Tail Removal

[Jon N Tania]

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.

 

[bullmama]

[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]

Our Lucy had hers removed, and no problems.

 

[SUMOPUP]

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]

@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.

 

[MamaAndi]

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]

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]

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]

Wow. I did not know that tail pockets could be that deep! (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]

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]

I use baby wipes on Beefy after every. I thought that when my kids got older that I'd be done wiping booty. Nope, I got Beefy.

 

[DoughnutsMom]

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]

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]

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!!