Happy Tail Syndrome

[Guest Tuesday]

hello!

 

i have a really happy greyhound that likes to bang her tail against everything, i'ts hard to control her excitement and i came home last week to a my walls and everything covered in blood splatters. i bandaged it up but she can whip it off with the force of her wags!

 

it has come off twice and continues to bleed. unless the bandage stays on, i even tried quick stop but it didn't work every time i take the bandage off it starts to bleed again.

 

will it heal with a bandage on all the time? i can't really take it off to let it breath or it starts up again.

 

don't know what to do, i'd take her to the vet if i thought they would suggest something other then what i'm doing.

 

i know about tail docking and i'm trying to not think about that.

 

thanks!

 

 

[macoduck]

We've dealt with happy tail at our house and did not have to amputate. It does take a lot longer to heal than you think it will.

I did a search in H&M and here's one thread about treating it:

 

happy tail

 

 

[Guest crazy4greys]

Go to the drug store and buy the pink foam curlers for women's hair.

 

Take out the insert, cut it length wise like a hotdog bun.

 

Put some neosporin or another antibotic on the tail.

 

Place the tail inside the curler with room at the end so that the tail is not right at the end.

 

Wrap it with elastikon (they should sell it at the drug store also, mught be called something else). Start wrapping at the end of the curler up the curler and about an inch or 2 onto the tail. It is very sticky and will stick to the fur.

 

You will need to change it about every 4-5 days until the tail is completely healed.

 

If the tail keeps opening after it is healed, it is a probabilty to have the tail docked. The dog won't care! They look cute with a short tail.

[Guest spider9174]

see this reference:

http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/b..._happy_tail.htm

 

My foster has happy tail and we are trying to save it from amputating. What you want to do is wrap it so it is cushioned where it is bleeding. You can use a couple of things. What was recommended to me is the foam toe wraps you can get at the pharmacy. You can cut them to any size. This is how I wrap it...

 

1) apply neosporin (you can use emt gel, etc)

2) wrap a guaze pad arond it and then put a foam wrap around the gauze pad. secure with surgicle tape. I wrole the pad and foam, so the end is open to air. On the days I don't rewrap the tail, i squirt neosporin into the dressing. As long as it is pretected and has a foam protection, it won't get damaged from wagging.

3) I wrap about 6-8 inches up the tail with the surgicle tape. As I'm wrapping up the tail, I will take a few strands of hair and wrap it into the tape. (the reference above shows how) This keeps the bandage from slipping.

4) I then wrap over the surgical tape with vet wrap. This helps it from getting wet.

5) I have been keeping our foster muzzled with a stool guard to keep him from chewing or pulling at the bandage. He will bite it right off.

 

I rewrap every other day. I use bandage scissors to remove the vet wrap and then carefully unwrap the surgical tape.

[Guest Tuesday]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! i really appreciate and time to explain your bandage techniques, i'm going to change my routine and try some of your suggestions.

 

 

 

this is such a helpful website. i'm off to buy pink rollars!

 

 

should i use the plastic part as well as the foam stuff in my bandage? and just cut the whole thing lengthwise? or just use the pink foam?

 

the wound is literally the size of a tip of a pencil but boy can it ooze blood. and everytime i take a bandage off and try and look at it i end up making it bleed. this is really frustrating...............poor dog starts to shake everytime i examine her tail.

 

 

Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!

 

oh one more thing

 

the wound is right at the tip of her tail, probably the boniest part of her body and the hardest to bandage. i will have to cover the whole tip won't I?

 

 

sorry for all the dumb questions, i just really want to help her and avoid surgery!

[Guest spider9174]

just use the foam part. you don't want to make it too heavy. the heavier, the more like it will bother them and they'll try to shake or bite it off.

 

you don't have to cover the tip of the tail totally. my foster's tail basically looks like a person that skinned the top of his finger. poor guy. anyhow...what you want to do, is to extend the foam about a 1/2 inch beyond the tail, so if you look in the tube, you should be able to just see the tip of the tail. I want the tip to be open to help air ciruculation.

 

you're going to have to wrap the tail for a little while longer than what you think is healed, to help protect the new skin.

 

the key is to cushion the new skin and keep it from getting reinjured.

 

check out that website i posted above, it shows a way to wrap. they cover the whole tail.

 

if you can, have someone help you when you are wrapping her tail. have them give her treats while you're doing it. this may help her relax while she's being examined. it shouldn't be a traumatic event.