Tail Removal

Jon N Tania

New member
Jun 27, 2011
13
2
Cape Coral, Florida
Bulldog(s) Names
WE have Henry and Muggsy
We took Muggsy to the vets as the previous owner told us he had anal gland issues. It turns out that he has an infection just under the base of his tail, which when the assistant cleaned it, her finger went in all the way up to her Knuckle. It was very badly infected and we are working daily to keep it clean and clear it up. However the vet said he may have to have his tail removed to keep it from reoccurring. Has anyone else had their bullies tail removed, can you tell me if it has any repercussions or does it not affect them much. I really dont want to have to do it, but dont want this pain an suffering to keep coming back. In addition we were told he was fixed, however our vet said there is no scar from the surgery and that it appears that his testicles have just not dropped, so again we are looking at surgery for this. its going to be a struggle as hubby is having surgery this month too and that will be an out of pocket expense.
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bullmama

Owner/Administrator
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jan 28, 2010
24,756
1,251
Tucson, Arizona
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USA
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The Home of the Desert Sky Pack
[MENTION=572]Libra926[/MENTION] has had the tail removed on her Vegas. I know there are many others too.

[MENTION=1760]Fontanafox[/MENTION] has a bully with a deep tail pocket and she can help with maintaining it. Also search the site for tail pocket, you can read old discussions on it too :)
 

Davidh

Head Pooper Scooper
Staff member
Mar 21, 2011
13,407
848
Katy, Texas
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USA
Bulldog(s) Names
BeBe, Hazel, Lucy Lu, JLO, Hillary, Henri, & Katie
Our Lucy had hers removed, and no problems.
 

SUMOPUP

New member
Jul 28, 2011
110
6
Toronto, Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Sumo
Sumo had a terrible tail pocket infection. I never went to the vet, just cleaned it daily, kept it dry and clean, and it went away. It took a long time, and she actulaly lost a lot of hair around her tail area. Now that it happened, it has never happened again. I'm very diligent about cleaning the area.

Maybe you should consider getting the area in good shape and working on keeping it that way before dealing with tail amputations?
 

mcraven2

Bonnaroo bound in my bulldog batmobile
Community Veteran
Jan 16, 2012
1,503
80
Boston MA
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United States
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Giovanni, Princess, and Diva (Frenchie)
@Jonntania My Gio has a very deep tail pocket as well. I clean it every night with TrizCHLOR 4 Wipes (I get them at my vet but also can get them on amazon). When we first adopted him his tail pocket had an infection as well and it was gone a couple of weeks after using these wipes daily. They are so great. We also clean that area with baby wipes after every time he takes a number 2! The vet told us we could look into a tail removal also but I just prefer cleaning his tail daily.
 
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MamaAndi

Moderator
Staff member
Nov 20, 2011
3,371
136
Nebraska
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Tank
I don't have anything to add here but I just wanted to say good luck with him whatever you end up needing to do.

I do remeber reading something on here where someone said they put gold bond powder into one of those pointy top squeeze type ketchup bottles to get the powder into a deep tail pocket after cleaning. Thought that was a pretty smart idea! :)
 

Libra926

Pistol Packing Bullyagrapher
Staff member
May 5, 2010
7,482
734
Washington
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United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Vegas and Orion
Hi there. We took Vegas to the vet thinking he had an anal gland issue. That is the day we learned all about tail pockets. Vegas had one that went past the dr's 2nd knuckle. It was severely infected and real tight. I was unable to get into it to clean it and opted to close the pocket. That was the day I also learned that closing a tail pocket is not as easy and as simple as it sounds. Closing the pocket = removing the tail. Not until he was out of surgery did I realize what I had them do. The dr explained it to me, but I guess I completely missed the part about removing all but 1/4 inch of his tail vertebrae.

Vegas was miserable before the surgery. Now...he is a happy boy. I would do it again if need be.
 

Fontanafox

New member
Jan 25, 2011
3,649
315
Fontana, CA
Bulldog(s) Names
Wilson & BabyGirl
I just keep her tail pocket very clean. Washing and rinsing and rinsing again. Don't want to leave soap in there cuz that can irritate the skin. I use cotton balls and Q-tips to dry as best I can. I got an empty mustard bottle (you can get empty catsup/mustard bottles at big lots stores or sometimes in the market or any kitchen supply store) filled it up with Gold Bond Foot powder, the yellow bottle one) and snipped a little bit of the tip off to make it just a bit bigger). Gently insert the tip in and around the tail pocket and give it a good squeeze. Make sure to do this in a place where you don't mind excess powder spilling. I bathe her in a dog tub in the garage and lay a towel under her to catch any powder that spills. I will use baby wipes on my pinky finger or a Q-Tip to wipe it out in between baths. She even runs up to me if she sees me get the wipe box and presents to me her tail end, so I know my help is appreciated. Hope you can avoid surgery but if you have to -- make sure you have an experienced bulldog vet do it.
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
Bulldog(s) Names
Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
Wow. I did not know that tail pockets could be that deep! :eek: (This is why I love this forum btw)

Bea's requires regular maintenance; much as FontanaFox described. It's so easy to "forget" that little piece of business ---- but so important that it's not neglected.

Good luck to you and your pup [MENTION=2642]Jon N Tania[/MENTION] - and thanks for bringing this important topic up again here.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,580
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Gilbertsville, PA
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Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
OH MY!! we thought Banks was going to have to have her tail removed, but since getting her on the right food and daily maintenance, we prevented it. However, in the best interest of Muggsy and more issues down the road you should have both procedures done at once.... the tail will not matter to him and he will not notice/miss it.
 

jen74401

New member
Feb 18, 2012
280
11
Oklahoma
Bulldog(s) Names
Sir Beefy
I use baby wipes on Beefy after every:poo:. I thought that when my kids got older that I'd be done wiping booty. Nope, I got Beefy.
 

DoughnutsMom

Member
Jul 18, 2011
50
4
Florida
Bulldog(s) Names
Doughnut
Our baby, Doughnut, had his removed and I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner. He was beyond miserable and it had become a systematic problem with him. Its is major surgery that must be done by an experienced vet. Please let me know if you have any questions.
 

hcturner

New member
Jun 12, 2012
2
0
Bulldog(s) Names
Nico
I am curios as to what the surgery would cost. Our dog would benefit from this, I'm just not sure how much to budget for.
 

Lacey28

New member
Community Veteran
Sep 17, 2010
1,858
31
Windsor Ontario Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Silva and Stella
We are having the same issues with Silva! We have spent over $1500 with creams and treatments! Our vet has recommended us to remove it and said it would be around $1000. keep us posted!!
 

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