Broken tail

[Wayne Nissen]

We have a 7 month old female lab with a broken tail. The break is approximately six inches from the end.
Interested if someone else has experienced this and what is the healing time, if in fact it will heal at all. I understand it depends on the severity of the break, but generally folks that have experienced this situation.
What are the consequences of cutting the end of the tail ?

[Wayne Nutt]

Are you sure it is broken? Or it just a common problem often called "cold tail"? You might do a search on cold tail and get some information from either here or just a google search.

[Wayne Nissen]

Are you sure it is broken? Or it just a common problem often called "cold tail"? You might do a search on cold tail and get some information from either here or just a google search.

Verified by X-ray

[WRL]

I am assuming its six inches from the TIP?

[EdA]

Fracture or dislocation, very difficult to get rigid stabilization which is required for satisfactory fracture healing

[Rainmaker]

I had one Lab break a tail, never would heal, just very difficult to keep stable, as Dr. Ed says. It was about 4" we ultimately had removed, she was fine other than being sore for a couple of days post-surgery.

[WRL]

I had one Lab break a tail, never would heal, just very difficult to keep stable, as Dr. Ed says. It was about 4" we ultimately had removed, she was fine other than being sore for a couple of days post-surgery.

Yeah that's what I was thinking too. I've never had one actually break their tail but have seen quite a few with the bloody end they knocked on everything and they never seem to heal. Result was amputation of the end.

[Rainmaker]

Yes, I think the amputation was more for me, got a little old cleaning blood off of walls and cabinets, didn't appear to bother her wapping that thing against every surface in the house. It was ugly and a mess all the time. We just told people she was a fat pointer after the docking.

[Wayne Nissen]

Vet placed her on steroids for inflammation and Acer for hyperactivity of which she
possesses a great deal of, on or off the meds. This was a week ago Thursday when the
xray was taken. The bulk of the tail has come up, although the 6" at the tip has not satisfactorily erected itself. It is impossible to keep her calm. Fighting a losing battle.
thanks for the input.

[terrax]

I've had a couple heal by using a plastic tube with the fractured part of the tail inside. I've used a syringe case of the appropriate size. It may work if the pup will tolerate it. May need to use an ecollar (that's an elizabethan collar) to keep him away from it. Healing time would be approx 2 months.

On the other hand, Amputation of the end of the tail should not be an issue after it heals.