Happy tail syndrome

[squidge]

Hi all. Our lovely dog has got happy tail syndrome. Simply, he wags his tail so hard and fast that he bashes it off stuff and it bleeds-everywhere. Took him to the vet and they have bandaged it, given me antibiotics and are pushing hard for me to agree to operate and have his tail docked although the vet did say we could treat it and it may recover. Aside from the fact that it costs around £400 which I don't really gave although I could find if I needed to, I'm not sure I want his tail docked. Has anyone any experience of tails recovering from this soreness? Or should I just give up now and get the op?

[susie]

Good luck to spotty dog.

[squidge]

Well spotty dog is with humans all day. Rarely left for any length of time so we can give the suggestions a go. Training him to stop wagging on command might be entertaining though.

[gmcborgie]

My Labradoodle had the same problem when he was young, I took him to the vets in Thurso, they just showed me how to clean it to try and keep him out of mud etc and eventually the skin would heal and thicken and stop bleeding. They did say if it wouldn't heal then docking would be a last resort. I just kept it clean and bathed it in salt water and got him to sit or lay down to stop the blood spraying around like a horror movie! I also kept a tub of Styptic powder close by! I don't know how long your dog has had the problem but it took quite a few months before my dog's tail healed and never bleed again, he's never had any bother with it since then. Good luck

[squidge]

Gmcborgie. I'm armed then for a visit to vets tonight. Honestly it was like being sold double glazing

[gmcborgie]

As long as it doesn't get infected, hurting or upsetting the dog in any way then I would keep on for a bit longer trying to get it to sort itself.

[squidge]

Much better tonight. Vet happy to leave it and it's healing nicely. It will take a while but should be ok

[gmcborgie]

Glad to hear that!