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Our much loved (late) border collie, the Byven Byfe, a BC bitch, had a peculiarity in the form of non-tail-wagging. From one week to the next - even from one month to the next - the old tail simply never got wagged. She was a very sunshiny, affectionate dog and very demonstrative towards us, but the arrival of food, the appearance of her leash and collar, the sight of a bone, being made a fuss of - NONE of these things ever generated so much as a twitch of the old tailbone. However, if a member of the family reappeared after (say) a six-month absence - or if the Byven Byfe had just been brought home from boarding kennels - she WOULD attempt a tail wag of sorts: but it had no fluidity to it. The tail was simply held out rigidly and batted from side to side like a feather duster for a few seconds.

Has anyone else encountered this kind of sparing use of the tail? (NB: character-wise she was like most other BC bitches, i.e. the perfect blend of sweet/gentle and grumpy/snappish.)

Just curious, did your BC not wag her tail her whole life or just later in life? I don't have a BC but wonder if she might have had some kind of injury or nerve damage that precluded her from wagging her tail.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

She was the same from puppyhood onwards. All rather mysterious. We did wonder about the possibility of a birth defect at first (she didn't attempt a tail-wag until she was several months old), but after the first time it moved we just assumed we had a very discerning dog who only wagged her tail on special occasions. So we always felt greatly honoured if it was wagged for our benefit. But as aforesaid, 'wag' really wasn't the word: she just held it out rigidly and twitched it a bit. I'd say she probably only shook the tail twice a year, if that. I suppose that, yes, a structural defect might have been to blame. Or maybe she just wasn't a frivolous doggie.

>>She was the same from puppyhood onwards. All rather mysterious. We did wonder about the possibility of a birth defect at first (she didn't attempt a tail-wag until she was several months old), but after the first time it moved we just assumed we had a very discerning dog who only wagged her tail on special occasions. So we always felt greatly honoured if it was wagged for our benefit. But as aforesaid, 'wag' really wasn't the word: she just held it out rigidly and twitched it a bit. I'd say she probably only shook the tail twice a year, if that. I suppose that, yes, a structural defect might have been to blame. Or maybe she just wasn't a frivolous doggie.

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Just pulling a dog's tail can do grave damage, including paralysis or incontinence. Something like that can happen at a very young age.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

An awful thought. If her tail was damaged by pulling etc., it must have happened in the litter (either courtesy of a sibling or courtesy of one of the kids living in the household where the litter was born). But when she came to us at 8 weeks she showed no sign of injury/pain - and throughout her life she never had any trouble holding her tail out whilst relieving herself.

>>An awful thought. If her tail was damaged by pulling etc., it must have happened in the litter (either courtesy of a sibling or courtesy of one of the kids living in the household where the litter was born). But when she came to us at 8 weeks she showed no sign of injury/pain - and throughout her life she never had any trouble holding her tail out whilst relieving herself.

My BC gal doesn't wag her tail but does hold it out or down when she is in working mode. I do have a Chesapeake Bay Retriever that when he swims too much gets swimers tail. This is where he uses his tail so much as a rudder, so to speak, that for the next few days doesn't move his tail at all! The first time this happened I called the breeder and she said its a normal thing and will get better within a few days. She was right! This is quite common I have found out from other friends.

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Charlene

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Good to know my Border Collie wasn't the world's only non-wagger, Char. Maybe there's a little-known elite strain of BCs who dissent from tail-wagging on the grounds that it's vulgar. So maybe we're not talking injury/birth defect after all.

Hmmm. . . very curious. I'd be inclined to think there was an injury at some point. I've never seen a border collie who didn't wag her tail.