Reply With QuoteI am not familiar with the term dead tail. But if he yelping and wont sit or lie down then I would take him to see a vet. Maybe he banged it against something and hurt it. I would take him to be on the safe side.
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I just took my 11-month old pup Theo for his first-ever camping trip. Part of his exertion involved swimming in a cold lake. After the first day or so of swimming/hiking/running around, I noticed that he wasn't wagging or moving his tail and refused to sit or lie down. He also would yelp if we touched his tail. I did some research online and it definitely seems like his symptoms match the condition called dead tail/cold tail/limber tail/whatever. Everyone pretty much says "rest" will heal the tail, but what exactly does "rest" mean? Should I avoid taking my pup on any walks for a week, or just reduce the exercise he normally gets (which is usually 3 walks and 3-4 miles a day)?
I hesitate to go to a vet because I know dead tail isn't a condition that all vets know about or understand, and I don't feel like paying hundreds of dollars for my vet to play a guessing game. However, I'm certainly fine with taking him to the vet if it would be worthwhile. I would appreciate your advice and clarification!
I am not familiar with the term dead tail. But if he yelping and wont sit or lie down then I would take him to see a vet. Maybe he banged it against something and hurt it. I would take him to be on the safe side.
There was recent thread on this. I had never heard of it, but looked it up on Wikipedia. Sounds like it resolves itself, but it might be worth a visit to the vet.
Good news and bad news
Cold tail will generally go away after a few days. My older boy had a case after a lot of swimming at daycare. A few days of no swimming, and no rough housing with my other dog, some buffered aspirin with his meals to make him more comfortable, and all was well.
My Charlie seems to be prone to cold tail. He got it again this spring after a weekend swimming at the cottage in mid-May. It is treatable. My vet prescribed Metacalm for a few days. He was fine after that. It seems to be fairly common in labs and the vet was very familiar with it.
I gave Oban a regular 325 mg aspirin. It must be pretty painful because he was whimpering at night. The aspirin gave him needed relief and we could both sleep. It lasted three days but he only needed help the one night. We went on walks and to training as usual.
I would not Vet, myself, but if he's not better in a couple of days rethink it. It's rare but when it's bad circulation to the tail can be cut off and amputation required if tissue dies. Very rare.
It was my Dodger who just had cold tail. He only whimpered a bit the first night, but I know he was in some discomfort for about 3 days. He can go on walks and stuff, just no swimming, no rough housing, jumping etc...just try to make him rest as much as possible. Only need to go to the vet might be to get some painkillers if he is in a lot of pain. If you do go to the vet, call it limber tail. I said cold tail and they had no idea what it was, but when I said Limber tail, they understood.
Usually you can see swelling where the tail meets him bum and a few inches outward. Try not to touch it, but it's pretty noticeable.
The vet should know what cold tail is, and some pain meds usually help. I typically just leave the dog alone and let it run its course.
Jen
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Sadie had it once after a bath from the hose in early summer. In the middle of the night I noticed she just threw herself down in the yard like she was going to wallow on her back, but just yelped and got up and went to a different place and did it again. I think she was really in pain and frightened about not being able to move her tail. I did take her to the vet and got some anti-inflammatory meds which helped in a couple of days.
Marley has had it a few times over the years. It's so sad as he wants to wag so bad and he can't. We never bothered taking him into the vet but mentioned it when we were in there. They had suggested rimadyl when it happens, which we did do once (we had it on hand from prior surgeries). You could chat with your vet to see if they have any suggestions or want to offer anything to give it some relief, otherwise it will run its course in a few days. I usually let Marley rest and try to take it easy to let him heal up.
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