Need HELP with a broken tail. - Page 1

Hey All,

I need some advice.  I bought a sable german shepherd puppy a couple of weeks ago.  The breeder stated that her tail was broken at the tip of the tail, probably from the momma.  I wasn't concerned with it at all, cause it was at the tip and I wasn't planning on showing her.  The first two weeks I noticed she held her tail high but it was curled over.  I first thought she was just displaying her dominance or she had the recessive gene for the curled tail.  I felt the tail and to my surprise the tip grew 3 inches, and it wasn't curled it was at a 90 degree angle, but it looked curled because of her fur.  The vet said she is holding it high because of the break and that she doesn't seem to be in any pain.

What I want to do with her is search and rescue, and possibly personal protection.  With that said, I was told by several people who train dogs that I may run into different issues with the broken tail.  Mainly getting caught on something while searching like a tunnel causing extreme pain.  So I thought about getting it fixed, I spoke with many vets and all but one said they couldn't do it.  The orthopedic vet said it could be costly and she still may not get full functionality out of it.  The other option is docking the tail, the downside to that is she will not be able to use her tail for balance and etc...

I just want to reiterate, I am not showing her so I am not concerned with that what so ever. 

What would you do?

Well if it was one of your children would you not worry about it because they will not be shown?????????????I am sure the vet knows if the dog is in pain or not!!!!!LOLLOL  Yes she holds  it up very high to impresss people  and not because it is a bit uncomfortable? Wow your dog has a telescoping tail!!!  why not lets break your toe ? No need to worry you only wear toe covering shoes right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Jerkoff,

The vet said she didn't feel anything with her tail. I was just asking what would be best for her, getting surgery or docking it in regards to what I wanted to do with her later on as a public service to help people. I'd love to break my big toe right up your????

If anyone else would like to advise me what would be best for my puppy please do. Again do you think if I should leave the tail in the upright position (vet recommended) or have it docked so there will not be a chance of her catching on something like a tunnel or etc...?

Thx

That's too bad.  How long would her tail be if the broken end was cut off?  3 inches doesn't seem like enough to interfer with balance, does it?  Alot of dogs have tails docked and still have balance, I'm confused on that vet's logic.   
 

I guess you've got to decide what you are going to do with her.  If in fact it will cause her extreme pain if it get caught on something ( not sure I think it would, however it might) than maybe you should consider not doing search and rescue with her and do something else instead.  PP should still be fine, right" 

I guess, I would be inclined to leave it be if it isn't hurting her, unless you really want to do S and R with her. It might  be best to get another dog to do that with, if you have your heart set on that.

Do you have a picture so we can see what it looks like?

I'd leave it alone if it is a firm kink and not a loose bit flapping around.  One of mine has an extreme kink at the end of his tail (no idea if it was due to a break or natural) and it has never been a problem in 10 years.  Having had to dock another dog down to 75% of his tail length due to injury, I'd avoid docking unless really necessary as the docked end of the tail can take ages to heal properly and seems more prone to damage.  I doubt if a kinked tail is more prone to injury than a straight one in S & R and taking any action on the kink is a bridge you can cross if you ever come to it.

Margaret N-J

Thank you Red Sable & Margaret. 

I appreciate your advice, crooked tail she will be!

Travis

I agree with the above posters, tail issues are harder to heal than others....I have a pup with a lick granuloma on her tail & we have to really keep her busy to keep her away from it. Let her be a little bit kinky!  jackie harris