I have just had a call from Dogslife, the Labrador veterinary research programme who are interested in Limber Tail syndrome which affects active gun dogs. I went through a detailed questionnaire on Benson's activities, particularly those associated with swimming. As I had never heard of the condition before, I had a look on line and found that it is is a degenerative disease of the spinal canal which is not caused by swimming. Pain is the main symptom which is treated with anti inflammatory drugs. Anything else known?.
That's a surprise , I always understood it to be caused by exposure to very cold water , Do you have a link to the article please ? Thanks
My experience of it...... Dexter was diagnosed as a young dog after swimming for too long with older,stronger dogs. He was definitely not swimming in cold water,it was the sea in the Summer so it was like a warm bath....I was told that not drying them off properly around the tailarea can increase the chances of it occurring.....I didn't dry him off properly that day if I'm honest....I have done every other time since...
That article says: According to Dr. Steiss, researchers don’t believe there’s any underlying pathology to the muscles in afflicted dogs, nor is there any suggestion that a propensity for limber tail is genetic. As noted, while some breeds may be more prone to it – most likely due to their higher activity levels – any dog with a full tail is susceptible.
Harley has had this twice. First time was really bad. She hadn't been swimming, but it had turned cold that day. We were out for the usual amount of time and didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Second time was after running around with another lab - that day we were out for a shorter amount of time as she had been running a lot. My vet said that he had seen a lot of labs with it, but also a lot of 'large breeds'. I now watch her closely and endure she has regular rests. We have metacam here and Tramadol incase it happens again.
Scout has had limber tail three times. The first time it was very bad. He couldn't get comfortable in any position and kept nibbling at it. I took him to the vet, who I don't think knew about limber tail, but by the time we got there he'd improved and his tail was up probably due to adrenaline through fear of the vet. It took a few days for him to get back to normal but the vet didn't prescribe anything. The other two times it wasn't as bad. Scout has never been swimming so that can't be the cause but each time he'd been very wet from rain and had done a lot of wagging because of visitors. Scott, his brother, has never had limber tail.
