Help with way to happy tail?

[Kadreena]

So roxy has this problem where she splits the tip of her tail open, when she gets excited she doesnt just wag her tail she wags her whole back end off the ground. Her tail hits things really hard and then the tip bleeds fairly often and I cant bandage it cause either she bites off the bandage or wags it off. Normally I just straddle her hips and hold her still so I can apply pressure until the bleeding stops. Is there a better method? if it was only one exciting thing that made her do this I would work on desensitizing her to it but its not, I know I could put a cone on her to stop her from biting the bandage but it wouldnt be fun for her to have a cone on everyday of her life.

[Curly_07]

I was going to suggest wrapping it, as that's what many people do with happy tail. If its as severe as it seems, many vets and owners will opt for docking it a little.

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[AllisonPibbleLvr]

They key to bandaging (in my experience) is to keep it very light. I would use one gauze square folded over the tip of Buddy's tail, just enough cling to hold in in place and two rounds of bandage tape. Anything heavier and she would just fling it off. If she's chewing it, you may have to use a large cone.

Some people also suggested taping her tail to her leg, but because of her tail set, this wouldn't have allowed her to poop.

If it becomes a very frequent problem, your vet may offer tail amputation but this is sort of a last case scenario.

[Kadreena]

Ill try lightly bandaging it again, I really hope it never comes down to amputation her tail is so cute and exspressive.
Seeing as it is pretty much daily or multiple times a day the cone doesnt seem like a good option. Poor dog spendingher life in the cone of shame.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

Use the cone until it has time to really heal properly, that's all.

[Kadreena]

If she wouldnt split it again that would be great, ill try to get a video of her wiggles in action so you can see the crazy that can be trggered by something as simple as my returning from the bathroom.

Lol I may just have to line my walls and furniture with padding.

[AllisonPibbleLvr]

I actually tried copper pipe insulation to protect her tail-- it didn't work either.

It was a problem for us in our apartment because we had narrow hallways and when we would come home, that's where she greeted us.

Our problem resolved itself when we bought our house and now she greets us in the living room when we get home. Maybe you should buy her a new house?

[Kadreena]

Thats our problem too! That and she needs a mansion sized crate or she hits the sides of that too.

We just moved into this place, I think my boyfriend would be a little annoyed if we had to move cause roxy cant control her wigglebum.

[Mooresmajestic]

To get a bandage to stick better, shave the hair off past the spot you need to tape. The tape will stick better. Also, ask your vet for a roll of tape. The stuff sold at the store doesn't stick as well.

For a hard barrier, take a pill bottle and cut the bottom off. Cover the edges with tape or sand smooth. Slide bottle (now a hard plastic tube) over the end of the tail. Tape on, making sure about 1/4 inch of bottle extends past the end of the tail. This can be used over a light bandage if more padding is needed. Make sure the bottle isn't too wide either, you don't want the bottle to bang the tail. The space should be just enough to slide your pinky finger between the bottle and tail/ bandage at the tip, the "top" should be snug but not tight. The "wound" should be left open to the air as much as possible to help with healing.

We used to use this all the time for happy tail when I worked in a full service vet. It really helps.

[PitBull-Lady]

Here is a topic I started a while back.

In our case, the happy tail starts froma few things, either knocking it on the wall/crate etc. OR from a staph infection.

Good luck, we've found a mix of Simplicef and Liquid Bandage works. It's a b**tch.
We did the syringe tip and all she did was fling it off - even after the vet said she wrapped it tight!

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=145826&p=1919624&hilit=happy+tail#p1919624

[TrainTrax]

Honey also had a problem with the happy tail. Most days our hallways looked like a scene from CSI . The kennel usually started the problem. She'd bust open her tail in the kennel and it was a mess from there. Heres how I solved the kennel problem. Go to your local dollar store and buy three bathroom rugs. The cheapest you can find, they don't need to be pretty. Cut a small hole on each corner and zip tie them to the inside of the kennel, carpet side facing in. Now when she whacks her tail in the kennel, it'll be hitting carpet, not metal. That's all it took to solve our happy tall problem. Honey would be crated while I worked, so that gave her tail enough time to heal over

[Kadreena]

Thanks for all your fantastic suggestions!

Ill definetly do the carpet in the kennel cause thats her worst spot, and ill grab some tape next week when were at the vet for her spay.

[Amie]

Also, give her a lot more exercise. Oscar used to get brutal happy tail - he's got the scars years later - until we got a second dog. Now he's more tired and not as high energy in the house. I don't recommend a second dog for anyone, but the exercise could really help.

[Kadreena]

I really dont think its a lack of exersize, she gets 3 or 4hours a day and on weekends more. Including running, walks, flirt pole and when shes interested fetch.

[Shoshana]

Peanut smacked her tail open once. Yikes that took a looong time to heal!

Once you can finally get it healed, figuring out where the dog originally hurt their tail seems to be key. Peanut did it on the metal trim the builder had in the doorway to the garage. We took down the metal trim and put up wood. Also didn't let her greet us in the doorway!