Split open the end of her tail

[Becky and Wilson]

Ever since she was a tiny puppy, Paisley has had a bald patch at the end of her tail, she barely has any feathering on her tail anyway, never seen another cocker with a tail like hers!  I think when she was a baby Wilson either trod on the end of it or she really bashed it as it's a little bit bent!

Anyway, over Christmas she was really excited and repeatedly wacked it onto walls and doors etc, I said to OH I'm amazed she never splits the end!

I spoke too soon!

2 days after that I noticed blood all splattered on the walls!  I've been putting a plaster on it when we go on walks (amazingly they stay on) and trying to keep a bandage on it around the house with cotton wool balls underneath to try to form some sort of padded end so it doesn't keep splitting when she wags.

I got home from work yesterday and the bandage had come off, she yelped as she wagged her tail and it looked a bit weepy and bloody 

I don't want to take her to the vet as I'm scared they will want to dock it, they did that to my friends weim!

Does anyone have any suggestions?  I think it needs to get some air to it to dry it out so today she is at my mums and I have lined a crate with bedding(so if she wags it won't split) and taped a sock to the end to stop her licking it and to hopefully keep the air flowing round it!  If it falls off I have given my mum the buster collar to use!

She does look sorry for herself bless her!

[Beezzzkneez]

To be honest if it doesn't heal up soon you would be better off going to the vet's - if it doesn't heal it will need to be amputated, especially as it seems to be one of those problems that is likely to recur. Someone else will probably have better advise for the current situation, though.

[8 Hairy Feet]

Um this is probably not what
you want to hear but here goes;
My genny-boy (not a cocker) had
a really long whippy tail(much like
a Weim) which he damaged right at the
end after 3 weeks of trying to get the
area healed and being back and forward
to Vet we had to go for docking too
We had a short dock because although
the vet suggested longer I didn't think
that we would get healed up as quick due
to wagging damage(if that makes sense)
I would dearly to have loved him to have
kept his tail but as you have found out
protecting them during healing is really
hard.
He recovered well and it didn't make
any difference to him once healed.
I do hope you manage to get healed up
but it's not the end of the world
should you have to go down the docking
route.
steffxxx
ps we send Paisley :luv:some wuvs
and cocker kissesxxx

[Becky and Wilson]

If I can't get it to heal then yes I will obviously have to take her to the vets! 

I love her little tail and would hate to have it docked but if that's the only optin then I will have to take it.  I compete at agility with her so I hope it doesn't affect her balance and also hope that we can still go to crufts (if we're lucky enough to qualify), I know docked dogs are not allowed to compete where the puplic pay to enter, not sure how that works if it was for medical grounds?!

Fingers crossed a bit of TLC and my handy work with socks and bandages will heal it!

I've been using Savlon antiseptic cream on it to prevent infection but should I use Hibi Scrub instead?  I'm not really sure how to use it, do you wipe it on neat? Do you have to rinse it off afterwards?  The instructions on the bottle aren't clear!

[Karma]

I'm fairly sure there are medical exemptions for the docking rules....
And I'm sure they would only dock once more conservative attempts to heal it had been tired...

I would get her to the vets, she might need antibiotics or something in case an infection gets into the wound... 

[Sheryl]

I agree, they won't dock unless they have no choice.   Even if they do suggest it, you can insist they try other things first xx

[Helen]

  I compete at agility with her so I hope it doesn't affect her balance and also hope that we can still go to crufts

Hope she's ok and you don't have to dock but unless it's a very very short dock I wouldn't worry about balance - working cockers are faster and more agile than show's (in general) and function perfectly well with a half dock    I'm not turning this into a docking debate, just stating this from experience of owning a docked dog.

Tail injuries can be very difficult to heal and once injured the risk of the split reoccurring is high - often it is far kinder to the dog to amputate some of the tail   

[Penelope]

Hi there, hibiscrub needs to be diluted before applying but it is absolutely brilliant stuff and hopefully will stop /clear up any infection before it gets a hold.
Really hope you can save her tail - good luck!

[pipkoi]

Good luck with Paisley's tail. Hope you manage to get it healed. Presumably, if necessary the vets could just shorten her tail a little. She has got a long one.
How is it looking this evening?

