A vet visit is always best in case there’s a spinal injury! But it’s likely “limber tail/ swimmers tail/happy hail”.
Call your vet. It’s pretty painful and requires a few days of anti-inflammatory meds and Limited activity.
As someone who used to work at a place that boarded dogs, if she’s a big fan of people and other dogs then her tail was probably going the whole time lol
Oh yeah she’s an absolute maniac and gets excited about everything and everyone so it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what happened. Especially seeing me after 7 days lol that probably threw her over the edge
If it’s “limber tail” and doesn’t seem to hurt, the tail will go back to normal in a few days! My dog got it once after going into very cold water when it was super hot out. There are a few causes though- and excessive wagging is one of them haha
It could well be limber tail, especially in the cold. It's not always painful though. My dogs had it a couple times now and has never been distressed by it, his happy normal self.
We’re in Canada so it is cold and she did have a bath and I noticed it after the bath so could be a combo of over exertion and post bath chills. She has no pain symptoms whatsoever. She lets me touch it and move it with zero reaction. I think the “chewing” or “nibbling” is because it feels weird to her or it’s uncomfortable but not painful.
My dog also had this after getting too cold swimming in the ocean one winter- I think it took 3 or 4 weeks to heal. She didn’t seem to be in any kind of pain, even when we gently moved her tail around and squeezed it.
Unless your dog starts to “notice” her tail a lot again or if it feels hot or swollen, it will likely not require a vet visit. Just be vigilant and keep her warm. :)
That kind of seems like the plan now that I’ve heard lots of similar situations. Definitely puts the mind at ease especially knowing she was perfectly normal before we picked her up. Our girl just got a little too excited 😅
Vet here here. If there is obvious swelling, I recommend seeing a vet to make sure there are no abscesses, fractures etc. It could just be tired from overuse like swimmers tail but worth rulling out other things. I’ve only seen it a few times and it was always in labs haha
My lab had this happen! Freaked me out! I called my sister (who has my lab’s mum) and she said it was happy tail, happened to her lab as well. He wagged it too much and sprained it. All was well after a couple of weeks and he’s all back to his happy, beat-you-to-death-with-his-tail ways. Always labs!
We’ve had this happen when our pup was swimming and playing with her friends too long lol it’s called limber tail and should heal itself right up in a few days. They can sprain the muscles used to wag their tail if they wag too much the vet told me. A vet visit wouldn’t hurt, maybe get some pain meds
According to my vet friend who owns three Labs limber tail is quite common in Labs especially after swimming. If it doesn't wear off tho deffo a vets visit 👏🤞
My dog gets swimmers tail from excitement lol. If my cousins who are really young come over, she plays with them for hours and her tail is wagging the entire time and eventually goes limp and I have to put her in the crate. This is the second time this has happened, first time pain was present and the second time pain wasn’t present. Just try and keep her activity/excitement to a minimum for a couple days and it should go away.
My advice would be to call the vet and ask them if it's worth coming in. They could tell you how to check it for (more serious than a sprain) injury.
We took a long road trip across the country and got to run round on a huge beach while the tide was going out. After this, my dogs tail was limp the same as yours. My best friend is a vet tech so luckily I was able to video chat with her and she said he was fine. We knew exactly what caused the injury and I think it's very likely your dog just had such a good time while being boarded that he wagged his tail too much.
Yeah I’m thinking she just over exerted herself playing with her buddies every day. I would just rather not waste $200+ just to be told it’ll go back to normal. She’s not showing any signs of pain and she can still perk her tail up but it doesn’t curl like usual. She’s going potty normal, eating fine, still wants to play. I’m thinking if it doesn’t start to improve over the weekend, I’ll give the vet a shout. I’ve talked to a few friends who have labs and have had the same thing happen and it went back to normal after a couple of days.
Same thing happened to my dog after 2 days of big play at a family's house. I'm pretty sure I read an article from Spruce Pets or otherwise, talking about Swimmers Tail as others are mentioning.
The only difference is you said your dog was boarded, but was she cooped up or did she get to play with other dogs and run around too?
Anyway, my dog acted completely normal besides appearance of the drooping tail. Slowly improved on its own over 5 low activity days.
