Limber tail

snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Poor Willow has limber tail :(
She didn’t even swim that much today, most of it was paddling. I’d say over the whole day, she maybe did ten retrieves.

She does seem a bit prone to it, poor love. We just popped to the pharmacy to get some meloxicam for her. Hopefully that will make her more comfortable.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Symptoms are a very sad looking dog who has lost all wag. The tail is held straight down or tucked under, rather than a normal relaxed position.
She was also finding it very difficult to get comfortable and kept switching beds.

It’s a bit of a funny one that there doesn’t seem to be much understanding of its causes. Willow first got it from wagging her tail too much 🤦‍♀️ when we went to visit friends. She sometimes gets it after swimming, too. Some people notice it’s worse in cold water (which this wasn’t).
It does seem that she’s far more prone to it than the other two, as she has had it several times. I think Shadow has had it once
 
MellowYellow

MellowYellow

Merlin’s physiotherapist says it comes from the muscles that run alongside the spine. If they are over-used, or get cold and wet, then in some dogs those muscles go into a spasm, which results in pain down the nerve in the tail, which apparently is like sciatic pain. Some dogs are just much more susceptible to it than others... with Merlin, for instance, I know as long as he keeps moving after swimming or getting cold and wet he’ll be ok, but the first moment he has to keep still I rub him dry and put his toweling robe on. He’s like an overbred racehorse, really...

I hope Willow feels better very soon!
 
Beanwood

Beanwood

Administrator
MellowYellow said:
Merlin’s physiotherapist says it comes from the muscles that run alongside the spine. If they are over-used, or get cold and wet, then in some dogs those muscles go into a spasm, which results in pain down the nerve in the tail, which apparently is like sciatic pain. Some dogs are just much more susceptible to it than others... with Merlin, for instance, I know as long as he keeps moving after swimming or getting cold and wet he’ll be ok, but the first moment he has to keep still I rub him dry and put his toweling robe on. He’s like an overbred racehorse, really...

I hope Willow feels better very soon!
Click to expand...
Yes, I have heard something similar. It can be helped by regular massage of the spine, in particular, focussing on any tight spots especially lower back/hips. This is why heat pads can help, applied to lower back and base of the tail.
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Poor darling Willow, it’s clearly really uncomfortable for them (I remember this when Kipper had it a few months ago - his face was pitiful) so I’m really pleased you can get meloxicam, hope that does the trick x
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Hope the meds do the trick for Willow, poor girl.

After a swim, Carbon's tail will sometimes droop and get a kink in it so that it looks like a sad "L" but he never has any pain. It usually takes a couple days to right itself. Maybe from an old injury but hearing others talk about limber tail, it's not that.
 
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