Attitudes of Tail
 

There has been a lot of ink dedicated to styles, conformations, accepted behavior, and trends in bird hunting dogs for the last century and more. One of the topics of discussion has been the position or attitude of the tail of a dog on point. It is said that the development and training of a "high-tailed" dog began with field trialers and then with the bench set and the earlier preferred "level" position of the tail or dropped tail fell by the wayside.

The dogs I see engraved on our Parkers always seem to be holding their tails at the level position. I would suspect that a Parker produced in the Remington era might be more likely to show a dog with an elevated tail but I can't remember seeing one like this.

Can anyone show us a picture of his Parker with a dog holding its tail in a distinctly elevated position?

I don't the the so called 12 o'clock tail was as common even in the Remington days.

The dogs depicted on the guns tend to be classic hunting dogs. Even today these lines of dogs, especially the setters, will tend towards a level or an "Osthaus tail" at the highest

I'm afraid you're right Rick but somebody might have such an example.

This example, from the post-Remington era, could be described as having an elevated tail:

Nice

Certainly not level, that is pretty much a classic Osthaus tail position.

Quite a bit shy of the field trial 12 o'oclock look,

I would agree with Rick. That is a 45 degree or Osthaus tail.

Wonderful! Thanks Greg - that's what I was talking about and, of course, on a Remington era gun as I suspected might be out there.

Any more guys?

Post Remington? Do you mean after Remington ended the Parker Gun Project?

It definitely looks to be Bob Runge's work.

Okay.... Now I see that it is a Parker Repro - but is copied from original Remington Parkers that were used as patterns (in every detail) to be used for the Repros.

The DH I picked up has a setter on one side
http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps87427b12.jpg

and a pointer on the other-
http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps774b2668.jpg

both have the level tail. These days a pointer like that would probably never be considered a good trial dog prospect. Lots of talk about a "high tail" makes a pointer move better, better style, etc. I don't really get it, but I'm not a field trial guy.

I think it dates from 1890 according to the serial number.

I wouldn't say the level tail has disappeared. I think it depends on the breed and the intended purpose. I've got a shorthair that came out of lines that definitely tend toward field trial dogs, though she's pretty good in the grouse woods. She's got so much white on here I'm sure some would say there was some pointer blood mixed in somewhere. She has the erect tail that field trailers prefer, and pictures I've seen of other dogs from her bloodline do as well. I remember talking to her breeder when I first got her and she was just starting to point. One of the first things he asked was did she have a high tail on point. My newest dog is a Drahthaar, just 8 months old now. There isn't any consideration to "pointing style" when breeding them from what I can tell, its all about can they do the jobs we ask them to (which ranges from pointing upland birds to blood tracking deer), are they biddable, and are they sound from a confirmation perspective. She points with a dead level tail, and most pictures I've seen of Drahthaars pointing they have a low tail- I've never seen a picture of a Drahthaar pointing with a ramrod straight up and down tail like an English pointer, though I'm sure one may exist somewhere.

Gee, I thought GSP's and Drahthaar's customarily all had docked tails. I'm sure there some that didn't have their tails docked. I've never seen either breed engraved of a Parker though.