Injured tail?

[indylizzy]

My pup,Lizzy, has been acting a bit odd for her active little puppy self.

She seems to keep nipping at her tail (her tail is docked)- she is very protective of it. I am wondering if she injured it? Or if there may be some other issue affecting her that could produce this kind of behavior?

She is not as active as she normally is, her appetite is OK - but not up to the Lizzy standards I am used to. She is drinking water - which is good. But she just lays around and cannot seem to get comfortable - then she starts in it with her tail. A couple of times, while she was nipping and licking her tail - she let out a couple of whimpers. I cannot engage her in play for very long. She was also not very interested in our normal morning runs (yet - she was running last night with no problems).

I called my vet - but they are closed today (just my luck).

I am not sure if I am being an overly protective Mom?

I am wondering if anyone has had their Boxer display any symptoms associated with their tail? I appreciate your help.

 

[suzyqdogsmom]

A couple of summers ago SuzyQ started nipping at her tail..She would whirl around and nip at it and lick it. She didn't have any other symptons at all. When I laid her down and rolled her over to be able to look at it, I found out that she had fleas. We had not had any trouble with fleas before and they were very hard to find, even though she has such little hair. They were mostly congregating around her tail and anus area. After we got rid of the fleas she was fine. Though as I said she wasn't lethargic or anything else, just bothering her tail.

 

[ChristyA]

I don't know how old your pup is but, Dexter had problems with his anal glands from the age of 1 on. He didn't do the scooting but he would turn real quick and try to lick, he would act very uncomfortable. The vet explained it kind of pinches when they are full. Here is a link:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_anal_sacs.html

Christy
Dexter 9/98-6/08
Sophie 9/98-missing her friend

 

[butlersmom]

My first thought was her anal glands needs to be expressed. My second thought was fleas, since that's where as someone else said, they like to congregate. Butler never scoots with anal gland issues, either. He will try to lick, and he appears uncomfortable. Hope you get some answers as to what Lizzy's problem is. Poor baby....

 

[ChristyA]

By the way, don't try to do the anal glands at home. We used to take Dexter to the vet and have them expressed by the vet. The smell is so terrible,,,and you could seriously injure your dog if you try to do it on your own.

Christy

 

[calimomma]

Broken tail?

Abbi decided to jump into a creek from a bridge last summer and landed funny. She was doing the same sort of thing with her tail and couldn't even sit without wimpering. We took her to the vet and he said that she'd hyperextended her tail. He gave her some anti-inflammitory meds and she was fine after that. The vet said that he sees a lot of hyperextensions and they're more common than we may think.

Good luck with your baby!