Broken tail ???

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oldbeek
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Broken tail ???

Post by oldbeek » Sun Jul 11, 2021 10:49 pm

Sons GSP with a 6 inch tail missed when jumping up on tailgate. Crashed down on his butt and tail. Now at about 2 inch from his anus it bends down at about 60 degrees. He straightens it out when pooping. Any experience with broken tails ?

shags
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Re: Broken tail ???

Post by shags » Mon Jul 12, 2021 4:50 am

Sorry about the accident. I hope your son's dog recovers quickly. If he has any control over his tail's movement that might be a good sign.

I'd be calling the vet for an xray and probably pain meds. It can be hard to tell if there's a fracture or only soft tissue injury.

PSA to readers - Never ever allow a dog to jump to or from the truck. This kind of injury or worse (broken back) can happen when the dog misses on the way up, and shoulder injuries can occur when they jump down. I know of one dog who landed on his chin and jacked his neck pretty good.

I've found ramps of a size for tailgates are too bulky, but it was easy to teach the dogs to get their front legs up then give them a boost for their rears. They also know how to use a small folding plastic ladder to get up there. They get lifted down off the truck. When we're towing a trailer, the dogs use the trailer tongue - always with one of us standing by to help.

birddogger2
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Re: Broken tail ???

Post by birddogger2 » Mon Jul 12, 2021 8:10 am

Agree with Shags on the vet visit, especially if you can run your hand over the tail and feel anything out of place or if you gently manipulate and it causes pain.

Years ago I had dog injure its tail on a training run and had the tail surgically repaired. The vet put the tail in a strip of corner molding after the surgery, wrapped and taped it in place until it healed up(about 3 weeks as I recall). Tail was never again perfectly straight( had a little hitch), but was good enough.

I also pick my guys up and down from the truck. I figure as long as I can pick up a 50# bag of feed, I can pick up my dog. Two of my dogs will jump up onto the picnic table but I don't encourage it. The oldest dog, who is 12, working on 13, used to hop up on the table, but no longer does.

I will pick them up and put them on the table if I need to do something with them. I will pick the old girl(12+) up on the table occasionally, just to stroke and style her up... because she likes it. I pick her down too. I do allow and encourage the dogs to hop into the dressing room of the horse trailer, where their dog boxes are, but I can climb in there myself, so it ain't that high of a step.

RayG

marselina
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Re: Broken tail ???

Post by marselina » Thu Jul 22, 2021 5:56 pm

sorry to hear that. do you still need to undergo a surgery if your dog's tail was injured?

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oldbeek
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Re: Broken tail ???

Post by oldbeek » Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:37 pm

Sorry, I should have got back sooner. Tail healed itself in a few days. Back to normal.

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