Dogs tail hanging down and sitting on it. Not manically wagging as usual

[drivinmecrazy]

I will preface this by saying we have him booked into the vets at 11.

So, he’s a 2 1/2 year old Weimaraner so his tail is usually on the go 24/7.
yesterday evening we noticed it hanging limp, just wagging at the tip.
as far as we’re aware he hasn’t physically hurt it, but it’s swollen at the base.
he’s a little subdued but nothing major.

im sure it’s nothing to worry about but we’ve often thought that on a Saturday morning only have to take him to ooh on Sunday (never been anything major and usually him knowing he’s costing us a small fortune has been enough for him to perk up 😝)

any ideas or anyone experienced something similar?

DH is at work today and panicking he’s going to end up with a docked tail (not particularly unusual with this breed due to ‘happy tail ‘)

so, something or nothing?

Could be swim tail.

Quite likely to be a limp tail. Has he been wagging extra hard or knocked it on something? Our springer gets this occasionally when she’s been very excited for a long time or given her tail a knock. I wouldn’t rush to the vets unless he shows other signs of being unwell. It usually sorts itself out in a day or two.

Yes. Swim tail. Like repetitive strain injury for dogs. Our Labrador used to get it. She had painkillers from vet and rest.

Limber tail, he's likely whacked it on something while wagging too hard! My childhood dog used to suffer with this every now and again and we just used to wrap his tail in a bandage (or an old pair of tights!) for a few days for protection/support which seemed to sort it. Vet will probably advise the same and might prescribe some painkillers but it's pretty common and not usually anything to worry about too much.

agree with the others- he’s basically sprained his tail
I’d push for pain/anti inflammatory meds though as it can be very painful

Thanks all.
that’s basically what his insurance online vet said.

I’d be inclined to leave it til Monday as per the advice but better to pay £90 today than £350 tomorrow if it gets worse.

it is just such a faff because he needs to be soft muzzled at vets because he gets so anxious.

Honestly, if he’s is his usual character and eating and drinking then I’d wait until Monday. Only you know your dog well enough to decide if he needs the vet urgently.

Yes! Our dog beagle x just 2 weeks ago, I went to toilet, came out and his tail was down and something wasn’t quite right, he’d been fine all day and had just followed me upstairs, he was quieter than normal took a bit to settle down for night following day tail was still down and he wasn’t right. Took him to vets, they tried to xray him but he wouldn’t keep still but he had some pain killers, no idea what he did but he was quiet for about a week and then back to normal…

Our older Toller had this a while ago - it’s limber tail - he developed his from lots of swimming in the sea on holiday. It’s very painful so he had strong painkillers for a couple of days but it completely resolved itself within a week. He looked so unlike himself though when he couldn’t wag his tail.

Our beagle has had limber tail multiple times - we don't bother with the vets - he has paracetamol once a day and we just rest it - it always rights itself within a few days.

Thankfully the vet that we saw is lovely and is the only one that Rafa doesn’t have a hissy fit with. She’s about 5ft nothing and takes no nonsense from him so he behaved himself.

She’s thinks he’s got an infected gland so prescribed antibiotics and pain medicine.

the real shocker was the bill, £233! Couldn’t believe that £102 of that was the antibiotics!!!!

when we came home I googled how much they cost of bought online and was about £50 less, so now am wondering if anyone has had any success in getting a prescription from the vet and buying it yourself.
wondering if we’d save much in the future but I guess the charge for giving the prescription might outweigh any saving?

just wondering for next time

It just really irks me because my mum lives in Spain and it’s completely normal for the vet to issue a prescription and you just go to a normal pharmacy to fill it

My vet charges £10 for the prescription and I get it filled by Animed.

Sounds very much like a sprained tail, as others have said

No advice but years ago I had to take my cat to the vets for an eye infection. The vets asked me to sign somthing to say I was happy for him to receive human medicine. I paid £68 for the meds..... got home and googled it and boots were doing the exact same for 3 for £15 I was so annoyed 😅

Their business tax is lower. They don’t have NI contributions anywhere near as high as us (6% compared to 15% here). Their insurance costs (professional negligence and building) are lower. Their equipment costs are lower (part of the EU). Their overheads are lower.

Vets have to make the costs up somewhere. I don’t like it either, but blame the state. Sadly, the hammering on all the above is why so many independent vets are closing and being taken over by huge companies who charge even more.

Edit; a poster ages ago said the last budget cost her husbands practice an extra £130K a year - across two sites. So yeah, blame the state and government.