[NAGDU] {Spam?} Re: {Spam?} Experiences with swimmer's tail?

[Jean Menzies]

Hi Carmela,

I've never heard of swimmer's tail. Thanks for sharing your story. 
Personally, I don't think you did anything wrong, and if it were me, I'd let 
her go swimming again under the safe circumstances you describe. I also 
believe that allowing vigorous play like that is good for them, and that 
they should be allowed to do things like that from time to time. I'm sure 
that a few days rest will see her well again. I doubt it's any different 
than you or I straining a muscle or two during vigorous exercise.

Jean and Bode who wants to go to the beach tomorrow too

-----Original Message----- 
From: Carmella Broome via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 6:39 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Cc: Carmella Broome
Subject: [NAGDU] {Spam?} Experiences with swimmer's tail?

Hi everyone, Brooklyn and I are currently dealing with an episode of limber 
tail syndrome, or as my vet called it “swimmer’s tail.” The  fancy name is 
acute cautal myopathy.   First of all,  she will be okay.  This is a 
temporary thing and she   has already shown a lot of improvement and has 
started to seem  more and more like her usual self throughout the day today. 
I'm curious  about whether any of your dogs have  ever experienced this and 
also want to  do a little educating for those of you not familiar with this 
condition. I'd never heard of it myself.  Apparently, no one  had studied it 
much  until the  mid to late 90s and it was often misdiagnosed so I’m glad 
our vet didn’t immediately want to do all kinds of tests and X rays.  He 
immediately recognized it based on presentation and the information we 
provided and prescribed appropriate treatment.

Brooklyn (my three year old yellow lab) and I were on vacation with my 
family last week.  She worked a little, including  at  my nephew’s infantry 
graduation ceremony. Mostly, though, it was  a relaxed week with lots of 
just hanging out and doing fun stuff with family. Brooklyn did some swimming 
in the lake  several days.  Nothing super strenuous or prolonged really. She 
also got a couple good runs in at a fenced in ball field near my parents' 
house.  I was careful with that due to the heat (we're in the southeastern 
US. I live in SC and my parents live in GA).  Saturday night (the day before 
we came home), she didn't seem interested in swimming.  I thought maybe she 
was just tired, encouraged her some, and then when she just obviously wasn't 
feeling it, I  put her back on the boat. She seemed  to be her usual self on 
Sunday.

Yesterday morning, when we got up to get ready for work, I could immediately 
tell something wasn't right with her.  She wasn't her usual perky wagging 
self. She didn't want to eat and  was being very still and just seemed 
upset. My Mom  was still here since she’d driven me home the night before 
and was going to  drop me and Brooklyn at work before making the two hour 
drive back to GA. Brooklyn loves Nana but wasn’t responding to her the way 
she usually does either.  Mom noticed that the base of Brooklyn’s tail 
looked swollen and that she was holding it funny.   When she  tried to touch 
it, Brooklyn started wimpering and shaking. I wondered if something had 
bitten her.  Obviously,  she was in distress and off to the vet we went.

Brooklyn was diagnosed with swimmer’s tail. Basically, it’s a sports injury 
involving the muscles at the base of the tail.  Its not exactly a sprain, 
but  kind of along that line.  The exact causes can vary but can be related 
to overuse of the muscles (aka playing too hard or swimming when the dog is 
not used to that activity).  Of course, the tail is very involved in balance 
in running and  in swimming.  Even vigorous wagging can cause it. 
Interestingly, according to my reading, so can things like exposure to water 
that is too cold or too warm or being confined to  crates for long periods 
of time. Its onset is sudden and is usually within a few hours to a day 
after  exposure to the  conditions or activity that  sets it off. Its common 
in retrievers, pointers, and other sporting breeds with long tails.   It is 
painful and the tail can be swollen like Brooklyn’s is, or simply appear  to 
be   kind of paralyzed, just hanging down or  tucked.  Its not held in a 
natural position exactly. Obviously, this is because moving it hurts, and 
sitting can hurt, too.

