Need help with a dog issue

[morgs]

I know that there are quite a few dog owners here in this forum, and I've been googleing this for a couple hours, but I wanted to see what you all think this is.

I have a Boxer/ St. Bernard mix ( we think anyway ) named Scoobie. He's a very happy, playful, active dog, and always has his tail wagging. Here's the deal:

Scoobie's tail is ALWAYS curled up and over his body , kind of a like a "kita' or sled dog, and it's always wagging like I said before. Yesturday, the hubby and I were watching the game and all the sudden, we noticed Scoobie had his tail down and would not bring it back up. We thought maybe something scared him, but aside from being a little more slow than usual and his ears back, we cannot for the life of us figure out what the hell happened. He's an inside dog and only gets to go out for potty breaks or when we're out doing yard work. He doesn't wimper, wine, or act like he's in pain. We looked for anything unusual and even wag it for him a little, but still, no idea what could have happened. It seriously looks like he literally broke his tail. I have read that sometimes dogs can get 'cold tail' or what's called 'broken wag" The only thing that is abnormal aside from that is that he seems to want to lay down a lot. This morning, his tail was still down. We 'figure' it's because he's not feeling well , because he does not act like he's in pain of any sort. I know I should call the vet, but the place that we take our animals to WAY OVER charges and we're trying to avoid an unecessary vet bill.I wanted to check here to see what any of you may think it is, or if you may have had a dog with this problem. Greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Morgs

 

[LauraMax]

My pug has a "naturally curly" tail. I know whenever that tail uncurls something is wrong. Usually it involves the ingestion of something disgusting, the regurgitation of said disgusting ingestion, & the cleanup of said disgusting regurgitation.

But if your dog isn't showing any symptoms other than lethargy, I'd say a vet visit is in order. The uncurled tail is def. a sign.

I can't speak to the broken tail Q, I've never heard of it before--it sounds freaky!

 

[jldx2in2000]

I agree with Laura. If he is acting lethargic, a visit to the vet is the best idea.

There are several issues in dogs that can cause lethargy and Lyme disease is one of them. If it is caught early enough, it can be treated with little to no harm. Our Maggie had Lyme disease when she arrived at the shelter but they fixed her up before we adopted her.

I know vet bills are expensive but if it is something major it is cheaper to catch it earlier rather than later most of the time.

Good luck!

 

[Jonezie]

Morgs...I, too, say take him to the vet. Can you find a vet that doesn't charge an arm and a leg maybe? Maybe run him to a Petsmart vet until you can find a darling vet you really like and can afford more easily (I know what you mean...some vets run ridiculous amounts of tests and charge a small fortune every single time you bring them in)?

Have you been monitoring his poopies? Maybe he has worms? That would explain both the lethargy and wanting to protect his you-know-what with his tail. Maybe look next time he does the deed? Worms are an easy fix...and he'll be back to his energetic self overnight after the medicine kicks in.

Hope this helps! Please keep us posted!

Jonezie

 

[dreamyjeanie]

I would definitely see a vet.

Could be a broken or dislocated tail or possible something called "cold tail" or "Limber tail"
http://hubpages.com/hub/Dogs-affected-by-limber-tail-syndorme

Hope he's OK.

 

[PhyllisG]

I had that same thing happen with our dog last summer. All of a sudden his tail was down while usually he carries it up sort of like a proud flag. This was the only sign of something being not right. This went on for a few days and slowly and I do mean slowly--over a period of about a week--his tail made its way back up to its rightful place. We never did figure out what was wrong with it. It was summer and we thought maybe a bite? Same thing happened to my son's dog with the same result. No clue as to what caused this. Both their tails were like limp. We were afraid they were broken. Not to say no reason to go to the vet. I think you probably should. Another thought. Could anyone have shut a door on his tail either in the house or a car door?

 

[morgs]

Morgs...I, too, say take him to the vet. Can you find a vet that doesn't charge an arm and a leg maybe? Maybe run him to a Petsmart vet until you can find a darling vet you really like and can afford more easily (I know what you mean...some vets run ridiculous amounts of tests and charge a small fortune every single time you bring them in)?

Have you been monitoring his poopies? Maybe he has worms? That would explain both the lethargy and wanting to protect his you-know-what with his tail. Maybe look next time he does the deed? Worms are an easy fix...and he'll be back to his energetic self overnight after the medicine kicks in.

