Question:
Louie (border collie/brittany x) got a small case of "happy tail" two Sundays ago (3/25). For those of you who dont know what I'm talking about, "happy tail" is what happens when a dog wags his tail a lot and unknowingly bangs it against something (usually the walls of a too small cage) repeatedly and the skin breaks open. I cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide and wrapped it in vetrap at the advice of my manager (I work in a kennel and she has a lot of experience with this). I changed the wrapping and put antibiotic cream on it every night. He was fine for a few days but it increasingly began to bother him. Over the weekend I noticed he had chewed some hair away from the bandage area. I cleaned that and extended the bandage to cover the whole end of his tail (about four inches). He had a vet visit this past Monday and I had them look at it, which they said it was irritated and that he must be messing with it overnight (which is about the only time he is out of my sight and I cant stop him from licking/chewing it.... and using bitter apple or other deterant spray doesnt seem to stop him). They rewrapped it and gave him a med to help infection and said if he doesnt stop messing with it, to come back and have him get fitted for an e-collar. They said to change the wrapping every two or three days.

Here is the issue. Today was his first wrapping change since the vet visit. The small area (about one inch or so) that was the original happy tail wound is there and seems to be healing... but the rest of his tail is black! I mean black and dead looking. The wound cuts off at almost a clean line, and the remaining three inches of his tail is just black. It did NOT look like that when I changed the bandage last Sunday night, before the vet visit. I poked him with my nail and bent the tail a bit, to see if I could get a pain reaction (waiting to feel horrible when he did), but got nothing. I'm worried that vet wrapped it too tight or something, is this a possibility?

I'm taking him to the vet next door to where I work tomorrow as soon as I get in, hopefully they can squeeze me in before my shift starts!

Answer:
It is possible that the bandage was too tight and cut off circulation. Is he able to move his tail at all? Getting him to the vet is the best thing to do, let us know how it goes.

Unfortunately, we have not had good luck with happy tail. Generally the dog keeps injuring the tail and we end up having to dock it.

Answer:
I think his tail got wrapped too tight and cut the blood flow. Black is never good. This same thing happens to horses when people wrap or braid them too tight. Tails should always be wrapped where the bone ends or if on the bone very loose.

Sending good thoughts for your guy

Answer:
Well my thoughts were confirmed and the vet said the tail had to come off. I left him there and he'll go into surgery tomorrow. I held myself together pretty good when I left, but I am so anxious about him having surgery and going under anesthesia. You hear all these horror stories about pets that are put under and dont get up...

I know he is in good hands though.

Anyway, thanks for the good vibes guys.

Answer:
So sorry to hear about Louie's tail, sissani! He'll do well and you'll have him back tomorrow!

Answer:
Aw, poor Louie. I'm sure he will be okay though. I have seen maybe half a dozen dogs that have had to have their tails docked as adults, and they all came through the surgery fine and seemed to adjust after a short while to having a shorter tail. The hardest part is keeping them from pulling at the stitches, he might have to wear an elizabethan collar (lampshade!) for a while.

Answer: