On Sunday night Shadow woke us up around 1am with whining, barking and general moaning. We spent the rest of the night up with him, trying to figure out what was wrong. At one point, I noticed that his tail was abnormally tucked. Those of you who know Shadow (or any lab for the matter), know that the signature of their breed is a wagging tail. Shadow couldn't seem to even lift his up, sit or lay down.
We went into the vet the next morning who promptly told us that Shadow had "Limber Tail Syndrome" also known as acute caudal myopathy, rudder tail and cold water tail syndrome. Basically, there is a cluster of nerves at the base of the dog's tail that when exposed to cold water (often swimming, but can also be bathing) gets seriously inflamed. This becomes so painful that the dog can no longer lift his tail up.
Our vet prescribed a medication that helps with the inflammation and pain (one that Mike later told me is a narcotic sometimes given to people who cannot tolerate Vicodin!) and needs a little rest. Basically, he's still a little uncomfortable, but is high as a kite! It takes 3-5 days for his tail to come back up... we're patiently waiting!
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| Droopy Tail Shadow |
Poor puppy.
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