darren m Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Hi All -- question :- can dogs break there tails I took Jack ( lab) out on monday for a swim , he was fine in and out the pond , retrieving dummies etc , he had a good run round through the long grass by the banks , going a bit mad , leting off steam etc ( i had not taken him out for 3 days ). Anyway , all seemed fine but a few hours later when at home, i noticed that he was walking with his tail tight between his legs , looking very uncomfortable. i had a look , but could,nt see any damage, i felt around the base of his tail and he let out a yelp . i'm not sure what to do , this happened two days ago , he is fine in himself , but the tail problem is the same , the poor lad can not even sit for me , and every time i try and take a look he gets nervous. As this happened to any one else , do tails repair after damage , could it be just bruised , could it be a testicle damaged or something else in that area. Any ideas please let me know . THANKS Darren ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palombier Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Darren This has happened to both my dogs and they got over it within a couple of days. It is a bit disconcerting and one had the symptom half way down his tail which was never quite the same afterwards. The link below explains it in a bit more detail. Don't worry unduly and i hope the problem solves itself. Regards P http://thelabradorclub.com/library/coldwatertail.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Darren, Palombier could be right with his link, and hopefully he is......but if your lab has been in so much pain that he can't sit down for two days surely you should have had him to the vet before now ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadSpringer Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Hi Darren, Palombier has already posted what I would suggest the problem is! I have had this happen to a few dogs but it cleared up after 2/3 days. Browining is right! If your dog is in that much pain you should have him to the vet to be on the safe side. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugene molloy Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 question :- can dogs break there tails Answer....Yes Eug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren m Posted September 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Palombier -- this could be the problem i'm sure , thank you so much for posting the web link , i'd never heard of it before , its really helped , i was quite worried. He did a lot of swimming on monday , so obvisously used his tail more than usuall . Browning & madspringer -- you quite are right i should of taken him to the vet on the day, but i did actually phone him on the tuesday morning, and he advised it may just be a muscle strain , give him a day or two . so today he's just had a small walk on lead , he can wag his tail a little now and he did sit for his dinner , though i can see that he's uncomfortable , i'll give him a couple more days , if no improvement , i'll take him to the vet . The funny thing is ( not for him ) that i pinned him to the floor and lifted his tail out of the way ( ouch ) so i could have a good look at his balls and bitsto see if there was anything sticking in him etc . Any one else experience this limp / water tail phenonima . Thanks for your help lads ATB Darren . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren m Posted September 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Eug -- curious , what are the symptons , do they mend , what can be done ?. thanks mate . Darren ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff B Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Darren I've had many Labradors that display a 'broken tail', always after spending a great deal of time in cold water. I give them half asprin, usually back to normal in 2-3 days. It may repeat after each lengthy spell in cold water. It is a very common ailment. I think it may be down to the dog using cold muscles, causing a mild muscle strain. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country_est Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Got my Lab "thug" when he was 8 months old. After a while of having him I noiceted the the base and first 4" of his tail were quite thick and about the correct size. From there on to the end it is much thinner. Whilst showing no pain or probs with it the vet said it had probably been broken earlier in his life. He is now comming up 5 and works well and has no problems, but when wet he resembles a bit of a rat's tail compared to my old bitchs "otter rudder" of a tail. Hope all is well with your dog, cos now inst really the time for the injurys to start or for the fact that its his tail he likes to wagg a lot if he's anything like a normal Lab. Trev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Darren... The tail held between the legs in Dogs can also be a sign of compacted anal glans which do on Dogs which have not been neutered flare up from time to time. These can get seriously compacted with the glandular secretion which is normally forced out when the dog deficates. If they remain compacted for too long they can become infected and an abscess formed just inside the anus which is very painful. Has the dog been licking a lot around the anal area also this is also a sign. Get this checked over by the vet also. They are simple enough to clear by pressing against the gland with thumb and fore finger each side of the Anus but stand well back as when badly compacted the secretion is expelled at a rate of knots and is particularly foul smelling. FM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren m Posted September 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Thanks chaps -- all is now well with jacks tail , i'm sure it was what you have called cold water tail , though its still not held completely as it was ( otters tail ). My big worry now is wether to take him swimming again or not :yp: , he as been swimming plenty of times before and he really loves water . What do you think ?. swim or no swim excercises. cheers Darren . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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