Lump on tail, any ideas?

[dogspaw]

My daughters hopefull "breed by" show prospect Cavalier has woke up this morning with a huge lump on his tail about midway down. The way he waggs it I would not be supprised if he broke it, but lets just pray it is broken or sprained or something. My daughter is a mess worried to death it is something more. (she just turned 14 and this was her pick from her first litter) He is acting fine, playing and rough housing around with the other dogs, cant keep this one down. Vets in my area are closed today except for the ER, which we may end up going to if she so decides, but was wondering if anyone had any thoughts. There is no break in the skin, tail is still straight-not crooked or obviously broken, and it is hard not mushy feeling, and all the way around-not just on top or bottom. DISCLAMER-He WILL go to the vet, but the ER said if he was acting fine it could and should wait till Monday.

He was seen by two vets last weekend for a heart and eye clinic and passed with flying colors, this just sucks.

[wet noze]

That really does suck...the big one. He was just seen by the the vet last week and now you have this, on a weekend! argggggg! This is how it always happens. Don't ya know! Just plain not fair. I have no idea what it is but I'm hoping you wake up tomorrow and it disappears just like it came. Fingers are crossed.

[edderland]

spray the swollen area with water to moisten the hair, and part it bit by bit and examine the skin for a red dot or bite mark from a spider or other insect; check to see if the skin is normal pink or red or black or discolored in any way. Take your dog's temperature; it should be between 101 and 102. Does the dog show any signs of discomfort if you pinch or squeeze the swelling?
If the answer to all of these questions is that everything is normal, he can wait til Monday.
Another problem that can pop up is a blocked oil gland on the top of the tail; warm compresses will open up the pores and let the oil out.
Deidre

[felzenhaus]

Labs and retrievers get something called "cold tail" (I think that's right). It looks broke and they usually won't lift it very high. Usually happens when they go out hunting and swim in cold water. I had one of my Shepherds do this recently, and she didn't go swimming or any injury that I know of. Some of the Lab people say you can hold the tail up close to the body and slowly pull gently, not hard and not fast. Didn't really make any difference with mine. It lasted about a week and a half, then back to normal.

[windywaycavaliers]

spray the swollen area with water to moisten the hair, and part it bit by bit and examine the skin for a red dot or bite mark from a spider or other insect; check to see if the skin is normal pink or red or black or discolored in any way. Take your dog's temperature; it should be between 101 and 102. Does the dog show any signs of discomfort if you pinch or squeeze the swelling?
If the answer to all of these questions is that everything is normal, he can wait til Monday.
Another problem that can pop up is a blocked oil gland on the top of the tail; warm compresses will open up the pores and let the oil out.
Deidre

Exactly,,I am betting a bug bite, too. Hope the guy is alright!

[Smart-n-Pretty]

Some of the Lab people say you can hold the tail up close to the body and slowly pull gently, not hard and not fast.

Can someone elaborate on this? What do you mean by hold it up close to the body?

[dogspaw]

Well the lump is still there this morning. He has no fever and no break in the skin that I can find. It does not seem to hurt him when you touch it, mater of fact, he does not even know it is there. He has not slowed down a fraction of a second. Watching him play with my SP "puppy" who is still under a year and over 70 lbs makes me hope they just got to playing too roudy and he hurt it somehow. Thanks for the response. I will let yall know what we find out.

[sheilabgroomer]

I was going to suggest you PM Windy since she is the "Cav" expert, but she beat me to it....lol...

Have no idea what it could be, but I will keep my fingers crossed along w/the others and pray that it is something that is easily "fixed".

[4Sibes]

If he is like any one of the male Sibes I've owned over the years... I'd say don't fret...it's his brain.

Seriously tho....when you feel it...is there any "heat" coming from it?
I hope it's just a bug bite. Prolly not a career ender.

[sheilabgroomer]

[QUOTE=4Sibes;381946]If he is like any one of the male Sibes I've owned over the years... I'd say don't fret...it's his brain.

This cracked me up and made me spew coffee on my keyboard! Maybe it's time to switch to a less dangerous beverage like water.....lol


Dogspaw, I would think (hope) that since he is acting so normal that this is nothing life changing. Let us know what vet says if you still take him.

[4Sibes]

[QUOTE=sheilabgroomer;381964]

If he is like any one of the male Sibes I've owned over the years... I'd say don't fret...it's his brain.

This cracked me up and made me spew coffee on my keyboard! Maybe it's time to switch to a less dangerous beverage like water.....lol

Noooooo, not the keyboard! You just got a new one! Remember how much we missed you when you were gone? Spew your coffee to the left or right.

[dogspaw]

[QUOTE=sheilabgroomer;381964]

Dogspaw, I would think (hope) that since he is acting so normal that this is nothing life changing. Let us know what vet says if you still take him.

The life changing part is what scares me the most. Yes he is still going to the vet in the morning. I know there was no sign of it last weekend. We were at a Cavalier heart and eye clinic at a friends last weekend and both of his littermates were there. (along with about 50 other Cavaliers lol) My daughter had all 3 of them up on a table with everyone running their hands all over them to prepare them for the specialty show here in a couple weeks. It is not warm to the touch, no sign of a bite or break in the skin, and I am a complete paranoid wreck when it comes to stuff like this. (after my "buldging disc" that turned out to be a tumor I wonder why???? lol) Im crossing my fingers that I am waaayyyyy over reacting. Thanks for the suggestions and positive thoughts and prayers.

[felzenhaus]

Smart-n-pretty,
Sorry, you hold the tail straight out from the body as if the dog just lifted his tail, so it is even with his topline, not above or below. Then you gently pull straight out away from the body the direction the tail is extended. Supposedly it is similar to popping your finger when you have jammed it. Except it is a slow, gentle, constant pull. I have friends that have Flat-Coats, and Labs and they swear by it. I did try it on my Shepherd, didn't seem to do anything. Just kind of had to wait it out. I guess it is very common in Labs.

[dogspaw]

Update

The lump on his tail is still there, but it is much smaller. He still acts like it is not there at all. I called the vet and they said to watch it for a few days since it is getting smaller. May look for a new vet but we will see. I kinda wondered if I sounded like one of those over parinoid mothers, but then I realized that if I was worried about it they should have been more then willing to look at it? Dont ya think?

[Arrooh]

Yes

Dogspaw. It's always nice to just have a Vet look at a bump/lump/spot etc. They see so much that often a good Vet can figure out what it is or at least if it's likely to be a problem just by looking. It would have been good to at least have had that. Then there are the other Vets that want to take tests (ka ching) of all sorts for a little cyst or tail gland.

Glad to see there is improvement and hopefully soon something to laugh about.