Limber Tail Syndrome

Our question this week was:

My Vet said my dog may have Limber Tail Syndrome. Can you tell me more about this?

A. Beck

Answer

Hi – thanks for your email. Limber tail syndrome is a condition resulting in tail dysfunction. It is a condition of hunting dogs, most commonly young adult male pointers. It can occur in dogs from 9 months to 10 years old but most commonly occurs in dogs around 2 years of age.

The result of this condition is that they have a lower than normal tail set. This often disqualifies them from competition.

There is a lot unknown about his condition. I never even heard about it in vet school.
No one knows why it occurs but is often associated with a recent hard workout with the past 48 hours, transportation in crate, cold weather and/or wet weather.

Some dogs are also painful around the base of the tail. Complete recovery generally occurs within 2 weeks with some dogs recovering within a few days.