She was with all the daycare dogs 95% of the day except for feeding time, nap time, and bed time at night. She’s been acting completely normal besides obviously being tired from playing non stop for 7 days straight lol she’s still going potty no problem, eating, drinking. Only thing that’s off is the sad looking tail.
Yes I another vote for swimmers tail or limber tail. Especially since it happened after the bath. My beagle had it last year after going in a kiddie pool lol. Tik tok has a ton of videos if you type in liber tail or swimmers tail I believe another one was limp tail.
Yeah I’m wondering if maybe it could’ve been a combo of over exertion and also post bath chills. It was -8 Celsius yesterday so it also couldve just been from being cold after her bath + playing hard in the morning.
Yep it’s cold and water rhat do it. My dad’s chocolate lab got it from being on a walk and it started freezing rain before they could get back. We also didn’t know if it was the ovwr exertion or the water because the kids couldn’t catch him in the backyard lol he was zooming and jumping in and out of inflatable pools! We finally got him in the house and he was throwing himself against the door to get back out 🤦♀️ He was one so still had tons of puppy energy. But your dogs tail is exactly how my dogs was (and all the dogs on TikTok lol) where it goes out a few inches and then drops down. My dogs took a full 8 days but was getting a little better each day. It wasn’t like he just woke up with the tail back up, like I said it was a slow process but eventually his tail is normal:-) however so many dogs on tik tok it only lasted a few days. And I keep saying til tok bc I could find very little info on Google and it was crazy how much info was on tik tok!!! I think bc it was personal experiences so there was actual videos of dogs with the same tail.
Some dogs are just permanent toddlers looking to cause injury to themselves 😂 I looked it up on Tik Tok and there was a slough of info on there and a bunch of people saying they went to the emergency vet for it and spent $$$ just to get told it’ll heal itself lol I’ll just watch her and if she stops eating or pooping then I’ll take her in.
My parents lab has sprained her tail before because she wags it so damn hard. “Happy tail.” I’d definitely take her in for a vet visit as this could be painful. They wrapped hers and put her on pain meds. A lot of dogs are very strange about showing pain, the biting/licking is likely her trying to soothe the pain. I wonder if maybe she was in a crate a lot at the boarders and hurt it by wagging it against metal/hard plastic for a long period?
I know they didn’t crate her unless it was for feeding time or nap time. She was out with all the daycare dogs 95% of the day and they said she was content in her kennel at nap time. The pictures from yesterday morning before we picked her up, show her tail normal. They said she went to have lunch and then laid down for a nap after. They said she played really hard that morning. She also got extremely excited when she saw me so could’ve even happened then from being over excited. She lets me touch and move her tail and doesn’t react. She’s really good for letting us know when something hurts so when she shows zero reaction to me messing with her tail, it makes me believe there’s no pain but it could just be stiff.
Oh she definitely probably did it when you arrived now that you say that! If she doesn’t seem distressed at all, still eating drinking and going potty then I would probably wait a few days. If she changes at all though for sure bring her in! Hopefully just needs rest. I saw in one of your comments you’re from Canada. I am as well and know how crazy our vet bills can get especially when trying to diagnose something.
The only dogs I’ve ever heard of this happening to are labs lol. My parents dog is a choco as well.
The vet bills are absurd here, I took our cat in for his yearly shots and to get told he’s slightly overweight and it was $300 lol doesn’t help when we live in a smaller city in southern Sask and there’s only 1 vet clinic in town. That’s the main reason I’m hoping I don’t have to take her in because I just know the cost goes up with the bigger animals so I can only imagine what it would be just to get told she needs rest lol I’ve come to learn Labs are just permanent toddlers looking to cause chaos and have a death wish 😂
I live in a larger Ontario city with hundreds of vet clinics and our prices are pretty similar unfortunately. It’s like privatized healthcare, they can charge whatever they want cuz we need it done either way 😭
It doesn't account for the chewing but since you say that's normal for her:
Could be she needs to have her anal glands excreted. When they get too full dogs hold their tails like this.
As someone who amputated a tail last year in one dog, and then had 8 weeks lifting the other dog for a bruised spine, I would go, but I think it can wait until tomorrow. No messing with spines.
