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My Dog is Chewing His Tail
By: David Brooks
Q. My 3yr old Staffordshire Bull Terrier chases his tail obsessively. He's basically done it since we got him a year ago, he was a rescue. He chases it in both directions. A few months ago he actually bit the end off, even though it healed the tip is always reopening and bleeding. He now lives with a plastic collar on, its the only way we can stop him biting it. The vet checked his anal glands and they were fine. We are desperate for him to stop doing it, and are open to any ideas
A. Hi there,
Sound like a tricky problem...
It sound like you've covered the problem of wormers and flea treatment ( make sure they're the ones you vet reccommends at the correct dose and timing)
Has the dog had any evidence of tail docking in the past - sometimes if the dogs tail has been docked it can leave an area of tough fibrous tissue which can irritate or sometime cause phantom pain or nerve pain ( neuroma)
Is there any evidence of previous trauma to the tail i.e any kinks swellings or focus of pain in that area? Sometimes if the dog has had previous trauma (e.g fracture or old wound) then this can cause them to chew their tail as well.
Sometime it is a behavioural problem that is reinforced when the dog can get to the tail and traumatise it (i.e a vicious circle of irritation- the dogs tail is irritated- the dog chews -it becomes more irritated and then the dog chews more) . Sometime you have to take drastic action of trying a collar for a few days-weeks or in extreme cases in persistent tail trauma you will have to amputate the damaged portion ( hopefully it won't have to resort to this!)
It may be worth and xray of the tail if there is any concern and then discussing with your vet about further surgical treatment.
If you need any more advice please feel free to ask!
Dr David Brooks is the co-founder of WhyDoesMyPet.com - Expert answers for all your pet questions. This article is based on a question asked using the service. Visit us today to ask you pet question |  |