cycas Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 Ronnie (my mother's oldie collie x) has a problem. His tail has suddenly stopped working. Usually he holds his tail up when he is happy and is a very waggy dog: now he doesn't seem to be able to move it at all. He is otherwise happy and healthy and eating well. He's off to the vet tomorrow, but has anyone heard of anything like this? Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Have answered elsewhere, but it sounds very much like what Max had last year on holiday, after he'd been in the sea for the first time. He's also a very waggy dog but his tail just lost its wag . I had heard of the condition before and left it for a day - with him looking very confused! - and his wag came back the next day. Of course it might be something different with Ronnie, but I wondered if he had been in water recently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted April 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Ronnie loves the water and is always paddling in the sea or in streams: it's never had this effect on him before... He's had it since Saturday now, so Mum is starting to worry a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K9Fran Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 My first dog suddenly lost his wag - vet said he'd probably bashed it and the resulting bruise made it painful - it was wagging about 48 hours or so later. Nowadays I'd probably give my dog Arnica for a day or two... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted April 12, 2006 Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 This is the only thing i have heard of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted April 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2006 Thanks Donna, I'm sure that is the link that I vaguely remembered someone posting! I will send it on to my Mum: I'm not sure if Ronnie had been in the sea just before the problem, but given what a little waterdog he is, I wouldn't be at all surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted April 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Just a followup to this. Ronnie is still not able to hold his tail up properly. He can wag it a bit, but he can't hold it arched up over his back as he used to, and as a result it tends to get mucky when he poos and needs to be kept clean. We met up on Saturday so I got a chance to have a good look. It's not painful, just - numb. I think his back legs are very slightly wobbly as well (though that didn't stop him having a good trot and leading the way most of the way) . Mum has stopped playing ball with him to try to encourage him to rest a bit more. Here is what he looked like in March: And on Saturday: He's still very cheerful, but not quite right I think. As well as the tail, I think his floppy ear is flopping more than it used to. Any further suggestions very welcome: the vet just says wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Lily had a couple of bouts of this - her tail would suddenly go straight down instead of out and she seemed only to be able to wag the very end of it just a tiny bit. Her problem turned out to be anal glands! It seems because her rear end hurt, she was holding everything including her tail completely rigid. Since she had her anal glands removed (not because they stopped her tail working!) the problem has never come back. Hope Ronnie gets his happy tail back soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Lily had a couple of bouts of this - her tail would suddenly go straight down instead of out and she seemed only to be able to wag the very end of it just a tiny bit. Her problem turned out to be anal glands! It seems because her rear end hurt, she was holding everything including her tail completely rigid. Since she had her anal glands removed (not because they stopped her tail working!) the problem has never come back. Hope Ronnie gets his happy tail back soon. I remember another dog with a similar sounding condition, which turned out to be anal glands too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 I took Lily to the vet the first time it happened saying that she had broken her tail. I honestly thought she had cracked a bone in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cycas Posted April 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Ronnie has had his anal glands done already, just in case... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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