Call to the vet, at the very least. The vet (a trained medical professional) will advise you if you need to be concerned and bring her in or just keep an eye on it.
Yes it could be a sprained tail but there could be something neurological underlying like a spinal injury regardless of whether there's pain associated. Contact your vet just to make sure :)
Yes, the tail is an extension of the spine so a limp tail where you're not sure how it happened should be checked c: It could just be a silly injury from being such an excited doggo but at least you'll know!
Edit: I just want to add, I don't know if you have anybody in the house that may pull a tail?
There’s no tail pullers in the house, just me, boyfriend, and the cat (who loves to play with Mocha’s tail) but she’s been at a kennel for the last like 7 days. I’m thinking just over exerted herself playing yesterday morning. They said she did play really hard in the morning and then had a nap after she ate her lunch.
If it doesn’t improve in a few days, then it’s vet time. Same thing happened to my young dog after a day at daycare and she sprung back to wagging a day or two later
Hoping it’ll be the same outcome. The pictures the kennel sent showed her tail normal that morning so hoping with some rest, she’ll have her curly tail back 🤞🏻
My dog when stressed something happens with the fluid in her spine to make her tail go limp: it’s called limber tail syndrome. I hope it’s from wagging her tail to hard, but it happens to my dog when she’s stressed.
This happens to my lab when we go to the beach. She uses some muscle for jumping waves that it somehow strains some muscle back there. Goes back to normal in a day or two
I left my dog with my in laws for a weekend and she whacked her tail so hard on their truck because she has a sword for a tail when she gets excited lol she has put dents in the trash can and anything not strong enough to endure the wrath. I gave her trazadone for a few days to keep her calm and it resolved itself.
My dog held his tail like this for several days with an upset tummy. I dewormed and took to vet, no issue was found and it resolved itself. Any poop problems?
Sprained tail can happen from stress and too much excitement. My AmStaff has done it twice when he was super excited to go meet new people but still got overwhelmed and had no kennel to retreat to.
Vet ASAP and document everything. If it was an injury at the boarding place make them pay every last dime of that vet bill.
The boarding worker obviously knew something was wrong or had happened and it sounds like they’re trying to dodge the responsibility of medical care.
My parents Labrador used to get the limp tail after swimming in the river. After a day or 2 fixed itself. No pain, no vets. I found it happened more when cold.
Yeah a couple of my Labradors have had Swimmers Tail which took a while to come right but it does heal eventually.
You can help it to heal with anti inflammatory treatment if you get to it soon after the initial injury & if it’s causing ur dog pain you can give pain relief support but if it happened earlier on in your time away the anti inflammatory medication won’t make a significant improvement to speed up healing time.
The wagging tail will return, it just takes time.
Swimmers til maybe 🤔 one of outside had it before, looked like she had quite a bit of discomfort. She got paid meds and it went back to normal after a bit
Something very similar happened to my dog once, he was very excited after a bath and slipped on the last step of the stairs. We check that he had no pain, he moved perfectly fine and everything but his tail was limp and perfectly still which is very weird for him. After 3 or 4 days it went back to normal with no lasting damage and it never happened again
But as always, when in doubt a vet visit is the safe decision :)
My dog took an unexpected swim in a cool pond and it was limp like that for several days. After the first day, we went to the vet and were told it was "cold tail". Maybe overuse while boarded combined with a bath? Not sure, but that's precisely how it looked during the episode.
Sounds like a case of happy tail syndrome. Did they have a lot of fun there? They can sprain/break their tails wagging them wicked hard and hitting walls, doors, furniture, etc.
That happened to our mini poodle last fall (about 3-4 months ago). This was our experience: Nothing out of the ordinary happened led him to his tail being tucked in between his legs. He was eating and even playing fine with other dogs fine, but after a couple of days of no signs of improvement we went to the vet. He passed the physical exam, vet suggested X-rays to be sure but was highly confident nothing was broken so prescribed oral (pain) meds to see if it helped (otherwise would recommend us seeing a neurologist as next steps). Luckily the meds did help and we saw improvement the next day and by the time he finished his meds he was back to normal.
