Tail Issues

[Rachel Barkel]

HOW TO HEAL A TAIL WOUND!

When our goldendoodle Dolly was several months old, the very tip of her tail was caught in a slamming door. She must be immune to pain, because she didn't even whimper! We didn't even realize anything was wrong until we started noticing drops of blood all over the kitchen! Since it was late at night, we decided to wait and see what happened overnight. When we woke up in the morning, Dolly bounded onto the bed to wake us up with kisses, and I kid you not, within moments the bedroom looked like the scene of a slasher film. As her tail would wag, it would spray blood droplets all over the place, including our faces! That part kind of makes me laugh. What a mess! We brought her to an emergency vet right away, and since it was such a tiny bit of the tail that was injured, the vet thought he could medically glue it together.

(Our usual vet, who we love was on vacation, so we ended up at the emergency vet in town)

This method was such a huge mistake. He told us to keep it wrapped for as long as she would keep the bandage on, but since she didn't mess with it, we waited about a week. I think we were scared to see what the wound would look like! When we took the bandage off, the damage was done. The tip of her tail was hard as a rock, and over time it turned black and fell off. (Not a fun find, let me assure you.)

At that point, Dolly and I were living in a new city (grad school) and we went to a new vet, who recommended a small amputation to allow for a clean wound site. All went well, and two days before Dolly was due to have her stitches removed, they split open, bringing us back to square one.

It had been months of cleaning the wound, wrapping the wound, spraying the bandages with bitters so she'd leave them alone, etc. I was completely at the end of my rope, and the recommendation from the vet was a second surgery. I went back to our previous vet (the one we love) and asked for a second opinion. His recommendation was to simply clean the wound with warm soapy water or a saline solution, and keep it dry/allow it to get oxygen. I was shocked to hear such a simple idea.

We tried this, and it worked well, but the problem with young dogs is their energy level. Dolly would wag her tail and hit it on random objects, breaking open the wound again. This is how I got a magical idea.

I went to Home Depot and found a foam tube used for pipe insulation. I bought a huge amount of it for a mere $3, brought it home and poked holes in it to allow the sides of her tail oxygen. I first covered the furry part of Dolly's tail in non-sticky tape, then placed the insulation tube on the tip of Dolly's tail, with about an inch sticking out from the tip to protect it when she wagged, and then I taped the other end to her tail. I would take it off and re-do this daily so I could wash and dry the wound, but within two to three weeks, her tail was completely healed. For a checkup, I brought her into the vet that recommended a second amputation, and they were shocked! Dolly is now a happy and healthy eight month old puppy without bandages! The fur on the tip of her tail is even almost back to its normal length, all thanks to this easy fix!

Tail injuries are the most difficult injuries to heal, and they are exasperating for both dog and owner. If you or someone you know is dealing with an issue like this, please enlighten them with this idea! Just wanted to help out someone else who might be dealing with the same problem! Thanks!

(If there are any questions, I would be happy to answer them!)

[Bryce P]

Cute picure! Im glad to see she is ok.

Good Idea

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

that was very creative of you and you saved Dolly from having to get more of her tail amputated. 

[BG and Gavin]

Talk about thinking outside of the box.  Good for you!  Kind of you to share this idea with others.  Thank you.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Thank you for posting this great idea. Our old Lab had a wound on her tail too and I remember the blood droplets, etc. It was so long ago, I can't even remember what we did, but this sure sounds like an easy fix. I am glad you came up with it for Dolly and spared her any further surgeries.

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

We just went through a tail amputation with our doodle Simba.  Unfortunately, the entire lower half of his tail was receiving no bloodflow due to a raging infection and some nerve damage.  It is amazing how differently our vets handled post op.  From day one there was never any bandage and we never washed or dried the wound.  We just let it heal naturally without ever applying anything.  Simba was stuck in a HUGE cone for 3 weeks (as a precaution until the stitches came out and for about 5 days after) because we too were warned about how easily they can split the sutures resulting in a need for another amputation.  Simba now has a shorter but happily wagging tail and the hair is growing in nicely.  I am glad that you were able to find a remedy that helped Dolly heal and I just thought I'd add my two cents about a completely different approach to post tail amputation care for anyone who finds themselves in this situation and has a vet like ours. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Thanks for the info, you had a great idea!

[Christine & Shelby]

Great idea.. thanks for sharing and happy to hear she is doing well!

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

what a fantastic idea!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks for sharing.  I am glad that your tail had such a happy ending.

[Leslie J]

Ingenious!  Happy healing :)