Bloody Tail, Bloody House

[Guest Bethroze]

Is there anything that can be done to help with a tail that won't stop cracking open and bleeding? Our male grey has a very long tail that is extremely strong. Unfortunately, he loves to wave that tail at high speeds and whack it against door jams and walls. The tip is constantly cracking and bleeding. Can you say our house looks like a CSI crime scene... People have suggested having it cropped, but the vet said that the end would always be weak an easy to bleed. Is there a way to have it cauterized? We have had to start wrapping it with a feminine pad and duct tape. Any suggestions would be great!

 

[Guest WhippetsOwnMe]

Oh no!!! I hate this for you! It's a pain. We have to repaint our entire house bc of a dog that had happy tail here... we had to have the tail amputated.

[macoduck]

In the Health and Medical section here you can do a search for "happy tail" and learn much about protecting an injured tail.

But most of all know that it can take a very long time to heal. Bandaging for just a few days usually doesn't work.

Regarding cropping, I personally wouldn't do it unless your vet sees signs of an infection that aren't responding to antibiotics and wrapping.

 

[TheFullHouse]

It will probably take about 4 weeks to heal strong enough to not break open again. Be careful when you wrap it not to do it too tightly or that part of the tail can die. It happened to us and we ended up having a small portion of Valentino's tail removed.

[vjgrey]

I've heard that the foamy part of a hot roller can be used to protect a "happy tail" but I've never tried it. Gabe's healed up pretty quickly.

 

I HIGHLY recommend Magic Erasers for cleaning up the crime scene. They worked amazingly well on our walls.

 

Edited September 1, 2008 by vjgrey

[ahicks51]

Are you crating him?

 

If so, switch to muzzling and give them free reign of the safe parts of the house while you're gone. Cracking that tail on crate bars is a leading cause of red walls.

[Guest Bethroze]

No crating, he is free roaming. There is a small entry way when you come in from the garage that has many door frames and corners. Both he and his sister meet us at the door when we come home. Also, when I walk the kids to school in the morning, I take the dogs with me. The second the leashes come out, the tails start wagging. I have started working with calm sitting for a leash. It seems to be working rather well. Only three days and he ran in and sat without me telling him. Now I need to work on the coming home calmly.

 

Thank you for the website. I had know idea this was so common. I just love finding out that I'm not the only one.

[ahicks51]

If he's leash-happy, do you have a fenced-in yard?

 

If you do, try evicting the dogs, THEN leashing them up outside.

[greypuppyluv]

No crating, he is free roaming. There is a small entry way when you come in from the garage that has many door frames and corners. Both he and his sister meet us at the door when we come home. Also, when I walk the kids to school in the morning, I take the dogs with me. The second the leashes come out, the tails start wagging. I have started working with calm sitting for a leash. It seems to be working rather well. Only three days and he ran in and sat without me telling him. Now I need to work on the coming home calmly.

 

Thank you for the website. I had know idea this was so common. I just love finding out that I'm not the only one.

Training Phaelin to sit is what has worked for us. Phaelin has had "happy tail" at least 3 or 4 times. Our condo is small so there are lots of things to bang his tail on and making him sit when we come home has really helped. It did take quite a few weeks for his tail to heal once he broke it open and now that part of the tail is weaker and has a higher chance of breaking open again.

 

People have suggested having it cropped, but the vet said that the end would always be weak an easy to bleed.

The dogs I've known that had their tails amputated did not have an issue of the end breaking open and bleeding. Amputating the tail actually helped them stop breaking it open. These dogs usually had to have their tails amputated because the end of their tail died. I wouldn't amputate just to keep it from breaking open.

[SilversMom]

I bookmarked this from an earlier post about "Happy Tail" http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/greyhounds.htm Lots of good info here. Val

[Guest houndlover]

I think that every single dog that I have had with "happy tail" has been a male dog. What is it with those big goofy boys?

 

Good luck. There are lots of great suggestions on the forum, it just depends on what one works best for you. I have never had to have the tail amputated but I know that there are people who have. The hardest part of the whole thing is trying to keep the dog quiet...and cleaning up the mess!

[Guest Greytluv]

We had our Danger dog's amputated. It was a constant battle with it. It was always bandaged. It was a mess all the time. It was the best thing we did. He's so much happier.

 

And our walls look so much better

 

 

[PatricksMom]

Have you tried a medical glue? That cleared up Patrick's happy tail by giving it a chance to heal--granted, his wasn't as bad as your pup's but it might be worth a try.