"Cold tail"??

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MagicMelon

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So our labradoodle went a bit weird last night. She'd had a walk in the morning in the rain so got wet but wasn't cold as such. She got out of her bed in the evening looking unhappy - tail between her legs, kept getting up and changing position on the floor and generally not happy. Took her to the vet this morning who has diagnosed "cold tail" caused by her getting wet yesterday?! Is this a common thing? Ive never heard of it! She said most dogs only get it once, is this really true? If not, should I be putting her waterproof coat on when out for wet walks in future? She's on painkillers now and is now sleeping better so nothing much to worry about but I dont want her to get it again as she was clearly in pain with it. I dont get how this can be caused just by getting wet?!
 
Mine has had it once after swimming solidly for half hour in winter. Hes a springer x lab, he is really bad at shaking himself properly after a swim, often missing his back end.

It can last about 12hours-24hours.

It may be a one off. But if you have a repeat episode I would definitely be asking the vet to investigate.

Its common cause is swimming in cold water for prolonged periods so I would be wondering why just because dog got wet? Was the dog really cold?
 
Ours get it very occasionally after a days shooting if there is a lot of swimming. One also got it from falling backwards down the stairs. I have never seen it just after a bit of rain, was she shivering like mad? Could she have banged it on something? I believe, like a horse tying up, if they get it once it makes them more likely to get it again. We just keep a few rimadyl to hand but it is a horrible and painful condition. I have been told you can prevent it by massaging the tail muscles - the wag ones - well to get them warmed up and disperse any lactic acid build up. (Told by a field trialler and I admit young lab hasn't had it since I started giving her a bum rub after a hard day).
 
We have a Vizsla who is terribly prone to limber tail or swimmers tail.
He will suffer if he's out in the rain and cold for any length of time. We bought him a waterproof rug that covers the base of his tail and it does seem to help. Some dogs just seem more prone than others I'm afraid.

Edited to add your description of the symptoms does sound like limber tail to me. Ours can't get comfortable, sitting is I especially uncomfortable, the wagging stops and sometimes a low degree of swelling is visible at the top of the tail.
Hope your dog feels better soon OP
 
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Strange then as no no sign at all of any shivering after the walk, and it wasn't even a long walk - only about half an hour, yes it was raining and windy though. She wasn't in any water and was on the extendi-lead the whole time so its not like she even went out of our sight at any point to have damaged it. Then the rest of that day she was in the house just mooching about until it suddenly came on, we noticed it when she got up after a sleep in her bed.

Yes, she does agility training once a week but thats on Mondays, this begun on Wed night and she didnt have any falls or anything there.

She seems quite a bit happier just in the last few hours today but obviously Im keen for it not to happen again. minesadouble - thanks, will put her waterproof rug on whenever its wet in future just to try and avoid it!
 
Happened to my mum's labrador once after I bathed him with a hose outside something Id done many times before. He spent a day with what seemed like a broken tail, then back to normal again. He didn't seem bothered by it still running around like a loony just had a strange limp tail. Don't think he ever had it again since
 
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