This condition resolves itself  after a few days usually, but to make dogs 
more comfortable, antiinflamatory meds are often  prescribed.  Brooklyn was 
given a week’s worth of Rimadyll, which I give her in the morning and 
evening. Rest and restricted activity  are advised obviously. That wasn’t a 
problem yesterday.  She had no interest in anything. She stayed under my 
desk  and was very  lethargic. I gave her the first dose of Rimadyll   last 
night and she slept very soundly. She seems a good bit perkier today. She is 
eating,  drinking water, and being a little more interactive. She was  even 
doing some tail wagging this afternoon, though I tried to  keep her from 
getting too excited. I try not to bother her much, but have checked her tail 
a couple times today.  It is definitely still swollen and she  doesn’t want 
me touching it. I’m sure the antiinflamatory/pain med is helping. As she 
feels better, I’ll know by  her return to her usual bouncy self.

So, should I  have not allowed her to swim or  run because doing so 
increases the chances that a dog may experience an injury like this or 
worse?  She is a guide dog after all. I know there are  a range of opinions 
among schools, individual trainers, and  guide dog  owners themselves about 
how much  “playing” a working dog should be allowed to engage in. 
Philosophies differ about which toys are okay,  whether playing with other 
dogs is acceptable, if running around outside even in securely fenced areas 
is wise or not, or if swimming should be  allowed. No one wants a guide dog 
getting out of a yard and  getting lost or becoming injured in some way that 
could impact ability to work. Having a guide dog that becomes more of a pet 
and   who has behavior problems because of being allowed too much freedom 
is, I think, disrespectful to the dog who was trained to work and to all 
those who put time, love, and resources into  it becoming a guide dog. I 
seek a middle ground and balance here. I am  big on supervision,  making 
informed choices based on good info and knowing our own situations and our 
own dogs, etc.  I have learned a lot during the 20 years I’ve worked dogs 
and  certainly know there are situations I would handle differently, 
boundaries I should have  kept tighter with dog and other people, and  times 
when lack of supervision has lead to  unintended negative consequences.

Personally, though, I don't believe in the all work and no play  philosophy 
with working dogs and see  play with my dogs as a very important part of 
keeping them healthy and happy.  Each dog is different.  My last dog liked 
to cuddle more than she liked to play.  My first guide  needed lots of play 
time  to get out energy and to keep her brain engaged.  Brooklyn is a lot 
the same way.   I view  play  as a means of strengthening our bond,  as a 
way for us to interact in different ways, as a reward for work and good 
behavior, and  as a way to get exercise and blow off steam being silly and 
just having fun. Once a new dog is settled in, I feel that our bond is good 
and that their behaviors are manageable,  and I know what they can handle in 
terms of boundaries, I let trusted friends and family members play with 
them, too on a limited basis and  supervised by me.  I  make clear what 
behaviors and what toys are allowed and all that. Secured yards, avoiding 
choking hazards, and other safety factors are essential. Me taking 
responsibility and supervising activities and making solid judgments is also 
essential.

During our vacation activities, I monitored her and also had sighted  family 
members helping me monitor her during swim and running  playtimes.  I was 
not irresponsible or putting her in unsafe situations.  I was allowing her 
to do some things she normally doesn’t get to do because we live in the city 
and don’t have access to   good places to swim or run. She was not overly 
active or forced to swim or run. I enjoyed  sharing those activities with 
her. This is just one of those fluke things that happens  to some dogs 
sometimes. This is a problem I knew nothing about as a possibility. Even if 
I had,  I wouldn’t have considered her activity level risky or excessive. 
And that’s the thing.  The only way to prevent something like this would be 
to not let her engage in  physical activity and Brooklyn  is a dog with a 
lot of energy and a need for  more vigorous exercise. She could have done 
the same things and not  developed this condition.  Its kind of a random 
thing, and  in most dogs, it  isn’t something chronic  or likely to happen 
again just because it happened once. I’m not sure how I’ll handle our next 
opportunity for swimming and running.  Obviously, we won’t be doing any of 
that for the next couple weeks, but after that, I’m not sure.  I’ going to 
ask the vet more questions  when we go back for our follow up appointment. 
For now, I'm focused on getting her well and am glad  nothing more serious 
is going on.

Thanks for reading all this and for  your thoughts.

Submitted for constructive dialogue and information,
Carmella Broome

_______________________________________________
NAGDU mailing list
NAGDU at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NAGDU:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/jemenzies%40shaw.ca