A common search phrase on my website is happy or wagging tail injury. A frequently seen injury in Irish Wolfhounds, we refer to it as split tails and the injury can be very problematic to care for until it heals completely. I have this information on my Health page website, however, here it is as a convenience for those who are reading my Blog.

Trauma:

A common problem in the wolfhound breed is tail damage. Typically, tail damage occurs when the hound swings the appendage too hard severely bruising and even splitting the tail open. For those experienced with wolfhound "split tails," it often can be a nightmare. It looks like a murderous crime scene as the blood is flung near and far over furniture, ceiling, walls, drapery and the like. The excited hound gets even more excited as one or more owners are trying to grab the tail and the hound at the same time to place bandaging on it to stop the bloodletting!

New owners are shocked but stay calm as there are some solutions, but they are going to require effort and diligence. First, a bleeding tail is a challenging area to keep bandaged and especially hard to heal thoroughly so that the affected portion does not open up again in another future incident, which by the way, I guarantee will happen again if not completely healed the first time. Unfortunately, as often is the case, split tail injuries on a happy, excited wolfhound do not always heal without another incident taking place. If you have bred Irish Wolfhounds long enough, then you have or had, at least once, a wolfhound with a split tail.

Again, you must understand and be prepared for the fact that a lower tail injury is a hard place to heal, and, therefore, the area will remain susceptible to further insult and injury. Scar tissue must develop over the injured area before you can ever claim victory. It can take as long as two to three weeks for the damaged tail to heal ONLY if properly cared for, and only if it does NOT receive further and ongoing damage. If the location is repeatedly damaged, then the last resort is to amputate the portion of the affected tail.

What To Do:

To begin; DO NOT wait to treat the wound as this will be your biggest mistake. Skin infections and self-mutilation will usually always occur because more often than not the dog will begin to lick and chew on it as it can be painful or itchy. This will lead to infection.

There are some "homemade" solutions out there on the Internet, and it can be a trial and error process depending on the personality and behavior of your Wolfhound. Foremost, bandaging the tail can be very tricky, and you need the correct items plus an owner must be cautious not to wrap too tightly thereby cutting off the blood supply. Bandages need to be frequently changed to prevent infection. Other variables include:
1-Will your hound leave the bandage and splint on without chewing it off?
2-The hound allows the bandage to remain, but he still wags his tail so hard that despite being cushioned and wrapped; it bleeds inside the wrapping. Subsequently, if the dressing is not changed daily, the wound will remain wet and become infected!
3-Thus, the other dilemma is how do you keep the tail wrapped? But in many cases it must also be secured somehow to the body so that it is not freely hitting objects and furniture when the dog wags their tail again yet allows the dog to raise it to defecate.

First things first:

Medical Care & Bandaging. There are so many different products on the market to promote healing of a chronic hemorrhaging tail wound but there seems to be a consensus for the basics. To start, most agree that a wound cleanser such as SAF-Clens® AF Dermal Wound Cleanser be used first and/or a Hydrogel dressing, such as Hollister Restore Hydrogel, be applied before using sterile primary bandages. SEE BELOW for the links are included to the products within this article.

Remedies:

One novel approach to resolving split tails is called Dog Ends created by a company called Bonovate. Sold by Jorgensen Labs here in the U.S., it is a new approach to solving the age-old dilemma of how to get the tail to heal with fresh air circulation but protecting the delicate area so that it is not opened up again. Check out the photo of the product below. Dog Ends dressing are open-mesh construction that allows for protection of the area while permitting fresh air to heal the wound but redirecting impact from the injury. In the beginning, the tail may be very painful and inflamed and the dog may cry out if you try to wrap it so you should speak with your veterinarian to possibly have a course of antibiotics and a pain reliever subscribed for the dog. Then the area needs to be wrapped.

Review the sites that I provide here such as Vetruus.com and the two videos provided by Jorgensen Labs. If you choose this therapy READ THOROUGHLY and follow directions! Remember, bandages need to be changed regularly. This interesting solution is recommended in conjunction with a collar that does not allow the dog to turn and chew at the tail and rip off the netting. Collars such as the one included below, KONG Cloud E-Collar, are good alternatives for preventive use.

An old idea that I used several times in the past were Duct Tape and Tube Pipe Insulation, a dense but soft foam used for insulating pipes (see below for a link.) First, the wound should not be wet before wrapping. After applying a Hydrogel dressing, I cover with a primary dressing being 4-inch Gauze bandage product called Elastikon wrap which is ideal for hard to bandage areas. Once the wound is protected, then I place the appropriately sized diameter Tube Pipe Insulation (it already is split to wrap around a pipe) around the wounded section on the tail and bind it to the tail (which is fully covered with hair) with Duct Tape which is taped over an area covered with Vet Wrap. See below for link to Vet Wrap. This is to prevent the Duct tape from tearing out all the dogs hair on the tail each time you remove the pipe insulation to change the bandages (daily.) The Duct Tape is wrapped onto Vet Wrap which covers the hair and bony tail both above and below the wound. The downside is that the foam pipe fitting, though soft and protective, does not permit air circulation which I worry about and so one must be diligent and vigilant about changing the bandages and, yes, constantly smelling the wound to make certain it is not becoming infected. 

But, how do you prevent the dog from wagging the tail so that the pipe fitting does not sail across the room? Well, I came across an interesting medical device that may present itself as a possible solution for tail injuries. The product is not designed for a tail but looking at it more closely I believe it might work. It is called a Rear Leg Hobble System manufactured by DogLegges. I use this company for medical boots on foot wounds (see my Blog Post "Dog Foot Pad Injuries" and, if necessary, elbow hygromas (see my Health Page Other Common Disorders or Ailments.) The rear leg hobble system appears as if the one end of the hobbler could be connected to the tail above the wounded region and the other end hobbled above the hock as the hobble strap length is adjustable. The product illustrates the use for hobbling a Poodle with a short tail, however, this product is custom made to the specific size of the dog. Wolfhounds have long tails, so, it may work but you would need to speak directly with the company. Notably though, if you use the hobble system as a tool to connect the tail to the upper leg then most likely you do not have to use the tube pipe insulation over the bandaged wound. If you have questions feel free to reach out to me.

One other idea set forth by a member of the Irish Wolfhound Club of America is included on the IWCA website with a link called Tail Sling. It is a simplistic approach so check it out but I do worry about a lack of air circulation around the wound as it depicts the wound completely covered in the sweatpants.

If you haven't done so, please read the Vetruus website on the split tail as it provides interesting insight on a dog who recovered beautifully after using the Dog Ends devices.