The American Beagler Forum

I'm going to band my bitches tail. my buddy who has the bands and pliers says his vet doesn't recomend banding tails. He says it's likley to get infected. Does the vet want money or is this a concern?

Ive docked a dozen or more with no problems.

When I used to have cocker spaniels and did tails the only infected ones I ever had were the ones the vet did ;-) just do it and keep an eye on it for redness or pain.

Leah

thall,,,,,,,when banding a tail always remember to pull the skin on the tail towards the butt of the dog and place the band between the joints in the tail and you will be ok,,,,,,

THALL wrote:I'm going to band my bitches tail. my buddy who has the bands and pliers says his vet doesn't recomend banding tails. He says it's likley to get infected. Does the vet want money or is this a concern?

I’ve been dealing with this since the early 1980’s. If you’re planning on cutting the dogs tail off because of “excessive blood lose” I have a proven remedy.

Hard hunting beagles that pop their tail hard can loose excessive amounts of blood and get weak. Some get anemic if left untreated.

1) With the Vetrap: First start at the tip and wrap 2 to 3 inches bellow the raw area on the tail. It only sticks to itself, so make sure you wrap it back over itself once. You can even put some EMT Gel under the Vetrap to speed up the healing.
2) With the Scotch Gripping Tape: Use this overtop of the Vetrap. Go down past where the Vetrap stops a few inches. This gives the gripping tape some hair to stick on to so it won't come off.

The Vetrap can be purchased at any TSC, and the Gripping Tape can be purchased at Kmart.

Here is a photo of both.

I use same type of idea. Start at the tip with duct tape. but wrap it around the tail sticky side out. I wrap down a bit over halfway, then switch directions for one pass. what I mean is fold it and do a wrap with the sticky side down overlapping the last wrap by 1/2. this way it sticks to the rest of the tape as well as the tail and this is what holds it on.

Keystone Kid wrote: I’ve been dealing with this since the early 1980’s.... I have a proven remedy.
The Vetrap can be purchased at any TSC, and the Gripping Tape can be purchased at Kmart.

Thanks, Keystone!! I'll be at TSC when they open this morning. I need to do something.. Hope it works for me too.

TallDog wrote:

Keystone Kid wrote: I’ve been dealing with this since the early 1980’s.... I have a proven remedy.
The Vetrap can be purchased at any TSC, and the Gripping Tape can be purchased at Kmart.

Thanks, Keystone!! I'll be at TSC when they open this morning. I need to do something.. Hope it works for me too.

I tried this method a few months ago to no avail.. I just banded one last month and his tail fell off after 3 weeks, it's the 2nd tail of my own dogs I've banded but have done several of my friends dogs. The vet wrap and tape just kept coming off, where we hunt the briars are too thick and pull it off. I guess I could tape up 1/2 the tail, but it's not worth it, banding was easier on the dog and some dogs will chew the tape once they're back in the kennel. I'm not big on the banded tail look, and unfortunately, I've got 3 more in my kennels that need banding

coolbrze wrote:

TallDog wrote:

Keystone Kid wrote: I’ve been dealing with this since the early 1980’s.... I have a proven remedy.
The Vetrap can be purchased at any TSC, and the Gripping Tape can be purchased at Kmart.

Thanks, Keystone!! I'll be at TSC when they open this morning. I need to do something.. Hope it works for me too.

I tried this method a few months ago to no avail.. I just banded one last month and his tail fell off after 3 weeks, it's the 2nd tail of my own dogs I've banded but have done several of my friends dogs. The vet wrap and tape just kept coming off, where we hunt the briars are too thick and pull it off. I guess I could tape up 1/2 the tail, but it's not worth it, banding was easier on the dog and some dogs will chew the tape once they're back in the kennel. I'm not big on the banded tail look, and unfortunately, I've got 3 more in my kennels that need banding

If it doesn't work you not doing it the way we are, and the material must not be the same as we are using.

I say he's after the $$$.. I've banded several No problems dogs better off since . BTW I didn't think u could trial a dog with it's tail taped??

I tried all that stuff with the Vetrap and Ducktape. I worked for a few hours then it would fall off. And when you put them back in the kennel the dog will chew it off. My dog didn't seem to like it on there either. After a while of doing this I banded the tail and it fell off a few weeks later and he's been fine ever since.

About 3days before I put the band on I started giving the dog 250mg of Amoxcillin twice daily, then continued that for about 7days after I put the band on to keep the chance of infection down.

here is my two cents on this.............

my blue boy dog kept tearing his tail up horribly,i mean half his taaile was raw meat,when i ran him hard,he would loose blood and start faiding,plus,twice he came down with some serious infection and it was caused by the damage to his tail.

i took him to the vet last week and had half his tail docked,i cost me 35 and a 18 dollar doctor visit that covered another dog that had dew claws removed.

so basically,i had about 50 bucks into getting his tail docked.

why take the chance to loose a good hound by doin it yourself when it does not cost much to go the safe route????????


jmho

vansickle, sounds like I need to get a new vet mine wanted $165 just to cut it plus the meds and everything else.

danny vansickle wrote:here is my two cents on this.............

my blue boy dog kept tearing his tail up horribly,i mean half his taaile was raw meat,when i ran him hard,he would loose blood and start faiding,plus,twice he came down with some serious infection and it was caused by the damage to his tail.

i took him to the vet last week and had half his tail docked,i cost me 35 and a 18 dollar doctor visit that covered another dog that had dew claws removed.

so basically,i had about 50 bucks into getting his tail docked.
why take the chance to loose a good hound by doin it yourself when it does not cost much to go the safe route????????jmho

How long did you have to stand him up while his tail healed. Put a band on it and you can run next day. I have a very good friend thats a vet and he helps me out by telling me little things I can do to save money, and one of the things was banding tails. He told me it was safe and effective. When it falls off put some antibiotic cream or spray on it and thats it. I believe the way the band works there is very little chance of infection. just my 2 cents ( and for $50 i can buy enuff bands to dock every beagle in the US...)

I'm sure here in NOVA it would cost several hundred $ to have a vet do it. Rediculous I tell you! I'll continue banding them myself like we've been doing. The habitat is so thick here and I run my dogs too much not to have this happen anymore. It took me 2 months of laying my last dog up and running him very little to 'heal' it, then it happened all over again the 1st couple weeks of the season. No my friends, banding is the way to go for serious hunters!