Cold Tail Prophylaxsis???

Last year my poor Jubilee got cold tail after the first day of competing. I was going to pull her the second day but she showed all of us as she ran up the stairs down the dock and jumped in anyway lol. My thoughts are, what if I prophylaxed her with anti-inflammatories prior to the event? Has anyone tried this before on a dog that is prone to getting CT?

I don't think anything that that has proven to be helpful, I'm afraid. Maybe others have some thoughts, but medically, because it is poorly understood, nothing has really be identified to prevent it.

Ok thank you. I have read a lot about people calling it a "compartment syndrome" like situation so that is why I was wondering if AIs would work. I have some previcox so I was considering using it pre-event rather than wait until she is in pain because she has gotten it quite a few times so I wouldn't be suprised.

Well, try it and see! I would be interested to see what you think it did, if anything. It certainly won't hurt her!

Yea that is what I was thinking. I will let you know!

OK and I hope Milt sees this.. I am so glad I mainly have no tail dogs and the only one with a tail hates the water. Nubby Butts Rule....

crazyjackpack wrote:OK and I hope Milt sees this.. I am so glad I mainly have no tail dogs and the only one with a tail hates the water. Nubby Butts Rule....

hahahaha...I know he sees a lot of dogs and this was last year but he made an example of her during the splashes to educate everyone on CT.

Alisa,

Mocha's vet has recommended giving NSAID as prophylaxis. Mocha has had cold tail twice and Kona had it once. He recommends starting the NSAID 2 days prior to event and continuing it through the event. I started doing this last year, and neither has gotten it since. Has it been the NSAID, or just luck? Who knows!

It is tough to treat/prevent, because of how much is known about it. Just in case it were to happen again, I always have "hot hands" with me for comfort.

Cool that is what I was thinking...I have some previcox so I will try that. Thanks!

what are hot hands?

You are from Florida, right? Of course you wouldn't know what hot hands are!

They are a little heat pack that you can put in gloves when your hands get cold. They are activated by crushing the packet. Hunters use them often. For cold tail, they are like a mini heating pad to help relax the muscles.

Instead of getting scripts for NSAIDS, I used buffered aspirin &/or baby aspirin. I always carry them with me.

I saw a thread on DD a while ago, and a lot people were swearing by fish oil, Salmon, to prevent CT

Jim

CoffeeDogs wrote:You are from Florida, right? Of course you wouldn't know what hot hands are!

They are a little heat pack that you can put in gloves when your hands get cold. They are activated by crushing the packet. Hunters use them often. For cold tail, they are like a mini heating pad to help relax the muscles.

Instead of getting scripts for NSAIDS, I used buffered aspirin &/or baby aspirin. I always carry them with me.

Hhahaha I DO know what they are! I use them when I go skiing rofl. Ok cool. I have a RX for NSAIDS because I competitively run Jubilee in Flyball and they are part of her emergency kit.

jtallen wrote:I saw a thread on DD a while ago, and a lot people were swearing by fish oil, Salmon, to prevent CT

Jim

Someone on the lab board I posted on just brought this to my attention as well. She is already on a pill daily. I wonder if that is enough?

I read recently that fish oil is considered a natural anti inflamatory that is probably why it works. I did a little reading on it because there is a lot of talk about using it on my HD board, and I wanted to know if I should supplement with it. Since my dogs are not 'hurting' at the time I will stick to the usual joint supplements. I just thought it was interesting to know what it is supposed to help with.

Aimee you are right, our short tails never get cold tail!!

Well, I hope ot works .... I have heard others who have tried using NSAIDs and still got it, but I think, like most things, it is an individual thing. But it is certainly worth a try!! I might even give it a try, as my little Ham & Eggs got it at the last event.

As far as the fish oil, I think that is a great thing to give anyway. It has so many benefits (skin, coat, allergies, natural anti-inflammatory, etc). Unless a dog is allergic or has a adverse reaction (such as diarrhea, for example) to it, I can't see any harm in using it.

labpaw wrote:As far as the fish oil, I think that is a great thing to give anyway. It has so many benefits (skin, coat, allergies, natural anti-inflammatory, etc). Unless a dog is allergic or has a adverse reaction (such as diarrhea, for example) to it, I can't see any harm in using it.

