# Swimmers Tail



## Holly Huryn (Mar 12, 2008)

My young lab appears to have swimmers tail - I don't know anything about it. How long does it last???
And is there anything I can do for her?


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

I have seen it in a few dogs (even malinois), and it is not only swimming that can cause it.

Depending on how sore it is, it can start to resolve in just a couple of days, but could be up to a week.

If you have the time, you could rest the dog, but if the dog is willing and doesn't seem to be in too much pain except for the tail not working....I have seen dogs continue to be worked through the entire "limp" period and be fine.

I would say if it is not resolved in a week, I might want to seek vet help, there are some other tail injuries that can be long lasting and very painful.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Hi Holly, swimmer's tail (also called limber tail, cold tail, dead tail, etc) can last from a few hours to a few weeks and is basically a sprain of the tail muscles, sometimes from overactivity like a lot of swimming (very common in labs and goldens). There are a couple other more serious conditions that can mimic limber tail (painful or limp tail, discomfort on manipulation of tail or sitting) like lumbosacral disease or even a fracture to spine or pelvis, so it's a good idea to get it checked out by your vet. Good luck!


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## Jami Craig (Jul 5, 2010)

My ACD gets it....I found if I put a heating pad in his bed I'd find him sitting on it...so maybe that makes it feel better?


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

Holly
could you expand on the symptoms a bit ?
is the dog doing doing a lot of butt licking too ?
any redness or irritation around anal area, etc ?
is tail sensitive to touch ? where ?


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## Holly Huryn (Mar 12, 2008)

The tail just seems to be limp, it looks "broken". She turns to grab at it a bit but there is no licking or irritation. It is a bit sensitive to touch but no yelping in pain. It seems she prefers to sit down right now. 
I need it better asap as she has to go to work all week!


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

i had a golden that would get it 2-3 times a summer .. similar to what u described

after i started using a blower on her every time she came back from swimming she never had the problem again ... but never took her to a vet so couldn't tell for sure what it was


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## Meng Xiong (Jan 21, 2009)

One of my dogs had this once, it healed up on its own within a week.


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## Jessica Kromer (Nov 12, 2009)

Hav has had swimmers tail a few times. Kinda freaky the first time, I have to admit. 

I was instructed to treat it as any other sprain, anti-inflammatory and pain management and keep the activity down a bit (but since the tail is the part sprained, there is not much "activity" to be had anyway). 

It would clear up on its own, usually with in a week.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

Jessica ... that might depend on how much of a tail wagger the dog is 
some are pretty enthusiastic "waggers"


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## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)

Greta gets this often. She swims a lot, and goes crazy in the water. Usually lasts a few days, rimadyl seems to help somewhat.


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## Holly Huryn (Mar 12, 2008)

Thanks for all the info. I've been giving her metacam and it seems to be relieving the pain - the tail is still down but she is getting happier day by day.


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

funny Villain just had this this week that just past, we did dick diving and lots of swimming one day , Vandal has also had it from swimming, as well as a couple of my pit bulls, my bosses bull terrier gets it too , its pretty common actually ,, 

i dont do anything about it ,, villain had one day rest from swimming, but came to class, then swimming the next day again, its gone now, dont sweat it ,,


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## Martin Espericueta (Apr 1, 2006)

Tammy St. Louis said:


> funny Villain just had this this week that just past, we did dick diving and lots of swimming one day...


Villain is either a very small dog, or that's one BIG di**!

Sorry, if I didn't quote that, Joby will lol jk....


Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

whoopsie! lol


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## Peter Cavallaro (Dec 1, 2010)

Tehe, giggles.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

missed it totally....

got any video to share?


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## Jay Quinn (Apr 1, 2012)

my malinois used to get this... he doesnt anymore because he managed to sit on and break his tail... now he doesnt have one


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Martin Espericueta said:


> Villain is either a very small dog, or that's one BIG di**!


Ha, the difference a single letter makes. Tammy that's quite a sport you got going out your way. ha ha. But as far as goofy goes, I'm thinking Andreas still has that beat with his cuntry word. :twisted: Even to this day I can't see that word without taking out the O.

BTW Holly, same as the others - years back one of mine got this too. About 7-10 days later all was well.


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## Annamarie Somich (Jan 7, 2009)

My Gunner got it 2 years ago when I took him to the beach during the Spring. The weather was warm but the water was still cold. The next day his tail just hung down limp. He's a big dog with a long tail for a mal and waves it around and holds it high. It looked very funny the way it drooped, especially at the base. Gunner did not express any pain but he's that kind of dg. It took a good 3 weeks before he was able to wag it and another week before it was banging into things. So I think he had a bad case. Lesson learned - I don't take the dogs swimming until the water is warm enough.


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

Kita used to get this, would usually take anywhere from 3-7 days to heal up. I worked her, it didn't seem to bother her, I just let the decoys know she had "dead tail" because she normally carries her tail high when working and they were thinking she was overly stressed because the tail was down.

Finally figured out how she was doing it, she was running back and forth harassing the chickens, and ducking under a big low tree limb on her path back and forth. I think sometimes she'd stand up to early from the "duck" and smack herself on the tree limb. Once I blocked off that area, the problem was solved.

Our Lab when I was growing up used to get this from swimming and just wagging her tail to hard. One thing the vet at the time told my folks is that this type of injury, repeated enough, can start to have an effect on bowel control and other rear end functions. It didn't happen to her though.


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