Like many purebred dogs, standard poodles have traditionally had their tails docked shortly after birth. However, in recent years, conscientious dog owners, breed associations, and kennel clubs have begun to move away from the idea that a breed standard should incorporate surgical alteration on puppies only a few days old.

Starting with our winter 2006 litter, Dogmatique has chosen to not dock our pups' tails. We love the slightly longer, feathery tail that it is the standard poodle's natural state, and it's increasingly likely that you'll see more and more young standards left with their tails intact. Canada and the U.S. are two of the last places where tail and ear docking are still the norm. In Australia and most countries in Europe, the docking of tails and ears on puppies of all breeds for cosmetic purposes is now illegal.

Because a standard poodle's tail isn't docked as much as much as it is for many breeds (including the smaller poodle breeds), the amount of extra tail that your undocked pup will have usually amounts to only a few inches. By way of comparison, Danté (background) has his tail docked, as was the norm when he was born in 2000. Raine (foreground), a puppy from our own spring 2006 litter, is undocked.