Disclaimer: We are behavioral trainers and not veterinarians. This post is for informational purposes only and does not replace treatment from a licensed veterinarian.
If you’re familiar with us at Lugaru K9 Training, you probably know that I spend a few of my earlier years working with animal shelters. This experience gave me a lot of hands-on work with dogs of all kinds, but it also exposed me to an unpleasant side effect of prolonged kenneling and excessive excitement: “happy tail.”
When you initially hear the first part of the name, the picture that comes to mind is hardly unpleasant. After all, the word “happy” can’t indicate something so terrible. But “happy tail” or “happy tail syndrome,” also called “kennel tail” or “bleeding tail” is a serious condition in dogs that can be chronic and very painful.
What Is Happy Tail Syndrome?
Dogs use their tail as a communication tool, to express a variety of emotional states like happiness, anxiety, submission, nervousness, and excitement. As the name indicates, when dogs are happy or overly excited, they wag their tail vigorously, which can hit hard surfaces like walls, tables, chairs, or doors. When this happens repeatedly, the dog can end up getting its tail injured, resulting in bleeding, hair loss, and more. This condition is referred to as “happy tail syndrome.”
The Medical Side of Happy Tail
There are many factors (both anatomical and behavioral) that contribute to the development of this issue.
Depending on breed and tail length, a dog’s tail has five to twenty bones (called caudal vertebrae). These vertebrae articulate through the caudal (tail) muscles, and anatomically speaking, dogs with more vertebrae and stronger muscles in the tail can end up wagging their tails extremely hard and end up more susceptible to developing injuries from happy tail.
This can really cause problems in overly-excited dogs because the skin of the tail is usually thin and tends to get even thinner as it moves toward the tail tip. The blood supply in the dog’s tail is plentiful, making it an especially vulnerable location in the dog’s body, and particularly prone to damage.
Unfortunately, dogs will often fail to register, or simply ignore pain, in lieu of the exciting stimulus that causes the wagging in the first place. Instead, dogs will continue to wag their tails even when bleeding, exacerbating an already problematic condition.
The damage to the tail can be minor at first, and because of this, happy tail syndrome often goes untreated until it becomes a significant problem. Initially, most pet owners are not even aware of the situation until they begin finding mystery blood droplets on walls and other surfaces, and the dog begins losing hair on the tail enough to reveal breaks in the skin when they occur.
Is My Dog At Risk for Happy Tail Syndrome?
While most dogs can develop happy tail syndrome many factors contribute to a dog’s individual risk of developing happy tail, including individual anatomy, behavioral training, environmental factors, and more.
For instance, dogs with a very long, whip-like tail have more chances to hit objects around them, from a sheer mechanical perspective.
Large dogs or dogs with very developed caudal muscles (this would look like having a “thick tail”), which can make powerful wags also have more chances to get a tail injury.
Dogs with short hairs at the tail have more chances to get a tail injury, as they lack the extra protection and cushioning that long-haired dogs have.
And, of course, any dog that has a habit of wagging its tail excessively can be more prone to happy tail as well.
Breeds More Prone to Happy Tail Syndrome
Keeping in view the above risk factors, we have listed below the few breeds that are more prone to tail injury.
• Doberman
• Boxer
• Pit Bull Terrier
• Greyhound
• Pointers
• Dalmatian
• Belgian Malinois
• Great Dane
• Labrador Retrievers
• German Shepherd
• American Bulldog
So How Can I Help?
If your dog is prone to happy tail, there are a few things you can do to stop further damage and allow your dog to heal. Or, if you see a pattern of your dog hitting its tail and want to stop damage from happening before it occurs, these same tips can be applied to simply prevent damage from happening in the first place.
First Aid
A dog’s tail has a large number of blood vessels. Once injured, there is continuous blood loss from the tail so as a dog owner it is advised to maintain a dog first aid kit at home and know the basic first aid techniques to stop the bleeding. If at any point you notice small blood splashes in different areas in your house check your dog’s tail, provide them first aid, and if applicable, take them to the veterinarian for proper treatment.
Behavioral Training
Dogs wag excessively due to excitement, and managing this excitement can be a huge factor in preventing further damage. When we train dogs with happy tail, we always put an extra emphasis on impulse control and a solid place command; after all, a dog that can stay in its cushioned dog bed while exciting things happen around them is a dog that isn’t running around smacking its tail on every object in sight. Crate training is also important for managing happy tail from a behavioral standpoint, because it allows the dog to be contained in a low-excitement environment when not under direct supervision, whereas otherwise the dog may be roaming and causing themselves harm when no one is around to stop it or help in the case of injury. For managing happy tail from a behavioral standpoint, we almost always recommend increasing structure and implementing impulse control in other areas as well, to limit excitement to appropriate times and environments.
