For one thing, if kankuro can control 3 puppets simultaneously, then controlling sakura and a tail for someone who is probably an UBER puppeteer should be simple

however, if she was controlling sakura, i dont think she needed to control the tail....just know how to dodge it

And im guessing that she released the puppet control once sakura got within range. For sakura to use her super strength, she needs control of her own body for the chakra flow and whatnot.