# Can't take it anymore! Happy Tail advice?



## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

My 18 month old pitbull has had the WORST case of happy tail over the last month. I am at my wits end!

We need serious advice from someone who has experience with this. Every time we get the open wound at the tip of her tail to start healing she bangs it HARD again! It opens, blood splashes everywhere, and I cannot keep it wrapped up. Not with anything, not in any configuration. She SHAKES off bandages that wind all the way up her tail and over her haunches.

We've been to the vet to get antibiotics and the infection is clearing up but the wound is not and it's going to get infected again.

Even the vets "professionally wrapped" bandage only lasted on her tail for a matter of minutes. All they could tell me was "try to keep her out of doorways". I can't do that. We live in a house. It has walls and doors. And spindles on the staircase. And appliances. And furniture. And radiators. You get the picture. She bangs her tail against every available surface.

Every pair of jeans I own are bloodstained. I have to regularly go through the house with wet rags to clean blood off the walls, baseboards, woodwork, HER. She swings her tail so hard the blood splatters across her own sides making her look like she's brindle. She's not.

HELP!


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## SEO (Jul 7, 2009)

OMG that is crazy. I have never heard that one before. Well, I used to put 100 mile and hour tape around my ankles and toes to do my road marches in the Army. It worked pretty well, but you have to make sure the tape goes all around the ankle and stick it to it self (on top of it self) like around 1 1/2 times if not it will get loose. My idea is that maybe you can use this kind of tape around the tip and maybe few inches below the tip of his tail. This kind of tape is very strong. It has strength of 80 pounds per every loop you use. This is military tape, like the 2 inch grey industrial type of tape. You can put something like a gauze and then tape it for a few weeks until it heals, letting it air out every often under supervision. I know it sounds funny but it might work. I used for road marches and when I used to surf (buggy board) with surfing fins. If I didn't use the tape the fins would dig a whole in my Aquiles heal. 

Good luck

SEO


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## MISSAPBT (May 10, 2009)

My brothers rottie x pit has this problem, they had to cut it off. as he kept snapping his tail and opening it up just from being so happy to see everyone. now its a little sausage roll tail


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## SEO (Jul 7, 2009)

Tape it to his/her leg.


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

We've already tried every type of medical and athletic tape - wrapped up her entire tail and even wound around her haunches. My latest attempt is gorilla tape. It's like extra strong extra sticky duct tape.

MissABPT: I think she may eventually end up with a little sausage roll like your brothers dog. I hate to do that to her. I also hate the idea of shelling out $800 to $1000 bucks for something I'd rather not even do. Poor bloody waggle butt...


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Ok I have experience with this and thought I was going to have to crop my dogs tail. It finally healed up and when it breaks open we know what to do now. No athletic tape will work you need Elastikon tape. You can buy it at some feed stores and pet stores if not order it offline. It will not be at petsmart but look at pet and vet supply or something like that. This stuff it made to stick to fur and it's self. CAUTION It will rip hair off but it will stay in place. What I do is wrap gauze on the tip with triple antibiotic, do not use too much gauze just enough to add cushion if the tail bangs against the wall and cover the injured area. Then take the elastikon and wrap the tail, I would recommend starting on the tip and cover the gauze then keep going around till you are about 4-6 inches up the tail. When you are winding it around the tail you have to make sure not to do it too tight or you will cut circulation off to the tail and it will die! So you want it snug but not tight, go slowly and when you are winding it cut a long piece off first and wind it, DO NOT DO it from the roll or you will do it too tight. I change it 1-2 times a week if you do not let the dog chew at it is should last till you take it off. I kept Trinity's tail covered for a few weeks.

Always make sure you wrap the tip in gauze, if you do not and you just use tape when you take it off it will rip the scab off. I also recommend getting bandage scissors because they have a blunt side that will allow you to cut the bandage off the tail instead of ripping it off with all the hair. Hair will come out but not as bad with the scissors.
Here is the link for elastikon
Elastikon-Elastic Adhesive Bandage (2in x 2.5yds)

This is for the bandage scissors
Jeffers® Bandage Scissors - First Aid Instruments & Tools

You can probably find a website that carries both also check ebay.


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

Thank you so much for the tip about elastikon! If I'm remembering correctly you're Lisa, right? I just checked your profile, but couldn't confirm it there. I appreciate your taking the time to offer suggestions/advice. I'm about at my wits end here.


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## Nizmosmommy (Jun 1, 2009)

I know it sounds really like kind of mean but think about like couch/ crate rest then. That way she can't hurt herself so much. We had to do some couch rest with NIsmo and we just constantly had to make him lay down.
A lot of the time me and Trevor had to take turns sitting with him.
BUt both of us are unemployed so I can see how that may be hard if you work.
Just make sure the wound is clean and do your best.
That's really all you can do


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

We both work, but different schedules so she only has to be crated 3 days a week. So, we can supervise her and keep her calm for four days in a row before all heck breaks loose again.

