Sighthound tail injuries

Brownmare

Brownmare

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My beautiful whippet pup has broken the tip of her tail and is currently in the vets having it amputated - the break is only an inch from the end but hte vet reckoned they would amputate another inch further up to be safe (mainly as they insisted on waiting so long before agreeing ot amputate that infection started to set in :mad: )

The vet has warned me there is a chance the op site may break down but was very vague on what can be done to avoid this. I would really appreciate any tips / info / healing vibes as I would hate her to lose her whole tail!
 
Alec - tbh I'm not sure when she broke it, I just became aware that there was a bit of a kink in the end of her tail then one day I saw it was almost at right angles but there was no surface injury and it did not appear to be bothering her. I bandaged it to protect it and try and keep it straight but took her to the vets a few days later as I had one booked in for neutering anyway. The vet advised to keep it bandaged but bathe it in hibiscrub as the skin had started to ulcerate and it was now bothering her. The ulceration worsened over the next 4 days and I emailed photos to the vet who prescribed antibiotics but 2 days later the ulceration had completely circled the tail and it was looking like a lambs tail about to drop off so I insisted on the op today. I hope that helps!
 
It will break down - I've seen it several times now. The best thing is usually to dock it to about 6 inches long to stop them knocking it as it's healing.
 
The problem OP is that the vet will claim that you left it too long before seeking advice (though I would probably have done as you did!).

Weeping tails are always a problem, and I've known of a decent Lurcher and a Dane, both of which had Op after Op, taking off about 2-3" at a time, until in the end, they were docked short.

In your shoes, I'd do as EQUIDAE suggests, and have a near total dock.

Alec.
 
Wow! Real harbingers of doom you lot are! No positives or help at all then? Ah well thanks anyway but I'm not going to rush back to the vet and have the rest of her tail off just yet.
 
I know if racing greyhounds damage their tails then only the damaged portion is removed. After all dogs use their tails for balance when turning at high speed.
When my friends dog damaged his tail we used foam pipe lagging to protect it. After all a flatcoat can wag for England and as a show dog we were v keen to keep his whole tail. The lagging worked well and his tail healed.
Good luck with your whippets recovery
 
think it's being realistic tbh - unless it heals in the first 10 days - the rest will probably need docked short.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, a syringe is a great idea and foam lagging! I have just made a protector out of a square of neoprene cut off a horse boot so fingers crossed that will work but if not I will try your ideas :)

One problem I have is that she can still get at the tail even with a lampshade collar on - darn pointy nosed long necked beast! I think I will have to get a bigger collar and cut it down to make it narrower or something
 
We were on the brink of docking our lab last month as she had an ongoing injury, not as bad as yours but as the first vet faffed around it took two lots of strong ABs to fix it in the end. When discussing amputation my vet said it was up to me how much to take off but he would recommend a half dock, so enough for the dog to have a tail but short enough to stop future injuries.
You can get things called 'dog ends' to protect tails. :-)
Good luck with her.
 
From experience (multiple times) it is always bad news. I have never known a dog recover from a partial dock - I do hope yours is the exception to the rule...
 
Well Equidae, I had a rescue greyhound and she kept injuring the end of her tail. Every time it healed it got injured again. It was as if it was just too long for her!
We had just the tip amputated and it healed beautifully, never bothered her again and you could barely tell it wasn't a full tail.
Good luck OP, I hope your whippet doesn't need to lose too much.
 
Take a lampshade for a much larger dog, reduce the width and tape it together. I just had to do this for my little saluki foster pup who had a tail injury. It was not at the end of her tail but it had probably been caught in a door and had got infected, two lots of antibiotics plus a gel dressing removed once every five days and her tail is now perfect. This might give you an idea of what kind of dressing would stay on. The pup' s exercise did not have to be restricted.

The dressing is made up of a hydrocolloid gel patch on the raw bit, plus a cushioning layer, followed by some vet wrap, anchored by elastoplast.

2016-04-11-109_zpszrt8pses.jpg


Three weeks later:
2016-05-04-169_zpsdxmdizef.jpg
 
My very old - a 17- broke her tail half way along. The bone was protruding. She did it in front of me and was taken to the vets straight away. Because of her age they didn't want to operate at all, so they manipulated the tail under a local anaesthetic and padded and bandaged it, making a splint. She had the dressing changed every couple of days for about six weeks and made a complete recovery, having only a slight kink to her tail. She continued to wag it until the day we had to have her PTS aged 19.
 
