There is a condition known as cold water tail, or limber tail syndrome that affects particularly gundog type breeds eg. Labs and retrievers. It's where the tail goes limp from the base down and can be brought on by trauma, swimming in cold water and excessive exercise after a period of rest, especially in cold weather. The tissue in the tail gets inflamed and presses on the nerves causing the tail to hang limp. Penny is currently suffering her second bout of it and I just wondered if anyone else's dogs get it? Apparently it's common in gundog circles but vets don't really know anything about it - certainly when I took penny to the vet for her first bout of it I actually educated the vet!! I don't know what brought on this episode - she was fine, I put her in the car to come home from the vet, and she got out the car with a limp tail. I think she must have banged it in the car. I've given her some metacam and will do for a couple of days as it can be uncomfortable. Bless her she can't get comfy - doesn't want to lie or sit on it and keeps nibbling at it so it's obviously irritating her.
Re: Cold water tail Yes, my Lab has had it and my vet knew all about Limber Tail Had Penny been swimming? It can be painful for the dog, but usually resolves itself in a couple of days; Metacam will help with the pain
Re: Cold water tail The last time she went swimming was Saturday, I wouldn't thought it would have come on straight away if that was what caused it?
Re: Cold water tail My first Lab, Tammy, used to get it. Normally it would be after she had been swimming in the pools in the sand dunes. The top of the tail would swell slightly and she would carry it to one side.
Re: Cold water tail My Labs Limber tail wasn't straight away after swimming so Penny's could have been due to that.
Re: Cold water tail [quote author=Oberon link=topic=5416.msg68248#msg68248 date=1397511520] I think that Angela's Dexter had this happen.... [/quote] He did. It was brought on by me letting him swim too much in one go,probably only the second time he'd be in and he was playing with older dogs that are red hot retrievers and trying to keep up. He swam in the morning and it became obvious by tea time so onset was 10 hours?He had painkillers and it took about 3 days for it to get its full range of wag back.its never recurred but I've never let him swim that amount in one go since.A friend in the UK's lab got it when they had not dried her off properly after she'd been on a normal walk and been in cold water. Ah I hope the drugs are taking the edge off it,Dex was exactly the same,just couldn't get comfy x
Re: Cold water tail Yes she is doing a bit better today, thanks. She has about half her wag back at the moment! She's had some more metacam this morning. The first time she had it, it was about three days before she was back to normal so hopefully by tomorrow we should be almost there! I guess maybe it could have been caused by swimming on Saturday then? It was pretty cold in the wind while we were at the all about dogs show and she did the jump jet several times so was fully wet, I did take her equa fleece though and made sure she had it on after she came out of the water. Ah well, it's just one of those things. Apparently if it's happened once it's likely to happen again.
Re: Cold water tail Scout has had it twice. The first time he was very uncomfortable with it. Couldn't sit or lie down so I took him to the vet. He hates the car and by the time we'd got to the vet I'm guessing the adrenaline the stress of the car creates had fixed his tail !!!! The second time it didn't seem to bother him so I left it alone and it was back to normal in a couple of days. Scout seems to get it from over wagging when damp !!!! I call it Labrador droop. ;D
Re: Cold water tail Id never heard of this before, but Murphy quite often lets his tail droop down from about a quarter of the way down it. I just thought it was him being lazy holding it lol. I think it probably is just him being lazy but i will keep an eye out for it now as he has been swimming lots more recently.
Re: Cold water tail Oh dear - Gypsy has cold tail. She had three or four swims in the reservoir yesterday, it must have been too cold :'( She's eating fine but not wanting to play at all. Tatze is very confused and is being a naughty girl pinching shoes etc - I think she's bored without her usual per-walk hoolying partner! Rest for a couple of days, I think.
Re: Cold water tail She's showing signs of improvement now - I gave her some metacam this morning and have rested her, no walks. Tatze and I have just returned from a walk and Gypsy just tried to hump her. A good sign imo ;D
Re: Cold water tail Gypsy is completely better now, I'm glad to say. Hoolying like mad as I type. No more swimming until the weather is much better! She doesn't have a Lab otter tail, she has a long, thin tail - so maybe swimming will be a problem for her. Never mind - she's going to be a working dog, but her work won't require her to swim
Re: Cold water tail So glad she is better,they seem so miserable with it [quote author=Boogie link=topic=5416.msg160157#msg160157 date=1430407255] She doesn't have a Lab otter tail, she has a long, thin tail - [/quote] Dexter was the same.....I wonder if that is a factor ? Although I'd have thought a heavy otter tail would give their lower back muscles a massive work load and maybe make them more susceptible? There are obviously several factors that can cause it...ours was definitely not cold,it was over excercise for sure....
Re: Cold water tail my thread about Lily's tail issue got dumped in the change. I am sure it was the same issue rather than related to her lady bit exam. Isn't it odd how their tails look excessively thick when the have limber tail though. :-\