Aside from the time she got it caught in the ottoman most of the times when she bangs it open it's just after getting out of the crate when she's really excited. She doesn't bang it while she's in the crate (her bedding is about the only thing in the house NOT bloodstained! lol) But, she does use that "down time" to chew off any bandages that she didn't just flick off while walking around.

I've been making her wear an inner tube around her neck. She can still get to the tip of her tail but it's not as easy. I'm actually thinking about leaving her out of her crate when I go to work so she's got plenty of swinging space at the back door when I get home.

I will have to still crate Jake and I guess lock the cats up in my room. With a litter box. Oh joy.

Thanks again, everybody for all of the ideas and suggestions. I've ordered some Elastikon online. It might be available locally but with the crappy weather we've been having it'd probably be quicker to have it shipped than drive around!


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Yes it's Lisa  and I tried crate rest and she would just bust it open in the crate too. We call her Tornado Trin because that tail would go a hundred MPH! lol Taping with the elastikon was the only thing that worked or we were going to crop her tail and I really did not want to but it was to the point.


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## beccaboo (Dec 27, 2009)

had that problem with lacey too. literally scrubbed all the walls in our old apartment every day!!! we used koban tape and trip-ointment with gause. redid it every other day if it managed to stay on that long. and tried to keep her calm. and make her sit when i got home to greet her or during anything else that might get her excited. just takes time and persistance and you will get it healed up. there is light at the end of the tunnel tho trust me


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

Well, the Elastikon wasn't in the mailbox today like I'd hoped. ( At this point I think it's the last thing to pin any hope of saving her tail on. We've tried leaving her out of her crate the past two day hoping it would help. Not. one. bit.

The following pictures are a little graphic, so skip 'em if the sight of blood bothers you.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gimbler/sets/72157623432391243/


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## slinky (Oct 12, 2009)

im going through this at the moment....theres not much you can do. soft tail and hard concrete surfaces. its going to be an ongoing problem but once you work out what works best for you things will get better. the last 3cm of my dogs tail has no fur on it from doing the same thing...being a happy spaz... about once a month it will bleed. all i do is put a couple of band aids on the tip- my dog cant reach last 3cm of her tail so they fall off on their own a few days later. by then the bleeding has stopped...its then up to everyone else to keep the dog calm inside..... my dog goes bananas when i get home from work, running around bashing into everything, and this was when it was mostly happening..... i got around the problem by training her to wait on her mat for me rather than greet me at the door..... i dont pet her until she is on her mat and calm... it still happens every now and then but no where near as often as it used to.but with some training and some time you will find ways that work for you.


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

slinky said:


> im going through this at the moment....theres not much you can do. soft tail and hard concrete surfaces. its going to be an ongoing problem but once you work out what works best for you things will get better. the last 3cm of my dogs tail has no fur on it from doing the same thing...being a happy spaz... about once a month it will bleed. all i do is put a couple of band aids on the tip- my dog cant reach last 3cm of her tail so they fall off on their own a few days later. by then the bleeding has stopped...its then up to everyone else to keep the dog calm inside..... my dog goes bananas when i get home from work, running around bashing into everything, and this was when it was mostly happening..... i got around the problem by training her to wait on her mat for me rather than greet me at the door..... i dont pet her until she is on her mat and calm... it still happens every now and then but no where near as often as it used to.but with some training and some time you will find ways that work for you.


gawd bless you for going thru that over and over. I don't think I can. Though I suppose it helps that your girl can't reach the end of her tail to chew at her bandages and doesn't wag them off.

Those photos of the blood on the kitchen wall and floor are just the "tip of the iceberg" and the brightest room for me to take a pic on my cell phone at night. We have a blood trail like that from the second floor bedroom to the back door. And it's all fresh and happened within minutes. I just cleaned the walls, floors, dishwasher, doorways and stair spindles yesterday. And the day before. And the day before...

The Elastikon is going to be the last thing we try. If it doesn't hold we're going to "bite the bullet" and have her tail amputated. We've already wasted hundreds of dollars trying to get it to heal and she's no better off for it.


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## slinky (Oct 12, 2009)

is it the whole tail that bleeds or just the tip?


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

Just the tip, but the overall area keeps expanding. More and more hair is missing all the time and the open/bloody part on the tip is probably twice the size it was a month ago. She's on antibiotics though, so at least it's not infected.