Hope this helps! Please keep us posted!

Jonezie

Hey Jonezie,

I think you may be right. He did have to 'go outside' quite a few times Sunday afternoon after we noticed his tail . It DOES seem like he's trying to protect himself with his tail. Sadly , there is not a petsmart within 65 miles from us , and the vet clinics that we have in town rape & pilliage people when they take thier animals in. We stopped going for that exact reason. They always want to run 'special' tests, just in case, administer this pill and that pill, and after extracting what they said was a bad tooth without our permission last time, and then sticking us with a bill of over $500.00 that was the last straw. What's worse, they didn't even want to work out a payment plan, so we had to run across town, borrow money from my parents cause the vet demanded thier money up front. Sad that I have to rely on people's advice becuase I don't have the money for a vet.
Thank you so much though, I am going to look into it further and see what I can do that won't cost a ton !!

 

[buckeyegirl]

Well, I almost didn't reply due to all the vet bashing in this thread, but I'll give you some free internet vet advice. It's probably not broken - you'd know if it was broken. Sounds more like a soft tissue problem at the tail base. Some labs get "swimmer's tail" from swimming and the tail just dangles. Anti-inflammatories really help - you could try aspirin at 1 reg. strength tab twice daily with food (as long as he's not on any other meds!). You may need to consider anal gland issues - impactions or infections can also can tail problems.

If there's no improvement on aspirin within 3 days, a vet should take a look.

Heidi, DVM

 

[Jonezie]

Well, I almost didn't reply due to all the vet bashing in this thread, but I'll give you some free internet vet advice. It's probably not broken - you'd know if it was broken. Sounds more like a soft tissue problem at the tail base. Some labs get "swimmer's tail" from swimming and the tail just dangles. Anti-inflammatories really help - you could try aspirin at 1 reg. strength tab twice daily with food (as long as he's not on any other meds!). You may need to consider anal gland issues - impactions or infections can also can tail problems.

If there's no improvement on aspirin within 3 days, a vet should take a look.

Heidi, DVM

Heidi...I didn't feel a vet bashing vibe in this thread, but I hope you didn't think that was what I was saying. I have the upmost respect for anyone who devotes their life to saving and caring for animals. And I've had the same vet for 20 years. I love her so much...she's like part of my family. Sometimes, I go into her office with my pup just to say hi and give her a big hug. In any event, you and your field are greatly appreciated by me and mine.

Jonezie

 

[morgs]

Oh Same with me ! I was not 'vet bashing" I was simply stating a fact about ONE clinic in our town. Many, many people have had to go elsewhere due to thier high costs. Everyone I talk to thinks I am exaggerating when I tell them what this One clinic charges ,and few were even shocked when I showed them the actual bills. I am all for taking my animals to the vet and always have, BUT, the clinic that we have really charges way too much, and sometimes leaves people with a very tight budget ( like myeslf ) in dire straights when we need help. What's worse is the fact that they won't 'work' with you IE: setting up payment plans , post dating checks ' like I've heard of other clinics doing. Trust me Heidi, if it were not for good pepole like yourself, (who probably works in an honest clinic that doesn't over charge ) many animals would be in some very bad shape. Thank you so much for the advice, and yes if it does get any worse, or we don't see improvement in the next day or two, we will take Scoobie to the vet. I love my dog ( we don't have any kids, ) so ,,he's like a kid to us ! Thanks again !!
Morgs

 

[spyrosmom]

My Spyro dog dislocated his tail once. It just hung there like a wet noodle. He wasn't whimpering or anything, his tail was just hanging there. "Um, hey husband - look at the dog, something's wrong with his tail!"

DS was pretty young at the time, we think he may have pulled it. Best we could come up with. An easy trip to the vet, it was popped back into place and he was wagging again.

Dislocated tail, go figure!

Nan

 

[morgs]

Hi Nan : Yah,,,this is like the strangest thing we've ever seen from him. He's acting totally normal now. Running around, playing, eating good, drinking plenty of water, no signs of pain, no wimpering, ears up, usual temperment,,,,just ,,,like you said, his tail is kind of hanging there. BUT, last night when I got home from work it was about half way up. It's almost like it's slowly going back up little by little. We're keeping a very close eye on him still. Nice to know we're not the only ones with the 'strange' animal issues.