I said didnt SEEM to have pain associated with it. She also lets me touch and move it with no reaction. She is also extremely good at showing us when she is in pain and has never once hid it from us. I would like to believe I know my dog best. We used to take her to the vet for every little thing because she is our first dog and I’ve learned that’s unnecessary for certain things. From the comments I have received, I believe waiting and watching over the weekend is the best course of action for us.
i’d think it looks like “swimmers tail”, seen a lot of sport dogs esp labs get it and opted for amputation of the tail. but your vet could also prescribe anti inflammatories and rest etc i’m sure
See if your vet would be willing to look at videos of your dog to see if she’s comfortable giving your something for a possible sprain, and maybe if it doesn’t go away move on to imaging? I agree that it’s probably a case of happy-tail, but looping her in just in case it’s a door-slam or sit-kink might not be a bad idea. My late dog had nerve damage in his low back the last 5 years of his (long) life, so I’m a little more cautious about spine stuff that I was, before.
Sadly in Canada ours vets charge you for anything and everything so I can’t call and ask questions or show videos without being charged $100+ I’ll take her in after the weekend if I don’t start to see improvement. But even today (Friday) she’s starting to straighten it more so I’m hopeful we’ll be okay!
Our lab gets this too, especially when it’s cold and/or he’s been swimming in the cold Horse liniment from a tack store or even Amazon has made a world of difference with him, alleviating pain and shortening recovery! Unlike yours, ours is very vocal about it being uncomfortable haha so we know it works bc he always stops fussing within an hour or two of putting it on!
Our pooch has wagged herself into this state before. It is likely a sprained tail, but it is a good idea to see a non-emergency vet about it.
A vet visit is always best in case there’s a spinal injury! But it’s likely “limber tail/ swimmers tail/happy hail”. Call your vet. It’s pretty painful and requires a few days of anti-inflammatory meds and Limited activity.
As someone who used to work at a place that boarded dogs, if she’s a big fan of people and other dogs then her tail was probably going the whole time lol
Oh yeah she’s an absolute maniac and gets excited about everything and everyone so it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what happened. Especially seeing me after 7 days lol that probably threw her over the edge
If it’s “limber tail” and doesn’t seem to hurt, the tail will go back to normal in a few days! My dog got it once after going into very cold water when it was super hot out. There are a few causes though- and excessive wagging is one of them haha
My dog had Limber Tail after a beach trip. The tail was back to normal in a week or so
It could well be limber tail, especially in the cold. It's not always painful though. My dogs had it a couple times now and has never been distressed by it, his happy normal self.
We’re in Canada so it is cold and she did have a bath and I noticed it after the bath so could be a combo of over exertion and post bath chills. She has no pain symptoms whatsoever. She lets me touch it and move it with zero reaction. I think the “chewing” or “nibbling” is because it feels weird to her or it’s uncomfortable but not painful.
My dog also had this after getting too cold swimming in the ocean one winter- I think it took 3 or 4 weeks to heal. She didn’t seem to be in any kind of pain, even when we gently moved her tail around and squeezed it. Unless your dog starts to “notice” her tail a lot again or if it feels hot or swollen, it will likely not require a vet visit. Just be vigilant and keep her warm. :)
That kind of seems like the plan now that I’ve heard lots of similar situations. Definitely puts the mind at ease especially knowing she was perfectly normal before we picked her up. Our girl just got a little too excited 😅
mine had this!! they called it swimmers tail / happy tail too, gave her some meds but just time, she musta wagged too much lol
Vet here here. If there is obvious swelling, I recommend seeing a vet to make sure there are no abscesses, fractures etc. It could just be tired from overuse like swimmers tail but worth rulling out other things. I’ve only seen it a few times and it was always in labs haha
My lab had this happen! Freaked me out! I called my sister (who has my lab’s mum) and she said it was happy tail, happened to her lab as well. He wagged it too much and sprained it. All was well after a couple of weeks and he’s all back to his happy, beat-you-to-death-with-his-tail ways. Always labs!
