his wonderful dark color, but due to the fact that his mother is a White color, he will most likely fade.  The White color contains a fading gene that when added to certain colors will lighten them to produce a different color. (such as White being added to Black to create Silver or White being added to Red to make Apricot)
The problem with that is that when White is paired with any other color, it WILL cause that color to fade because of the fading gene that is present in White.  You might happen to be on the lucky side though because his father was a Black dog.  Black is a dominate color so it can stand out even when the White color or fading gene is present.  It can also depend on what is in the dogs background.  If there is a lot of Black, your dog may be a darker/richer brown, whereas if the dogs in your dogs background are more White, then your dog very well could fade.  

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other Poodle questions or dog questions in general, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim  

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: QUICK FOLLOW UP QUESTION,IF I MAY?

IF,AS I SAY OUR STANDARD POODLE'S TAIL IS ROUGHLY 10-12 INCHES LONG(MAXIMUM),IN YOUR OPINION HAS HIS TAIL BEEN DOCKED OR NOT?IS THERE AN 'AVERAGE'TAIL LENGTH FOR AN UNDOCKED STANDARD? WE BOUGHT HIM FOR A VERY REASONABLE PRICE FROM A YOUNG COUPLE WHO WERE BREEDING THEIR FEMALE JUST ONCE SO THAT THEIR FIVE CHILDREN COULD HAVE THE EXPERIENCE (AS WELL AS THEIR DOG!)-IT WAS A LITTER OF 10 PUPPIES AND NONE OF THEM HAD HAD ANY OF THEIR SHOTS,FOR EXAMPLE, SO THAT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY I WONDER ABOUT THE DOCKING.

INCIDENTALLY,I REALIZE WE'VE BEEN VERY LUCKY TO GET SUCH A HEALTHY DOG,BUYING HIM UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES (WE HAD HIM THOROUGHLY CHECKED BY A VET SHORTLY AFTER BRINGING HIM HOME).I HAVE ALWAYS GONE THROUGH THE KENNEL CLUB UNTIL NOW TO BUY A PUPPY,BUT WE HAD A VERY GOOD FEELING WHEN WE WENT TO SEE THE PUPPIES, A LOVELY FAMILY ,ALL THE CHILDREN HOLDING A PUPPY IN THEIR ARMS,AND QUITE CLEARLY CHARLIE,(OURS)HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP BEING CUDDLED BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING HE LIKES BETTER THAN ROLLING OVER ONTO HIS BACK FOR A MASSAGE!

MANY THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP,

WITH BEST WISHES,

DOMINI

Answer
Hello again,
I would say that his tail probably hasn't been docked judging by what you say.  There isn't really an average length, but show people tend to like it a bit on the long side so they can make the tail puff full and round.  As a person who has had Poodles with longer tails and ones with shorter tails, I prefer a shorter tail (but not too short) as long tails can do damage to drink glasses setting on coffee tables.  (have had expirence with that more than once).  

I am glad he is healthy, and chances are good that he should stay that way, but do watch him over the next few months because since you don't know his background, he could have genetic problems that pop up that won't show up now.

Again, Thanks for using AllExperts.com and if I can be of further help, please ask me.
Kim