Didles Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Okay so my British Bulldog has some tails issues. He has a screw tail and the odour coming from it is terrible and it is also driving him nuts, we have been to the vet and tried the creams, washes and antibiotics but nothing is working it has gotten to a point where he hates it being wiped. Currently I am wiping it twice a day with cooled boiled water with salt and the drying it, this is an effort in itself as we have to pin him down. Any ideas would be gladly welcomed as he has now taken to scratching at night, which in a crate is very noisy...... Thanks in advance..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Ok.. probably not what you want indoors, but I would suggest the purple spray CETRIGEN.., and I would be inclined to use no more water. perhaps washing it is keeping it continually moist ....and touching it will , indeed be very painful cetrigen will sting a bit ... but it is usually good for bacterial things. or , you could also try BETADINE spray , as that will kill fungal infections,and bacterial infections. If you really need to wash it (and I would spray, instead of wipe ) then maybe dry with a hairdryer on COOLER temp. consider using COLLOIDAL SILVER .. a very very fine suspension of silver particles in water .. I have used it on cat abscesses etc , and believe it helps keep infection down. It does not sting or anything, has no smell , won't stain , and is not toxic when used normally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kajtek Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 One of my bullies has a corkscrew tail. It's not tight so we don't get too many problems. I clean it every morning with Curash fragrance free wipes and at the first sign of irritation/redness apply Neotopic H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbreedlover Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Didles This is a problem with Bulldogs that needs addressing. Have you sort advice from the breeder of your puppy? If so what have they said. It may be that your Bulldog will need an operation to fillet his tail. That is to have the vertabrae of his tail removed but leave an area of skin where his tail was. I would suggest that you contact Karen Hedberg(sorry I am not sure which vet clinic she has) She is a Brachy breed specialist and would be able to advise suitably. Do not go to just any vet. The thing being is that the tail gets so hot and sweaty and yeast infections occur. Malaseb is great to reduce the yeast infection but his tail will need cleaning every day(Malaseb every 5 days and careful it can burn so use it carefully). If his tail smells bad then infection has probably taken over. The main thing you need to establish is whether or not his tail is so bad that he needs surgery or just needs to be cleaned every day or every other day. Usually with a tail not so bad they will grow out of it but it depends on the structure of the screw. If the tail is pressing into his anus then he will have a serious problem. Do not delay with this please. I have a Bulldog with a tight screw tail but his is mananged with Malaseb and also sudocream(available at Woolies) I can clean under his tail very well and as he grows, the tail is getting better but some of them can be very bad. They can even grow into the anus causing major problems. If someone can advise on Karens surgery I would appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 I agree with Perse that you do need to give consideration towards not keeping the tail perpetually wet. BUT .... I would treat it with a fairly strong solution of Calendula Tea. Leave in. Allow to dry. Repeat as necessary, but judiciously - from the point of view of trying to give the area a chance to be dry. I'd go with the Cetrigen suggestion as a random alternative between Calendula treatment but as Perse says .... avoid being inside for a good while because that stuff sure does stain ..... EVERYTHING. (Even stained my polished floor boards ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbreedlover Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 (edited) I agree with Perse that you do need to give consideration towards not keeping the tail perpetually wet. BUT .... I would treat it with a fairly strong solution of Calendula Tea. Leave in. Allow to dry. Repeat as necessary, but judiciously - from the point of view of trying to give the area a chance to be dry. I'd go with the Cetrigen suggestion as a random alternative between Calendula treatment but as Perse says .... avoid being inside for a good while because that stuff sure does stain ..... EVERYTHING. (Even stained my polished floor boards ). Until you actually know the degree or severity of the screw tail then these treatments are all well in good. Keeping a screw tail dry is not possible if it is a very bad one or even a moderate one as it will always have the enviroment for an infection or bacteria of sorts. You cant leave a wet substance in and think it is going to dry. It wont. And unless you are able to clean it successfully Didles then I suggest an xray to determine what damage it may be causing. Very bad screw tails can in fact penetrate the skin leading to the anal area as the dog grows and then you have serious problems. You also have to be very careful about rubbing the area which will then make it raw and very very sore. And if you use a spray that will sting then be prepared for an extremely distressed dog and one which could certainly turn on an owner because you are causing it pain. Edited February 18, 2012 by Bullbreedlover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 cetrigen is only good if you do it outside and leave them there for a while ... it's now a rather luuuuuurid shade of pink which stains everything. I think bullbreedlover has a point, you can do so much slathering things on it but there comes a time where biting the bullet and fixing the cause of the problem may be a better option for the dog in the long run, before the infection sets into deeper tissue layers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 I think bullbreedlover has a point ... I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Didles Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 Thank you all!! The tail is not very tight so we can get in and clean it. Our Vet who has a lot of experience with Bulldogs (he owns one too) said that it is not that bad to cause damage or operated on hence why I am finding out here what else to use. We have used the melasab (spelling shocking sorry) but might try the rush cream. We have had skin tests done when it is bad to rule out yeast infection and the antibiotics was when he had an ear infection and vet said it might help the tail but we had to treat the ear so it was like a double hit but it did nothing. Our winston has been plagued with issues since birth and I think our breeder will get annoyed if I emailed her with everything, he is over 2 yrs now so this is a problem that has just started in the last couple of months. Okay so will try to find where this vet is and go from there, thank you for the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjosa Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 I think that Karen Hedberg is out Windsor way, I stand to be corrected. I think that it would be a good idea to have this checked out by a vet who understands the bracchy breeds and if surgery is needed she would definitely know the amount of anesthetic to be used and also what type, Bracchies have to be handled differently to long nosed dogs when being put under, Karen Hedberg would be the best to see, you could contact her and make an appointment on the day that you would possibly be going to see that litter of Frenchies, she is on the way up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Didles Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 Will google her and find out thanks for that, I am not allowed to drive for six months as I have just had brain surgery but might get my parents to take us. Going to give the Calendula Tea a go as well as the sudacream and malaseb wash mix it up a tad, might even re-introduce natural yogurt to his brekky to help his insides and go back to sensitive advance from large breed. Then see this vet and go from there, got to love DOL and all your help. lol on the frenchie litter, fingers crossed there, we have had some bad experiences in the past with breeders who advertised here and sounded all legit until we went to go get our pup and turned out the litter had parvo as well as a frenchie litter they had who they put on the plane anyway, then we got Winston and he had awful hips but I just could not send him back so we kept him just very lucky he was from a wonderful breeder who understood, but we must of got one of those bulldogs that get everything!!! So I won't get any hopes up until I have a pup in my arms, won't stop me buying everything ready though!! Winston is very much one of our children and treated the same by all of us, lost count how many times my Mr 9 lets him out of his crate at night and we find them snuggled in bed together or at Mr 11 feet eating dinner getting his peas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 (edited) I am not allowed to drive for six months as I have just had brain surgery ... I am sorry to hear you had to go through this and hope you are ok. I empathise - had surgery back in June. I'm all good though (*touch wood*) so I'm very lucky. Hope you are the same. Take it easy and give yourself time to heal. It takes a while, so listen to your body and don't push too hard. ETA: I wouldn't mix things up too much. That confuses things. If things go well, you don't know what did it. Worse - if things don't go well, you don't know what caused it. Edited February 19, 2012 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliversmum Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Karen is at North Richmond Veterinary Clinic, PH 45712042. She is away at the moment and will return on approx 23rd March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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