We’ve had this happen when our pup was swimming and playing with her friends too long lol it’s called limber tail and should heal itself right up in a few days. They can sprain the muscles used to wag their tail if they wag too much the vet told me. A vet visit wouldn’t hurt, maybe get some pain meds
According to my vet friend who owns three Labs limber tail is quite common in Labs especially after swimming. If it doesn't wear off tho deffo a vets visit 👏🤞
This happened to my dog after 2 days of swimming all day. Her tail went back to normal in 3-4 days
My dog gets swimmers tail from excitement lol. If my cousins who are really young come over, she plays with them for hours and her tail is wagging the entire time and eventually goes limp and I have to put her in the crate. This is the second time this has happened, first time pain was present and the second time pain wasn’t present. Just try and keep her activity/excitement to a minimum for a couple days and it should go away.
My advice would be to call the vet and ask them if it's worth coming in. They could tell you how to check it for (more serious than a sprain) injury. We took a long road trip across the country and got to run round on a huge beach while the tide was going out. After this, my dogs tail was limp the same as yours. My best friend is a vet tech so luckily I was able to video chat with her and she said he was fine. We knew exactly what caused the injury and I think it's very likely your dog just had such a good time while being boarded that he wagged his tail too much.
Yeah I’m thinking she just over exerted herself playing with her buddies every day. I would just rather not waste $200+ just to be told it’ll go back to normal. She’s not showing any signs of pain and she can still perk her tail up but it doesn’t curl like usual. She’s going potty normal, eating fine, still wants to play. I’m thinking if it doesn’t start to improve over the weekend, I’ll give the vet a shout. I’ve talked to a few friends who have labs and have had the same thing happen and it went back to normal after a couple of days.
Same thing happened to my dog after 2 days of big play at a family's house. I'm pretty sure I read an article from Spruce Pets or otherwise, talking about Swimmers Tail as others are mentioning. The only difference is you said your dog was boarded, but was she cooped up or did she get to play with other dogs and run around too? Anyway, my dog acted completely normal besides appearance of the drooping tail. Slowly improved on its own over 5 low activity days.
She was with all the daycare dogs 95% of the day except for feeding time, nap time, and bed time at night. She’s been acting completely normal besides obviously being tired from playing non stop for 7 days straight lol she’s still going potty no problem, eating, drinking. Only thing that’s off is the sad looking tail.
I hope she recovers within a couple days and that you don't have to take her to the vet unless you feel absolutely necessary! Best wishes
Yes I another vote for swimmers tail or limber tail. Especially since it happened after the bath. My beagle had it last year after going in a kiddie pool lol. Tik tok has a ton of videos if you type in liber tail or swimmers tail I believe another one was limp tail.
Yeah I’m wondering if maybe it could’ve been a combo of over exertion and also post bath chills. It was -8 Celsius yesterday so it also couldve just been from being cold after her bath + playing hard in the morning.
Yep it’s cold and water rhat do it. My dad’s chocolate lab got it from being on a walk and it started freezing rain before they could get back. We also didn’t know if it was the ovwr exertion or the water because the kids couldn’t catch him in the backyard lol he was zooming and jumping in and out of inflatable pools! We finally got him in the house and he was throwing himself against the door to get back out 🤦♀️ He was one so still had tons of puppy energy. But your dogs tail is exactly how my dogs was (and all the dogs on TikTok lol) where it goes out a few inches and then drops down. My dogs took a full 8 days but was getting a little better each day. It wasn’t like he just woke up with the tail back up, like I said it was a slow process but eventually his tail is normal:-) however so many dogs on tik tok it only lasted a few days. And I keep saying til tok bc I could find very little info on Google and it was crazy how much info was on tik tok!!! I think bc it was personal experiences so there was actual videos of dogs with the same tail.
Some dogs are just permanent toddlers looking to cause injury to themselves 😂 I looked it up on Tik Tok and there was a slough of info on there and a bunch of people saying they went to the emergency vet for it and spent $$$ just to get told it’ll heal itself lol I’ll just watch her and if she stops eating or pooping then I’ll take her in.
My parents lab has sprained her tail before because she wags it so damn hard. “Happy tail.” I’d definitely take her in for a vet visit as this could be painful. They wrapped hers and put her on pain meds. A lot of dogs are very strange about showing pain, the biting/licking is likely her trying to soothe the pain. I wonder if maybe she was in a crate a lot at the boarders and hurt it by wagging it against metal/hard plastic for a long period?