I agree. It's a great natural supplement to give. Salmon oil is best. All our pups get 2 per day and it has done a lot of good... especially with Jack's allergies. We give it for their joints also, and the ones actually with joint issues also get additional supplements for that.

Not meaning to sound ignorant, but just out of curiosity...

What is "Cold Tail Prophylaxsis"???

From reading the posts, I am gathering that it has something to do with the tails getting cold? But I wasn't sure how the anti-inflamatorys, fish oils, etc... would help a tail that is cold. And how can you tell they have it?

Sorry for the questions, but the topic made me curious...

frozen tail, limber tail, rudder tail, cold water tail a painful condition of the tailbase recognized in gundogs, mainly Labrador retrievers. Usually seen the day after hunting, and believed to be a tendonitis or myositis associated with vigorous swimming or hyperextension of the tail when leaping into water. The affected dog holds the tail horizontally, away from the rump, and is reluctant to sit.

I'm so glad this topic came up. Brew had it at the December jump at Universal Mall. I thought he was sick because being part setter and lab his tail is always up and "flaging". When we got up on Sat. morning the first thing I noticed was he was carring his tail funny. Thankfully he didn't seem to be in any pain with it and he was eating well and he could sit. I'm glad to know there are things I can try for him so hopefully it doesn't happen to him again. I'm so glad that Milt and other folks at the jump knew what it was and told me about it. Brew is the first sporting breed we've ever had and I'd never heard of anything like it before. My nephew who owns a gorden setter had never even heard of it.

Kel, when you give the salmon oil you said you give 2 a day. I'm assuming you give the pups capsules? Do you puncture them and put them on the food or do you just put the capsules in their food or give the orally? I'm sure Brews coat will really benifit from the suppliments.

Thanks everyone for all the great tips. I love reading the forum and learning from everyone. Brew can't wait to get jumping again. Have a great day everyone,

Just another quick question. I was going to get Brew salmon oil but I have a huge bottle of fish oil concentrate that are soft gels. It is 1000mg fish oil with 300mg Omega 3 fatty acids. Anyone have any input on that? Would it be OK to give to Brew and at 1000mg how many should I give? Brew is a 90 pound dog. Since it's soft jells should I put a hole in the capsule and squirt it on his food or just put the capsule in his food? I feed kibble but we moisten it with warm water so he's not eating hard kibble. We feed him twice a day. I'm sure part of that also is to see if he will eat the capsule also. Thanks for any input. Have a great day everyone!

Kel's out right now but this is her mom here.
Our males are very close in weight to your Brewster. One of our dogs wil eat the capsules with just some canned food smeared on it, three have to have it wrapped in soft cheese, two won't fall for any of that- we have to put it in the back of their mouths, close the mouth and stroke the throat until they swallow. Then they get a pinch of cheese as a reward. We do that twice a day.
Oh, the pills are also 1000mg. As Kel mentioned, we prefer the salmon oil- it seems to provide more benefits- but we do use the regular fish oil when we do not have the salmon.

Hi Angela,
Thanks so much for the reply! Brew will be starting the fish oil tomorrow. Once I run out of the fish oil I'll start getting the salmon oil. Thanks for the tips on pilling pups also. I do know all about pilling pups. Our last pup Tucker had epilepsy so he was on phenobarbital and a liquid pottisum bromide. He took the pheno great it was the bromide that was tricky! So far thankfully I haven't had to pill Brew so we'll see how he does. I love the big breeds though. Their mouths are a much easier target that a small dog! Our Tucker was also a 90 pound pup. Thanks again and have a great day,

Yay, another big dog person!
So, Mary, do you creep out your non-dog friends too when you stick your hand in there with the doggy drool and all those serious teeth? Their reactions always crack me up.
Love the pic of Brew. His body language is all about his having a great time. His pic reminds me of the pics of Jack Tar- they look like such happy boys.