[Lensa]

My poor Bailey! When we got up this morning he was not his usual self, he looked really sad, he could not lift or wag his tail at all and kept on worrying his backside. His tail stuck out a few centimetres and then just hung limply. We were really concerned and thought he might have broken his tail /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

We got him into the vets first thing, and after watching him walk into the examination room the vet asked if we had bathed him or had him swimming. Well, yes, we had been out running yesterday and I bathed him when he got home because he had dived into a very fresh cowpat and had smeared half his body with muck! After an examination the vet told us he had Limber Tail, very common in gundogs, they see many cases of it in September. Apparently the dog gets hot from lots of exercise, usually hunting, but jogging in our case, and then jumps into water to retrieve a bird (a bath for poor Bailey) the combination of the hot and the cold causes something to happen to the muscles at the base of the tail. Poor chap, he is in a lot of pain, but the good news is that it will get completely better with rest.

I had absolutely no idea this kind of thing could happen. I washed him in our bath using the shower head just as I have done before, the water was not cold by any means (my hands were in there as well!) but not hot either. The combination of lots of exercise, followed immediately by a cool wash has caused this, and I feel horrible I have caused my poor beag so much discomfort. He still looks really sad, and cant wag his tail at all, but at least he has some good painkillers and anti-inflammatories now, so he should be better soon. I think he is going to get some serious spoiling this week!

 

[Genie]

Oh poor Bailey!! I know just how you feel--my Shiloh had the same thing about a year or so ago. We also feared at first that she'd broken her tail! She was quite uncomfortable for the first couple of days, but then she started feeling better. I'm sure Baily will soon too. It's just the saddest thing, isn't it, seeing that normally waggy tail hanging limp. It took a couple of weeks, but then that "flag" started raising till it was finally all the way up and flying again. Give Bailey a tummy rub for me.

 

[Ashley Hellen]

Also known as "beagle Tail" more common than you think

My Dog had it after a bath once, it did get back to normal

 

[BookerMoose]

Poor Bailey... give him a belly rub from us (being careful not to go anywhere near his tail, of course...).

Booker has had that problem several times too. Hers has never resulted from swimming (given that she has never gone swimming!) or bathing, but with her it seems to have come about from "over-aggressive nesting" in the blankets on her bed... maybe when it is cold or something (I never thought that temperature is involved but I will look out for that in the future). The first time it happened we thought at first that she was despondent, but the scream she let out when Marc lifted her tail to check it left no doubt that the problem was physiological not psychological! The good news is that it has always remedied itself relatively quickly - the first couple of days are obviously very uncomfortable, and then there are a few more days where it must feel a bit better but not 100% since it still hangs rather low... but by the end of the week after it happens it is usually back to flying high!

 

[debannib]

Poor Bailey,

Hugs and belly rubs from our house to yours /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

 

[Lensa]

Thanks for this, its good to know it will get completely better and I will soon see that white tipped tail wagging properly again! I will give him lots of belly rubs from everyone /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif