Bloody tail from whippin brush

[Panther Creek]

I have a female that whips her tail in the brush so bad it bleeds. Last year it just got a little bloody on the end. Saturday, it bled so bad, she slung blood all over the place. She musta hit a vein. The end of her tail was just drippin blood. The white on her turned pink. I got her home & got her in the tub , cleaned her up & checked her out. I had blood all over me. I looked like I had been butchering hogs. Finally got it to stop bleedin. I talked to my vet who said since she was grown, dockin her tail on the end was a major deal & with anestesia it would be about $70. (Her grandad used to run beagles down in Texas, & she suggested I could try puttin duct tape on her tail right before I run her, She'd be motivated to hunt so bad, she wouldn't try to pull it off. Any sugestions?

[beagle crazy]

If it were me, I'd carry something like EMT gel in the field. If she "cuts" it that badly on numerous occassions, I'd dock her tail. There have been several posts on here about doing that yourself with no problems. JMO

[cowcreekbeagler]

you may try to get someone to band her tail for you.

[tinymwoods]

look kinda like this? As long as it does not affect the running, I don't see a problem. Some band them with sheep bands.

[Panther Creek]

It wasn't THAT bad. Her tail was still pointy, just bleedin real bad. That EMT Gel would hafta be good stuff to stop this bleedin. I would think it would hafta seal the wound off real fast. I was also thinkin that if the last 2 " was docked, what good would it do? It would still get whipped in the brush. That's where a full dock would take care of it, but I'm not sure if I'M ready for that!

[tinymwoods]

Reffett's Ky Mtn Mad Jack ("Bo" as Dexter calls him) has his tail docked. Dexter said it effected his hunt and really affected his balance (negatively on both counts). If you are going to dock his tail, I recommend you do it before they get old enough to hunt.

[Richard]

You can band the tail and it will fall off or you can cut it off (after 2 or 3 weeks) with a side cutter (wire cutter). It will cost very little to do it yourself and you can even hunt her with the band on her tail. We band most of our hounds here in south AR.

[BEAGLEBLUES]

if you use the bands, you might want to get your dog a tetnis shot. this is from experience. We had a dog that would keep a bad tail. dad decided to band the tail in hopes that it would help the gyp. the little girl got tetnis and the vet bill was huge... and she died. just a suggestion. anyone else had this problem or heard about it.
jamey

[WV Jaz]

I put an antiseptic cream on my female's tail when she bloodies it up then wrap it with First Aid tape before she goes out to hunt until it heals up. She pays no attention at all to her taped tail when she hunts. The First Aid tape doesn't pull off the hair as bad as some "heavier" tape and helps protect the tail until it heals.

[FrancoMo1678]

Put a castration band for goats/sheep on it under the spot where it bleeds , will be good to go in 2 weeks .

[Panther Creek]

Never thought abou t first-aid tape. I keep thinkin that if the tail is docked (say 2 ' shorter, it would still bet beat & bloody in the brush from swingin around). maybe not. I had a fellow beagler tell me too, that dockin it short would effect her huntin. She's going on 3 yrs old. So we will try the tape first.

[mayberry1]

I have a buddy that docks his dogs tails. It doesn't effect their hunt at all, In fact two of his dogs are Field Champs. FC Neel's Eli, and FC Neel's Loa. These dogs have no problems hunting or running a rabbit. Thier tails are about 6 inches long.

[Ky. Hunter]

Docking the tail by 2 " should help. If you will notice a dog with a shorter tail will not tear it up as bad as a dog with a longer tail. I notice this all time in my dogs.

[Richard]

Docking the tail by 2 " should help. If you will notice a dog with a shorter tail will not tear it up as bad as a dog with a longer tail. I notice this all time in my dogs.

Correct, and if the tail is a longer tail than it should be, the hound will look better. I like the tail to reach the joint in the hind leg when pulled down. The shorter tail will not usually get raw and bleed like the long tail.

[Panther Creek]

That's probably true, as my other female has a shorter tail, & I havn't had problems with her tail bleedin.