I can't believe it's not bad for her to lose so much blood every day. Not to mention the pain it must cause.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Trinity's tail looks like a rat! lol she has no hair on half of it because she does the same thing. [sigh] who knew being happy was bad for your health! lol


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

LOL! I think Maggie is gonna have a "rat tail" too if she gets to keep it. We still don't have the Elastikon. I ordered it from Entirely Pets through Amazon for conveniences sake and wouldn't you know that very "convenience" messed me up. Hubby has that quick checkout thing so it was a "click, click" done. Or so I thought. I didn't take into account that our bank changed hands about a month ago and his old debit card number is no longer functional. Amazon sent him an email right away but he didn't know what I was doing and didn't see it. I re-ordered it, it shipped from Cali yesterday and should be here Monday or Tuesday.

Today was a good day though. Drew was home with her all day and she didn't whack it. She got real excited when I got home and trying to calm her is pointless. Even if I make her sit she just bangs it away on the floor. So I grabbed one of her toys the second I came in and started playing fetch to keep her out in the middle of the two adjoining rooms with a large doorway. It worked! No blood! LOL

Oh, and I got her antibiotic prescription refilled at work (Costco) for NINE dollars rather than the $70 the vet charged my husband two weeks ago. Costco rocks!


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## beccaboo (Dec 27, 2009)

lmao at ur blood spatter pics. that WAS my entire apt when we went thru it. scrubbed down those walls every day  the good part- her tail is completely healed and hairy  a few white hairs grew in right at the tip of her tail. just remember to keep being persistent with wrapping it soon as you have the tape and as much rest and calm time as possible


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## roe1880 (Nov 8, 2008)

this is what you need: E-collar, a small 5" long plasic tube (you can use a pvc pipe), tape, antibiotics, blood stopper or liquid Band-Aid, & gauze pads..
1st you clean the tip with warm water, peroxide, or iodine, apply blood stopper or band-aid, put antibiotic if u use blood stopper as band aid has antibiotics already in it.. wrap loosely with gauze & tape, then insert tail into tube & tape it to the tail... the tube protects it from getting banged & the e-collar keeps them from pulling the tube & tape of... clean 2x a day only cause you wanty it to heal & if you mess with it too much it will just keep bleeding, so use your own good judgement when ur gonna clean it... if it looks ok & it dont need to be cleaned 2x a day than only do it 1x a day... i fixed up my dog in 1 & a half weeks... Good luck.


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

Roe we already tried and failed with a piece of plastic (syringe case) and foam pipe insulation. But thanks for taking the time to share what worked for you. I appreciate everyone offering help and support.

The elastikon arrived today and WOW! I thank you, Lisa! It's been on for about 7 hours now and aside from the overnight Gorilla tape that's a record! LOL

I found this detailed bandaging instruction on a vet site and did it that way using the elasticon. Happy tail bandagingI hadn't thought about using the hair on her tail as an anchor for the wrapping but I think that - along with the "grippiness" of the elasticon might get the job done. Wish us luck!


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

beccaboo said:


> lmao at ur blood spatter pics. that WAS my entire apt when we went thru it. scrubbed down those walls every day  the good part- her tail is completely healed and hairy  a few white hairs grew in right at the tip of her tail. just remember to keep being persistent with wrapping it soon as you have the tape and as much rest and calm time as possible


:clap: I'm hopeful that we can fix this too. In the meantime I think we must have the cleanest kitchen in Pittsburgh. I mean, how many people wipe their dishwasher off two or three times EVERY day?!? Gosh I'm glad we're not renting. That must have been doubly stressful! If I scrub the paint down to bare wall at least I know we have some leftover paint in the basement for touch ups.


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## roe1880 (Nov 8, 2008)

no problem... good luck & hope the tape continues to work..


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

Argggghhhh!!! We were making good progress. Her tail was healing and it was almost time to order some nubuck in hopes of growing hair. Then Jake got the last roll of elastikon and chewed it up. So I ordered more and am waiting for it. Hubby left her out of her crate today and I picked up some sports tape to use in the meantime. Spent the whole way home thinking of how I was going to tape her up before we did anything.

It was too late. She stayed upstairs on the bed next to Jakes crate banging her un-bandaged tail on the headboard like there was no tomorrow. By the time I got up the stairs she was throwing blood nearly to the ceiling. I got blood all over my face and hands just trying to get to her. Put them both out on leads right away and ran upstairs peeling my hoodie off to throw in the wash - along with the quilt and pillow cases.

The guest room looks like a scene from a slasher movie and we're back to square one. She's happily banging around with a cotton stuffed 35 mil film canister sports taped to the end of her tail and I'm depressed beyond words.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

BUMMer!! that does happen!! did the elastikon work? that stuff is great huh!! Do you want me to show you how I would wrap it? It probably uses less tape and works just as well 
It took Trinity about 3 weeks for her tail to totally heal. Yeah I spent hours washing my walls! I feel your pain and it is possible to beat happy tail!  hang in there!!