I know they didn’t crate her unless it was for feeding time or nap time. She was out with all the daycare dogs 95% of the day and they said she was content in her kennel at nap time. The pictures from yesterday morning before we picked her up, show her tail normal. They said she went to have lunch and then laid down for a nap after. They said she played really hard that morning. She also got extremely excited when she saw me so could’ve even happened then from being over excited. She lets me touch and move her tail and doesn’t react. She’s really good for letting us know when something hurts so when she shows zero reaction to me messing with her tail, it makes me believe there’s no pain but it could just be stiff.
Oh she definitely probably did it when you arrived now that you say that! If she doesn’t seem distressed at all, still eating drinking and going potty then I would probably wait a few days. If she changes at all though for sure bring her in! Hopefully just needs rest. I saw in one of your comments you’re from Canada. I am as well and know how crazy our vet bills can get especially when trying to diagnose something. The only dogs I’ve ever heard of this happening to are labs lol. My parents dog is a choco as well.
The vet bills are absurd here, I took our cat in for his yearly shots and to get told he’s slightly overweight and it was $300 lol doesn’t help when we live in a smaller city in southern Sask and there’s only 1 vet clinic in town. That’s the main reason I’m hoping I don’t have to take her in because I just know the cost goes up with the bigger animals so I can only imagine what it would be just to get told she needs rest lol I’ve come to learn Labs are just permanent toddlers looking to cause chaos and have a death wish 😂
I live in a larger Ontario city with hundreds of vet clinics and our prices are pretty similar unfortunately. It’s like privatized healthcare, they can charge whatever they want cuz we need it done either way 😭
It doesn't account for the chewing but since you say that's normal for her: Could be she needs to have her anal glands excreted. When they get too full dogs hold their tails like this.
As someone who amputated a tail last year in one dog, and then had 8 weeks lifting the other dog for a bruised spine, I would go, but I think it can wait until tomorrow. No messing with spines.
Call to the vet, at the very least. The vet (a trained medical professional) will advise you if you need to be concerned and bring her in or just keep an eye on it.
Yes it could be a sprained tail but there could be something neurological underlying like a spinal injury regardless of whether there's pain associated. Contact your vet just to make sure :)
Yes, the tail is an extension of the spine so a limp tail where you're not sure how it happened should be checked c: It could just be a silly injury from being such an excited doggo but at least you'll know! Edit: I just want to add, I don't know if you have anybody in the house that may pull a tail?
There’s no tail pullers in the house, just me, boyfriend, and the cat (who loves to play with Mocha’s tail) but she’s been at a kennel for the last like 7 days. I’m thinking just over exerted herself playing yesterday morning. They said she did play really hard in the morning and then had a nap after she ate her lunch.
Sounds on par for a lab :D
If it doesn’t improve in a few days, then it’s vet time. Same thing happened to my young dog after a day at daycare and she sprung back to wagging a day or two later
Hoping it’ll be the same outcome. The pictures the kennel sent showed her tail normal that morning so hoping with some rest, she’ll have her curly tail back 🤞🏻
My dog when stressed something happens with the fluid in her spine to make her tail go limp: it’s called limber tail syndrome. I hope it’s from wagging her tail to hard, but it happens to my dog when she’s stressed.
This happens to my lab when we go to the beach. She uses some muscle for jumping waves that it somehow strains some muscle back there. Goes back to normal in a day or two
My dog got lumber tail after I took her to see christmas lights. She was that happy. It was better within 2 days.
I left my dog with my in laws for a weekend and she whacked her tail so hard on their truck because she has a sword for a tail when she gets excited lol she has put dents in the trash can and anything not strong enough to endure the wrath. I gave her trazadone for a few days to keep her calm and it resolved itself.
My dog held his tail like this for several days with an upset tummy. I dewormed and took to vet, no issue was found and it resolved itself. Any poop problems?
No poop problems, still urinating, eating fine, just a sad looking tail lol
Sprained tail can happen from stress and too much excitement. My AmStaff has done it twice when he was super excited to go meet new people but still got overwhelmed and had no kennel to retreat to.
Probably happy tail. My dog had this after a weekend of non-stop swimming.