[lottiescat]

Hi
Probably not want you want to hear but Harris our springer Cross damaged the tip of his tail at about 6 months.The vets operated but because he wags his tail so much he damaged it even further and had to have even more amputated! Horrors, but vets knew my views and just took off the minimal Length bearing in mind that his whole body moves when he wags his tail so if too long further damage is almost inevitable, I'm pleased with the result and it doesn't look docked.

[Sarah.H]

I agree, they won't dock unless they have no choice.   Even if they do suggest it, you can insist they try other things first xx

Just what I was going to write 

I wouldn't want to risk a nasty infection.

[Becky and Wilson]

I used some hibi scrub on it last night and this morning it looks a little better, I've taped a sock to the end again today to stop her licking it (she could still lick it with the buster collar on!  ) If it doesn't start to improve by tomorrow morning I will take her to the vets.  I always feel like they give expensive antibiotics for no reason though and in my experience they never seem to do any good!

She is always wagging her tail, even when she's running her tail is going round in circles, she looks like a helicopter!  And I'm sure she wags it against things for attention and extra wagging effect!  She used to wake us up in the morning by wagging her tail into the bedside table as it woke us up with the banging!  You can watch her getting excited and you can see her back end moving to the side to find something to smack her tail on!  So I think if the vet just took a bit off it wouldn't heal either!  I wouldn't want her to end up going for 2 ops!

[saffysmum]

Sounds daft but get to B&Q and get some pipe insulation.  You can get in to stay on with plenty of tie-wraps but remember she won't be able to bend her tail as much.  Our friend used this method to get the split healed then I keep the hair at the end of the tail long now(sort of like a lions tail) to protect it.  Still splits every now and then and she goes back to the lagging.
I'm sorry to tell you but once it's split, it's usually a re-occuring injury.  This is from a woman with a springer with an amputated tail.  Thing with it is, you need to get it done sooner rather than later as later in life, it causes all sorts of problems as the blood supply to the tail isn't what it was so amputations then are a bit more risky with infections and healing.  We tried to keep the tail too but after 6 months of it re-splitting we decided to go for it.  And we haven't looked back(pardon the pun!).  Our girl has a lovely length of tail as if she had been docked properly and it seems to wagg twice as fast now and also hasn't knocked anything off the coffee table in a while!

[Jonnydog]

My poor springer had to have a chunk of his tail amputated due to repeated injuries. My vet was quite reluctant to take it back very far and it took forever to heal and I feel it's still vulnerable. If it does come down to amputation, I hope your vet will take enough off to prevent further injuries. Again, probably not what you want to hear, sorry.

[ebony girl]

hi, i posted on here some months ago about my pup Gypsy having to have part of her tail amputated. Gypsy dislocated the end of hers when she was about 10 weeks old during some boisterous play with our other cocker. To cut a long story short, we tried to splint the tail, bandage the tail, etc etc but it was still painful if she wagged it really fast (she would yelp and sit down) and if she tapped the end on the wall she would cry out. By the time she was 14 weeks the tail was inflammed where the dislocation was and she didnt like anyone to touch it. 

We made the heartwrenching decision with our trusted vet to amputate just below the dislocation, meaning she lost a couple of inches of tail. I was devasted  ....cried when i dropped her off for theatre, cried all day, cried when i picked her up....you get the gist..

Anyway, it was bandaged for a week with a buster collar on....took the bandage off, it was abit sore for a day or so if she tapped it after that but after a few days she was fine.

Gypsy then really came out of herself....i thought she was loving and playful anyway but i realised how much her tail had been holding her back because of it discomfort....shes now 10 months old and an absolute delight, shes funny, playful and the most cuddly dog ive ever know.. and her tail feathering hides the fact that its shorter and no-one ever notices.

She is also shown (only as a hobby of mine, nothing serious) but i did ask the KC if she could be shown with her tail, i enclosed a letter from the vet explaining that it was for medical grounds, and they agreed she could be shown and that the length of her tail would not be a problem.

She is also going to start agility as soon as she becomes a year, and i have no reason to think it will affect her in anyway.

sorry if this post is long, but i think the point im trying to make is that sometimes these things have to be done, and quite often they can have a positive effect on the dogs life, i really do hope you can save the tail but if you cant then look for the positives in the situation....

love from lucy....Ebony and Gypsy xxx