Environmental Management
As mentioned earlier, there is a time and place for excitement because some environments can encourage damage to the tail, such as tight quarters and places with many hard surfaces like wood and metal furniture. Unfortunately, many homes are simply built in this way, but there are still things that can be done to reduce the likelihood of damage to the tail.
As mentioned regarding behavioral training, having your dog on a soft, cushioned surface for place command is a great place to start; it ensures that if your dog wags, the impact is dulled by the soft bed, and not whapped against a wall, table, or firm raised cot.
Cushioned bolsters in your dog’s crate can also dull impact from wagging and can be a fair solution to dogs who are not also destructive in the crate.
Spreading hard furniture out and making your space more “open” can also give your dog fewer things on which to hit their tail, and give you a better window to respond if impact from overexcitement does happen. If your home has many objects that you don’t particularly need, considering a declutter of the space can also help manage happy tail syndrome by reducing obstacles in general.
Going hand-in-hand with behavioral training, it’s also perfectly okay to set boundaries with your dog about areas that may facilitate injuries from happy tail. If your dog has a habit of sitting under your desk while you work and whaps their tail on the legs of your table, it is okay to make that spot off-limits for the sake of your dog’s health.
At the end of the day, think of ways that you can make your space and your dog more compatible, whether that is training done with the dog, or managing your space so that injury is less frequent. A combination of both is the best way to go.
Supervision, and Stopping It When It Starts
When your dog has a history of hitting its tail, especially to the point of injury, as a dog owner you inevitably become more aware of the start of the behavior that causes it. If you see your dog starting to hit their tail on objects in the house, take action to remove them from the environment, like sending them to place or taking them outside. The exact proper response is situational; place may be a good option at home, but out at a store you may need to momentarily leave the building or find a larger aisle or more open area. Asking your dog to sit in a more open spot can give your dog a chance to focus on the command and “wag it out” against a smooth floor while coming down from being excessively excited.
Ultimately, a dog is rarely going to injure themself from one or two wags against anything; it is the repeated and forceful nature of the behavior that causes injury. This means that you have an opportunity to remove your dog from situations that could lead to injury before the behavior is repeated enough for that to happen.
Veterinary Treatment and Solutions for Happy Tail Sydrome
When getting medical treatment for happy tail after the fact, the following steps may be taken by your veterinarian on a case-by-case basis:
Tail Bandaging
If your dog is facing this issue for the first time in its life, the vet may prefer to bandage the tail and monitor it for further concern. They will often advise you to change the bandage daily or twice a week depending on the severity of the condition. The bandage will protect the tail during the process of healing. The healing process can last for five to six weeks. This process may include the use of a cone or recovery collar to prevent your dog from chewing on or removing the bandage.
Antibiotics
If the wound is old or it gets an infection during the treatment, it may be necessary to give antibiotics to your dog to ensure quick healing. Your vet will decide which antibiotic will be most effective after examining the wound.
Sedation
Rest is important for the quick healing of the wound. If a dog will spent most of its time while sleeping/resting, there will be less chance of reopening the wound. Your veterinarian may recommend sedating dogs that are very hyperactive to allow for rest and healing of the wound, though this is usually for more severe cases.
Surgical Wound Correction
Stitches will be applied by your vet if the wound is very deep or blood vessels are damaged. Your vet will typically do this procedure under general anesthesia.
Tail Amputation/Surgical Docking
In some cases, dogs will continue to wag and injure their tail over and over again, making these injuries very difficult to heal. There are some cases where saving the tail may cause more physical discomfort, financial strain, and health risk to the dog than surgically docking the tail in a sterile environment. One example of this is if your dog repeatedly opens wounds on its tail, which can lead to infection and more serious medical complications.
In these cases, your vet will recommend surgical removal or amputation of the tail to avoid chronic trauma, on a case-by-case basis. It is rarely the first line of defense against damage, but may be recommended in more serious and persistent cases. Although tail amputation can be a controversial topic, if it keeps the dog from developing more serious issues, there should really be no ethical qualms in the decision. At the end of the day, the tail is not a vital organ, and your dog will be just as “happy” as before.
Tackling Happy Tail
When all is said and done, addressing happy tail syndrome is a mix of approaches that work together for both prevention and treatment. Being proactive is the absolute best approach when dealing with these kinds of tail injuries, but there are many ways that you can contribute to helping a dog with happy tail.
Have you ever had to help a dog with happy tail? What worked for you, and what do you wish you knew along the way? Let us know in the comments!