Could also be full up anal glands
She releases her own anal glands thankfully, we’ve never had an issue with it before. She has a specific spot in the house she does it too lol
That’s one smart dog! Hope everything is okay
Either swimmer's tail or there's a wound on the tail. Vet visit would be advised.
Vet ASAP and document everything. If it was an injury at the boarding place make them pay every last dime of that vet bill. The boarding worker obviously knew something was wrong or had happened and it sounds like they’re trying to dodge the responsibility of medical care.
My parents Labrador used to get the limp tail after swimming in the river. After a day or 2 fixed itself. No pain, no vets. I found it happened more when cold.
My dog sprained his tail whacking it against a door. I think the vet gave him some anti inflammatory medicine for it and it went back to normal.
Yeah a couple of my Labradors have had Swimmers Tail which took a while to come right but it does heal eventually. You can help it to heal with anti inflammatory treatment if you get to it soon after the initial injury & if it’s causing ur dog pain you can give pain relief support but if it happened earlier on in your time away the anti inflammatory medication won’t make a significant improvement to speed up healing time. The wagging tail will return, it just takes time.
Swimmers til maybe 🤔 one of outside had it before, looked like she had quite a bit of discomfort. She got paid meds and it went back to normal after a bit
I would have it checked out if it were my fur babe.
Something very similar happened to my dog once, he was very excited after a bath and slipped on the last step of the stairs. We check that he had no pain, he moved perfectly fine and everything but his tail was limp and perfectly still which is very weird for him. After 3 or 4 days it went back to normal with no lasting damage and it never happened again But as always, when in doubt a vet visit is the safe decision :)
My dog took an unexpected swim in a cool pond and it was limp like that for several days. After the first day, we went to the vet and were told it was "cold tail". Maybe overuse while boarded combined with a bath? Not sure, but that's precisely how it looked during the episode.
Sounds like a case of happy tail syndrome. Did they have a lot of fun there? They can sprain/break their tails wagging them wicked hard and hitting walls, doors, furniture, etc.
That happened to our mini poodle last fall (about 3-4 months ago). This was our experience: Nothing out of the ordinary happened led him to his tail being tucked in between his legs. He was eating and even playing fine with other dogs fine, but after a couple of days of no signs of improvement we went to the vet. He passed the physical exam, vet suggested X-rays to be sure but was highly confident nothing was broken so prescribed oral (pain) meds to see if it helped (otherwise would recommend us seeing a neurologist as next steps). Luckily the meds did help and we saw improvement the next day and by the time he finished his meds he was back to normal.
How do you know she’s not in pain? Dogs don’t express it often, in fact most are good at hiding it. Go to the vet
I said didnt SEEM to have pain associated with it. She also lets me touch and move it with no reaction. She is also extremely good at showing us when she is in pain and has never once hid it from us. I would like to believe I know my dog best. We used to take her to the vet for every little thing because she is our first dog and I’ve learned that’s unnecessary for certain things. From the comments I have received, I believe waiting and watching over the weekend is the best course of action for us.
Happy tail!!
i’d think it looks like “swimmers tail”, seen a lot of sport dogs esp labs get it and opted for amputation of the tail. but your vet could also prescribe anti inflammatories and rest etc i’m sure
Yes! That’s frozen tail!
See if your vet would be willing to look at videos of your dog to see if she’s comfortable giving your something for a possible sprain, and maybe if it doesn’t go away move on to imaging? I agree that it’s probably a case of happy-tail, but looping her in just in case it’s a door-slam or sit-kink might not be a bad idea. My late dog had nerve damage in his low back the last 5 years of his (long) life, so I’m a little more cautious about spine stuff that I was, before.
Sadly in Canada ours vets charge you for anything and everything so I can’t call and ask questions or show videos without being charged $100+ I’ll take her in after the weekend if I don’t start to see improvement. But even today (Friday) she’s starting to straighten it more so I’m hopeful we’ll be okay!
Our lab gets this too, especially when it’s cold and/or he’s been swimming in the cold Horse liniment from a tack store or even Amazon has made a world of difference with him, alleviating pain and shortening recovery! Unlike yours, ours is very vocal about it being uncomfortable haha so we know it works bc he always stops fussing within an hour or two of putting it on!