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What dog breeds are the most prone to happy tail syndrome?
Large, excitable short-haired dogs with muscular or whip-like tails are more likely to experience happy tail syndrome. If youâve ever been whacked by a big dogâs wagging tail, you can understand the force the tail must absorb when it is struck against a hard object.
Breeds such as the following have the body conditions that make them prone to happy tail syndrome:
Small dogs with shorter tails or dogs with naturally bobbed tails can wag all they want because their tails are unlikely to strike objects. Therefore, these pups are less prone to developing happy tail syndrome.
If your dog has a longer fur, their furry tail is somewhat cushioned when striking objects, so injury is less likely to occur, even in larger dogs.
Trial and Error: What Doesn’t Work
After basically sitting on Remy and cleaning his wound—which he clearly noticed once he wasnt so distracted by his excitement—we attempted first aid by loosely wrapping the last few inches and tip of the tail in gauze and securing it with medical tape. That bandage promptly popped right off. Then we tried wrapping from a few inches higher with even more tape. That lasted for only a few wags before the bandage “cone” was flipped across the room.
Ive read that if you wrap the tail from the tip to the base (towards the body), it stays on, but:
So, we began wandering around the house to see what else we might use to wrap and protect that battered tip of a tail in order to give it a chance to heal.
Our homemade dog tail protector. This is what finally worked.