Chiffy - how did you manage your dogs recovery? Did you keep the wound covered etc?

gryff - that is amazing! I wish I had your vet!

I am struggling to trust my vets as it is a new practice to me and I don't know them well enough yet. Maybe I was too hasty asking for an amputation but it's too late now!
 
Brownmare said:
I am struggling to trust my vets as it is a new practice to me and I don't know them well enough yet. Maybe I was too hasty asking for an amputation but it's too late now!
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I think what the vets have said meshes well with advice on here and your wish for her to have more than a stump? Go with what they recommend.
 
Tails are a disaster to get to knit after an amputation in an adult dog.So vets tend to be very reluctant to chop off because of worries about failure to heal and infection. Between the thin skin and the high motion of the area they are very prone to wound breakdown....I' ve had pretty good luck so far though.so not every tail gives issues! depending on the size of the dog a syringe tip bandage can help.so opened ended large syringe with the end cut off bandaged to the tail at the tip allowing the wound edge to breath but protecting the area from bangs and restricting motion..usually only last around 48 hour's before being removed.or in the larger dogs as someone above mentioned a foam lagging to reduce movement.its the swishing motion of a wagging happy tail puts the sutures under pressure so reducing movement helps a lot! We usually bandage and recheck frequently to check for necrosis and breakdown....start on the medicated honey drrssings as soon as any signs of issues to encourage healing.. And obviously dont allow the dog to lick and chew at all.
 
A quick update - the stitches failed 3 days before they were due to be taken out so the vet removed them and prescribed antibiotics but as the bone was not exposed she suggested allowing it to heal on its own. She also gave me a tube of Manuka honey wound ointment (which turned out ot be only 25% manuka honey) so I swapped that for the proper stuff after a couple of days and wow the healing really speeded up! We have amended the dressing to a melolin square round the tail tip covered with a syringe and then a gauze finger bandage over the top for when she is outside. This combo seems to be doing the trick although her tail has bruised a little where the top of the syringe sits (probably due to being jumped on by the collie!).

Fingers crossed for this to continue!!
 
Brownmare said:
A quick update - the stitches failed 3 days before they were due to be taken out so the vet removed them and prescribed antibiotics but as the bone was not exposed she suggested allowing it to heal on its own. She also gave me a tube of Manuka honey wound ointment (which turned out ot be only 25% manuka honey) so I swapped that for the proper stuff after a couple of days and wow the healing really speeded up! We have amended the dressing to a melolin square round the tail tip covered with a syringe and then a gauze finger bandage over the top for when she is outside. This combo seems to be doing the trick although her tail has bruised a little where the top of the syringe sits (probably due to being jumped on by the collie!).

Fingers crossed for this to continue!!
Click to expand...

Thank you for the update, sounds like you are getting there. :-)
 
Resurecting this to give a quick update. Tail is now fully healed and has been unbandaged for nearly 2 weeks now. Looking really good and just needs the hair to grow back now!

To say I'm relieved is an understatement! !
 
Well done Brownmare, and the said woofer!! 'Generally', the prognosis is that for a successful outcome, the tail should be removed, BUT every now and then with greater effort and care, a 'repair' can be affected.

The problem all so often is that with those dogs with full tails which wag and incessantly, it's the dog itself which prevents proper healing. It seems that you've overcome this!! One weeny proviso, it will be interesting to hear if the recovery includes a normal hair growth and would you let us know, in time?

Alec.
 
Really good news Brown mare.
In answer to Alec's post, young lab, who never had an amputation but did have a serious tail injury, has never regrown her hair. Vet is not hopeful she will manage a shooting season without reinjuring it. That is not applicable to BM as her dog is hopefully not crashing through cover. :-)
 
So far it is looking like the actual scar will not regrow any hair but the surrounding hair should grow to cover the tip and provide some protection. I will try and update further down the line and fingers crossed she won't crash through any cover and damage it - far too much of a princess for that! The biggest danger is probably wagging it against a wall.
 
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