Guest addison522 Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Addison is at the vet right now getting about 4 inches of her tail amputated. She got it caught in the door about 2 weeks ago. Some idiot in my apartment building was on the other side of the door when my boyfriend was walking in with our 2 hounds. My boyfriend was holding the door open to let the hounds walk in after him and this dumb guy would not move out of the way with his little dog. He apparently couldn't wait for the dogs to walk in the door or just didn't care and plowed his way through. My boyfriend lost a hold of the door and thus Addison got the tip of her tail caught in it. She then panicked and pulled her tail out. We took her to the vet and we tried antibiotics and all that, but it was not successful. The tip of her tail has lost the blood flow and is pretty much just dead tissue. I'm hoping maybe someone could give me some advice as to how to help her recover. I've never dealt with anything like this, and I just want to make sure she is comfy and on her way to a speedy recovery when she gets home. Is there anything I should watch out for while she's healing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Poor bug -- but, at least she has a better excuse than "I wagged too hard and cracked it open on the furniture," which is what often happens . You might need to muzzle her (plastic basket/kennel muzzle) to keep her from messing with it while it heals. Some dogs do, some don't. Hugs and quick healing to your girl! Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIGreyLady Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Sterling had to have about 4" amputated when a cut on the end didn't heal properly. He did very well with it. Only "problem" was keeping an eye on the bandage afterwards (especially when he was wagging it ). Bandage was changed at the vets about every week for 3 to 4 weeks. Also, luckily, he didn't bother the bandage much. Best of luck to Addison and welcome to the short-tail club . Quote Mimi- mom to Burdette (KB's Burdette), Sophie (LL's Stupid Is) and bridge babies Kelsey (Kelso's Logo), Sterling (Cold B Tiger), Fritz, Tasha, Chloe and Molly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stripeyfan Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 That stupid man! I'm so sorry. I have no personal experience of this but a friend's GH had 'Happy Tail' and now only has half left, but he's fine - actually made his tail more lethal cuz now it's like a club and when he catches you with it - owwww! As for helping it heal, the tips on this site look pretty good. Link Hope she heals up quick - sending lots of hugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest twoskinnydogs Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 My 11 year old Emma is recovering from this same thing. She had about 4 inches removed, then 2 weeks later had all but 5 inches removed. The healing process is kinda long, my best advise is to keep a muzzle with a stool guard on your hound. Emma was able to pull her stitches out after the first amputation, thus the need for the second. Now it has been 3 weeks and she hasn't messed with it because of the stool guard. He stump is looking pretty good these days and I'm just waiting on the remaining scab to come off before letting her go without the muzzle. Good luck to Addison!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 My girl lost almost 6 inches of her tail in a similar incident except the person who couldn't wait & wanted to barge through the door was an indoor cat trying to escape. Since I've got higher prey drive dogs who think outdoor cats, even their own housemates, are prey I tried to protect the cat & we ended up with one of my Greys tail caught in the storm door. Awful! After surgery to remove the crushed area she came home that evening on pain meds. I wasn't stingy on the pain meds at all. As long as it wasn't bothering her she left it alone. Didn't need the meds for long though. After a few bandage changes & a couple weeks it was healed. She had no complications. Other than being shorter, in proportions more like a Labs, it looks normal. All the best to you pupper & family. Hope recovery goes as well as my girl's did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fringepup Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I'm sorry to hear about Addison's tail. I hope all goes well and she has a speedy recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 A similar thing happened to our Peggy last summer. It was from a bite from a chasing dog, or possibly from standing on it accidentally when twirling madly in the sand. The vet decided to amputate 4" and then she had a tail splint and dressings to change every 3 days. Although she was on antibiotics she still got an infection after about 10 daysn and they had to culture the bugs to find out which antibiotic was needed. After that she recovered well. All in all a couple of months. When the splint and dressings finally came off for continuing protection I gave her toddler's socks attached with micropore tape for a couple of weeks; also put soft towels on the radiators where she waga before going for a walk, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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