Steve Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Hard call but think it through really well I had a 6 month old which had to have her tail amputated and I can honestly say Ive never seen a dog suffer so much .If its just going to keep getting damaged and causing pain then take it off if not leave it on. make sure you're doing it to save pain in the long run and not for any other reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 I agree with Arby I must say. Find a vet who is more worried about the dog than the paperwork and ask for their opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missymoo Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Oh gosh poor baby, my personal opinion, I would find a sympathetic vet hnd have it removed..this is not about asthetics its about the ingurys...keep us updated with what you do.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Wow, a quandry. If the dog isn't in pain then perhaps it is best to leave it on.... better the devil you know (particularly after reading steve's post). I can understand your concern though, 4 breaks is a lot of damage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Molly has a broken tail...it's close to the end and the tail kinks into an 'L' shape. It doesn't bother her, never has, and likely never will. As we don't know her history, we can't know how it happened, but I suspect a littermate or her dam stepped on it when she was a baby pup. If it was giving her any problems, I'd have it rectified, but there's nothing wrong with it other than it looks a little 'odd'. I actually like it b/c it gives her some extra character! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swank Posted November 21, 2006 Author Share Posted November 21, 2006 ;) OMG!!!! Steve is that how it was after the surgery or did your dog have complications e.g infection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Wow, a quandry. If the dog isn't in pain then perhaps it is best to leave it on.... better the devil you know (particularly after reading steve's post).I can understand your concern though, 4 breaks is a lot of damage! Yes, I also think they're not easy options to decide on....without expert vet advice. The amount of breaks, likelihood of further damage, any spinal consequences from current condition, extent of pain & suffering for dog...all add up to serious medical problem. Not cosmetic... so it's outside the anti-docking legislation. Important to find a vet who'll work from that basis. Are you near a University Vet Centre? When I have a complicated problem with the pets...where there are no easy current answers...I head for the University of Qld Vet Clinic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greydove Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Where do you live Swank? If you were in Sydney I would suggest you go and see a good vet like Rob Zammit and get a good opinion on it. If its been broken alot of times and has lost alot of feeling it could be a problem. However I do not think you would have an issue having it amputated if it is in the best interests of the dog, after all that is the law ! Narelle @ greydove kennels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula- Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 We had a grey who needed his tail amputated after he chewed off the last 10cm - first surgery took off only part of the tail, he had a really bad time, tail wouldn't heal, infections and blood everywhere, it was eventually amputated to a short stump by my usual vet - surgery went well, pain relief for a few days, his tail healed over very quickly, no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpup Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Hi Swank, Sorry to hear about your pup's tail! ;) I have weims, one older and docked, and one younger and undocked. If you don't mind me asking, how did he break his tail four times? (I'd like to watch out for situations that might cause such damage). My undocked boy slams his tail against everything, really hard. It's not a delicate thing at all, and I can't imagine him breaking it other than through a really serious accident. I'm just wondering if there was something wrong with your pup's tail in the first place? I think I would contact the breeder and ask for their input and also for their recco about a vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Monster there doesnt need to be any weird circumstances for the tail to break it does happen & very easily & once damage has started the tail is weakend. You may well find in time when your young pup spilits the end of its tail how easy it is to have a problem but hard it is to solve it. Ours greys would dislocate & snap back in the tails tails doing zoomies on the back lawn. The constant hard banging is often the starting point for injuries to occur,teh tail gets more bruised ,gair starts to thin out & all of a sudden you get tail damage. Swank i believe Steves photo is what happened when the tail suffered damaged on apreviously dog dog & there for surgery had to be done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpup Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Thanks Showdog. It's impossible to stop him wagging it- he wags from morning to night But do you mean that just bumping it hard can cause a break? So far we've been more worried about the damage he does to us ;) He is my first undocked weim - and I have to say, we are loving that tail. What can you do to stop it happening? (apologies to Swank for barging in here, but now I'm alarmed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greybabies Posted November 22, 2006 Share Posted November 22, 2006 I have 2 Y's, my oldest my girl is docked, my young boy now 13 1/2mths has a tail. I can understand how u r feeling because my young boy has a broken tail also, he also has a lack of feeling in it. I'm a bit reluctant to have his taken off, due to the fact that he is in the show ring. My boy has 2 breaks that r not displaced, meaning that his tail doesn't hang limp, it has a bend in it and a fracture directly after the second break. This doesn't seem to bother him much or anyone else for that matter, if the judge looks at his tail strangely I tell them it's broken. He has obtained his title broken tail and all. The first break happened at ten weeks old, when being a silly bugger he jumped up only to come down awkwardly landing on his tail, the second happened in the back yard playing with my girl Y, I don't know what happened but BAMMM! He screamed and then his tail kinked back the other way. The fracture, well, it happened only a few weeks ago, running around the yard came tearing through our Pergola took the corner too wide and flicked the steel patio pole with the tail. Maybe sometime in the near future I'll have to make the same decision because a patch of hair at the first break is not growing the way it should, it is short, coarse, very brittle and is lighter in colour then the rest of his coat. I have also found that Vets r very reluctant to make a decision as to take off a tail. Goodluck with your decision I'm sure it will be the right one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swank Posted November 22, 2006 Author Share Posted November 22, 2006 Hey guys I've come to the decision that I'm going to leave well enough alone for the moment. Thanks for all your advice, but while the tail is still wagging it's going to stay. As Puggles said ' better the devil you know'. Thanks again guys, will let you know IF anything else happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arby Posted November 22, 2006 Share Posted November 22, 2006 good news that you came to a decision. Remember the tail will be weaker so just keep an eye out on it Goodluck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popcorn Posted November 23, 2006 Share Posted November 23, 2006 I would definitely have the tail removed. As for your vet having a problem with the paperwork, I would definitely be changing vets. My family has racing greyhounds and they break their tails on the kennels walls all the time as they get so excited. WE have had tips of tails removed from some of these dogs as they start to bleed and the risk of infection is so great, it must also be very very painful. The fact that your dog has broken his tail 4 times must be horrible for him and it must be SO painful. Although removing tails is a touchy subject, I think in your dogs case it is justified Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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