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

The elastikon DID work! That stuff is awesome. I have ten rolls on order! lol I was so pissed at myself for leaving the last roll on the kitchen counter where Jake could reach it. He's got a weird attraction to adhesives - no tape is safe.

I have been wrapping her tail like in that video link I posted earlier. If you have a different method I'd really appreciate the help. Your advice has been right on and I'm grateful for it.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Alright I will see if I can get some pictures of what U would do. All my dogs will eat tape, I don't know it is like a weird attraction dogs have to tape!! When Riot was a puppy she shredded two rolls of elastikon!!! I have a lot to do today but I will try to get that done for you.


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## sarie0417 (Feb 26, 2009)

Ouch! This really gets that bad? I always figured Indi would break her tail as hard as she hits things when she is excited. So far no injuries yet, but at least I have a thread to visit if it does happen. Hope your pups tail gets healed up and you find something that works for her


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

Thanks, Sarie. I couldn't imagine anything so frustrating and seemingly impossible to fix as her happy tail until I started living it. Thanks to Lisa's advice she still has her tail and I'm actually still hopeful that we can fix it - despite last nights setback.

And Lisa - I can't tell you how much I appreciate your taking the time to offer me so much help. I know you're a busy lady with a baby on the way so thanks again and in advance. 

Off topic, but I watch you and the other posters baby tickers with interest. There's a baby boom going on on this forum! LOL My youngest son and his girl had a micro-preemie ten weeks ago. She's still in ICU and doing great. She was only 1 pound and 14 ounces at birth and she hit the five pound mark yesterday. She may be coming home in a couple of weeks - just about her original due date. Before I saw her at birth I wouldn't have believed a little human being could be so "complete" at 25 weeks gestation. It's an amazing process. Truly.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

I am sorry I didn't get that done for you I will try to do it tomorrow! I have no problem helping I kind of have a mother hen personality and I love helping out!

WOW that is super scary to have a baby that small but I am happy that she is doing good. I do not think I have heard of a baby almost a full trimester early! Good luck on the baby and let us know when she gets to go home!


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## Gimbler (Jan 29, 2010)

performanceknls said:


> I am sorry I didn't get that done for you I will try to do it tomorrow! I have no problem helping I kind of have a mother hen personality and I love helping out!
> 
> WOW that is super scary to have a baby that small but I am happy that she is doing good. I do not think I have heard of a baby almost a full trimester early! Good luck on the baby and let us know when she gets to go home!


I'd never heard of it either before the day she was born. My son called from the hospital and said they were gonna take her by C-section at noon and my first response was "They can't do that!" LOL Apparently, they can and do. It was scary, but she's just been awesome. So strong!

Okay, back to the subject at hand! The elastikon arrived yesterday and I cut the bottom out of the film canister, used little pieces of elastikon to line the cut edges of the plastic and make a cushion. I then taped the contraption to her tail with the little pop top just above the tip of her tail. Then I put a piece of tape over the pop top just to make sure it doesn't bang off. So far so good.

With this set up I don't have to cut the elastikon off of her tail to clean and dress the wound. I can just pop the top off two or three times a day. I'm rinsing it with this blue stuff that encourages granulation that I got from the vet for my cat's wound last year, putting some neosporin on it, stuffing some dry cotton around the perimeter of the healthy part of her tail that's inside the film canister and that's keeping the tip from being able to rattle around inside.

She looks ridiculous, but it's holding and I think she's finally starting to get the idea that mommy really, really, really doesn't want her trying to chew off her bandages! She's hardly bothered it at all. And she's not wearing her inner-tube collar. So, yay - we're back on track! :woof:


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Ok sounds like it is going good, sorry I am in the middle of moving!! I have not had a chance to take pictures but if for some reason your set up is not working I will promise I will take time to get it done.


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## tessa'smom (Jan 3, 2011)

*"HAPPY TAIL" QUESTIONS*

I adopted a pit (tessa)from a lady in maine a about month or so ago and she has just been the biggest love bug with my kids, family and so smart, but her "happy tail" is getting a bit out of control....in the morning when we get up she gets sooooo excited, my bathroom wall now has a little spatter marks on it, (thank god its not bleeding a lot like some others) but i want to get a handle on it before it gets worse. what are the options for her??? and I??
i also just found out that i am expecting a baby in august 2011, so i am trying to research and find options now for her tail. because it is painful for us and re homing her is not in my book of options at all. i juat want to make sure everyone and her are safe and healthy, and no i dont believe in doing things to my dog at home that a vet should do.. she is like a child to me. so any suggestions besides what i've read would be great :woof:


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