Cooper was in a pool today and hours later he had a very sore tail....he cant sit down.....is this limber tail? What med can I give him.....aspirin? Just to get him through the night? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Ah Yvonne,it sounds like it it and it's really uncomfortable for them .Our couple of episodes lasted about 3 days....We were prescribed metacam by the vet.I can't advise you about any 'human' pain relief and I'd be reluctant too anyway.Take Cooper in as soon as you can to get him some meds x
Poor boy. It does sound like limber tail. My vets gave us metacam too. It took Harley about 5 days to recover, with no walks for 4 of these. Hope Cooper is ok.
Bit late now! I have seen a reference to a warm compress at the base of the tail helps improve blood supply to the area. Hope he feels a bit better soon, I remember Harley @Naya was so miserable with it! ref:Grey Bruce Pet Hospital http://bestpethomeremedies.com/dog-limber-tail-home-treatment/
My Vet has OK'd one adult 325 gram aspirin for infrequent use in a dog over 50 pounds. ONe really helped Oban when he had cold tail. I think you want cold compresses to bring down the swelling. Not warm.
Thank you all.....I had TWO anti-inflammatory pills that vet had prescribed for Cooper some time ago (and she had told me to stop at that time) so put one inside a blueberry together with a handful of blueberries and his kibble last night and he swallowed it (guess he didnt notice it was there!!)....he could not sit down but lay down until we went to bed. He slept all night in my bedroom....got up this morning and he was wagging his tail!!! Gave him the last pill in blueberry this morning and he now is sitting on his bum. Incredible! He was in day care yesterday and they just opened a doggie pool.....a large pool....and he did a lot of swimming in it and that must have caused his limber tail....Poor chap. No more pool for him for a while! It is incredible, though, how quickly he bounced back....specially with how miserable he looked yesterday with his tail hanging!! They are such trouper's these Labs... I felt so bad for him....Thanks for all your answers....
Yes and that would have been my thinking also..a cold compress. I guess the pathology maybe a bit different from the usual soft tissue injury, and that's why they recommend a warm (not hot) compress. Good subject thought to discuss with a vet. http://www.greybrucepethospital.com/2014/06/18/a-tale-of-the-tail/
You're right, thanks. Since I ice Oban's leg every day to keep swelling down after exercise, and cold is usually recommended for swelling/inflamation it seemed reasonable the same would be done for the tail. But I just googled and any sites that said to use any kind of compress said warm. It is inflammation in the muscle though so I can see how warm would help too. Several googles did say one buffered aspirin was ok, and no site mentionned a dog weight caveat. Maybe really little dogs don't get this?
Both Ginger and Tilly have had "Cold Tail" at least once. It did not seem to cause them a lot of discomfort, but they looked kind of sad for a couple of days. I think the more times they go swimming, the less likely they are to get it. All three of our dogs have swum for miles without getting it. It seems like it was an early experience for both of them. Cooper has not had ever had it.
