Broken Tail

[Jill]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

My female whippet broke her tail today about six inches from the tip. The vet has said to amputate the tip but I have read online that it can be splinted. Does anyone have any experience or advice with broken tails? I really don't want her to get it amputated. I will try to post some photos later.

Any information would be really helpful.

Many thanks,

-Jill

 

[meddling]

My female whippet broke her tail today about six inches from the tip. The vet has said to amputate the tip but I have read online that it can be splinted. Does anyone have any experience or advice with broken tails? I really don't want her to get it amputated. I will try to post some photos later.
Any information would be really helpful.

Many thanks,

-Jill

poor girl, i hope they can save her tail x

:luck: :luck: :luck: :luck:

 

[Hula]

Many years ago I had an afghan hound . One year we had heavy snow and she broke her tail running around in it . The vet put a plaster of paris on it and it healed up fine . The only downside was when she wagged her tail you had to get out of the road quickly or she just about broke your legs with the plaster of paris :lol:

Hope your girls tail can be saved too .

 

[June Jonigk]

Yes I have some advice. My friends dog broke it's tail probably about the same distance up the tail. His vet advised removal too, but he wanted to try saving it. So he splinted it with lolly sticks, which meant that the tail had to be bound up. It wasn't that successful as his bandaging wasn't the best, and it kept coming off! Then someone suggested the tube of a syringe. - he tried that but it wasn't perfect. Then someone suggested a curler, and it was with that that he had the most success. The curler was good because it allowed air to get to the skin underneath, and he secured it both ends with elastoplast. After a few weeks he removed it, and the tail was good as new! Good luck with it, I couldn't bear the thought of one of mine losing 6 inches of tail - as we girls know 6 inches makes all the difference!! Let us know how you get on :luck:

 

[Suerose]

Good luck :luck: . One of my cats had a bad injury to his tail last autumn and it was threatened with amputation. I used a laser lamp from the veterinary acupuncturist to help it heal and now it is almost as good as new.

 

[jinnyfizz]

Vets are too keen to amputate sometimes

I would do everything I can to save her tail - there's already some great advice here :thumbsup:

Good luck to you both, please let us know how she progresses :luck: :luck:

 

[Jill]

Thank you all so much. I bought some curlers and elastic adhesive tape and am getting a secondary veterinary opinion tomorrow morning.

 

[kirsty]

Good Luck, let us know how you get on with the 2nd opinion :luck:

 

[lorna anne]

Yes I have some advice. My friends dog broke it's tail probably about the same distance up the tail. His vet advised removal too, but he wanted to try saving it. So he splinted it with lolly sticks, which meant that the tail had to be bound up. It wasn't that successful as his bandaging wasn't the best, and it kept coming off! Then someone suggested the tube of a syringe. - he tried that but it wasn't perfect. Then someone suggested a curler, and it was with that that he had the most success. The curler was good because it allowed air to get to the skin underneath, and he secured it both ends with elastoplast. After a few weeks he removed it, and the tail was good as new! Good luck with it, I couldn't bear the thought of one of mine losing 6 inches of tail - as we girls know 6 inches makes all the difference!! Let us know how you get on :luck:

I have had similar VERY GOOD results with the old 'Curler Method'. Rail healed beautifully, with NO HAIR LOSS. Good Luck

 

[Julie D]

it's shocking that a vets first thought is to amputate when a simple curler and adhesive has a good chance of doing the job !

good luck, I hope she heals well, whippets tails are so lovely it'd be a shame to lose it for nothing.

 

[Jill]

Hello again,

So I took her for a second opinion this morning,(I brought in a curler and told them what I've read from your experience). They are going to try to save the tail. First they are going to shave it, then clean the wound to access how much damage was done to the blood vessels and see if she needs any stitches and finally splint it. This vet said no harm would come other than risk of infection by not amputating right away. For this reason they are also putting her on antibiotics. The tip could still die but I will be able to monitor it for any colour changes, coldness or heat. So ultimately it might need to come off but at least they are giving her a chance to heal.

Thanks again

-Jill

 

[June Jonigk]

Hello again,
So I took her for a second opinion this morning,(I brought in a curler and told them what I've read from your experience). They are going to try to save the tail. First they are going to shave it, then clean the wound to access how much damage was done to the blood vessels and see if she needs any stitches and finally splint it. This vet said no harm would come other than risk of infection by not amputating right away. For this reason they are also putting her on antibiotics. The tip could still die but I will be able to monitor it for any colour changes, coldness or heat. So ultimately it might need to come off but at least they are giving her a chance to heal.

Thanks again

-Jill

Good luck Jill, keep us updated :thumbsup:

 

[Hebridean]

Good Luck.

I had a whippet who broke his tail when it was shut in a car door - the vet used the 'empty syringe container' method, taped on. Although he had a kink in his tail for the rest of his life, it worked well. The curler method sounds better as it would allow the air to circulate.

Hope all goes well.