Tail Bleed

[Guest suzanne]

Arg,my dog walker just rang me to say my three yr old girl gave her such a happy greeting thatshe hit er tail off the wall and it's bleeding. my OH can go take care of it but is there any benefit to perhaps vet wrapping it in advance for tomorrow? she did this last week but prior to that never in the last year, she is a VERY happy dog!!!

[JohnF]

I'd put vet wrap on it so that it doesn't get further damaged and the dog is mindful that it is there and so might not wag so much.

If the vet wants to shorten the tail for healing they will use a tail splint with vet wrap and other wrapping. Just make sure they give you a good broad spectrum antibiotic... they gave the wrong one to Peggy first and an infection came. Then they cultured the bugs and found the correct antibiotic. After losing the white tip I told them I definately didn't need the tail going any shorter.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Your best bet is to try to prevent another incident by moving whatever she's hitting, or at least move the spot where she's greeting you (and the dog walker) with such excitement. If the dog is moving into a narrow hallway to say hello, you can try blocking the hallway so the dog stays in a larger area to greet you. If she's smacking the tail into a piece of furniture, try padding the area she's hitting against--wrap a furniture leg with a blanket, or drape a blanket so it falls down the side and covers whatever corner she's hitting.

 

I haven't ever known bandaging to prevent the dog from hitting the spot again, and you really can't keep her tail bandaged forever. Bandaging will give a tiny bit of protection, but you'll need to do most of the work without relying on a bandage. I haven't met the dog who would learn not to wag its tail into the wall/desk leg/kennel.