i gave my dog a bath and now his tail just hangs down and he keeps biting at it?

Question

he is a 2 year old black lab mix. other than not wagging his tail he is fine. a friend says he has bath tail, anyone ever heard of this?

Answer 1

"Cold water tail," "limber tail syndrome," "broken tail," "dead tail," "broken wag" are all euphemisms for a relatively common occurrence in sporting dogs. The tail of the dog hangs down from the tail base or is held horizontal for three or four inches and then drops down. A flaccid tail episode appears to be a painful, but relatively benign affliction that can occur after swimming, after a heavy hunting day or even after a bath with cold water or water that is too warm. It is not always associated with swimming or water, but can happen after a heavy day of work that involves a lot of tail action. The majority of limp tail cases have been reported in sporting dogs or hounds -- Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Setters, Pointers, Flatcoats, Foxhounds and Beagles are the breeds frequently named. Almost all dogs that suffer through an occurrence return to normal within a few days. Affected dogs may or may not have a repeat incidence during their lifetime. [It is this author's experience that symptoms will repeat in the same animal and can be trigged by something as simple as a cold water bath.] This affliction has been described by the layman as a "sprain," fibrosis or a "cold in the tail." The affected dog is miserable at the onset and the tail is painful. If neither the dog owner nor the veterinarian is familiar with this condition, it can be disturbing--fostering conjecture on a possible fracture or spinal cord disease.

Answer 2

First off she thinks she is alpha and that she is in control, biting is that dogs way of taking charge and imposing their will. She has to be made to understand in no uncertain way that biting is not acceptable under any circumstances Someone did mention a muzzle, that may work once even twice but the odds of getting it on again are highly doubtful. So here is what you do; Put the muzzle on and drag her to the tub, when she snarls you grab her by her cheeks or something quickly look her square in the face into her eyes and YELL at the top of you voice NO NO NO, THAT IS BAD then continue and give her a bath. Make is last at least 15 minuets, basically trying to get her to act up again. If and when she does you act the same. Now were talking a whole bath with 2 shampoos and 3 rinses’, the works, (shampoo, rinse, shampoo, rinse and rinse.) Then to finish it off get a dry towel like a beach towel or whatever and use that to dry her off, rubbing hard, its major attention and they love it. Someplace while you’re doing it you flip off the muzzle. Good luck

Answer 3

Haven't heard of it, but found this for you:

http://thelabradorclub.com/library/coldwatertail.html

Apparently, if you just leave it alone, it will be fine in a few days. Next bath, regulate the water temp better.

Answer 4

You probably didn't get all the soap out. When I bath my dog I dilute the shampoo first in water and then apply and shampoo. Its important to rinse, rinse and rinse again

Answer 5

I'm thinking he doesn't recognize the smell of his tail-from washing out the odor and maybe a perfume from any soap you used. He will probably get over it soon.

Answer 6

this sounds very serious ,i think you may have drowned and killed his tail,but dont worry if that is true it will wither away and drop off
havent you seen many dogs thatlook like they have amputated tails ,this is exactly what happened to them
Labradors will look good with a stumped tail

Answer 7

Are you absolutely sure you rinsed all of the soap out? A little soap residue left behind can cause some skin irritation.

Answer 8

You may not have rinsed him thoroughly enough and the shampoo or wash you used may have dried on and irritated his skin. Try re-rinsing him over again and that should help.

Answer 9

Try rinsing him again, making sure to remove all soap and residue, then towel him dry.

Answer 10

no what is a bath tail?