Cold tail, limp tail, beagle tail: What is it? What should you do about it?

Lulu has not been well.

It also started at Barkworld (which was lots of fun and I'll have a recap up soon!). On Friday afternoon, her tail came down, and it hasn't been up right since.

We tried to take some fun Star Wars pics Friday, but she wasn't in the mood.

What's wrong? Well we heard all kinds of ideas from other attendees, especially from veterinarians. The general consensus -- a tail issue. Either she hurt herself at the tail base, or pulled something. That's what my vet thinks as well. She saw the vet Tuesday, and she prescribed anti-inflammatory meds.

Some beagle owners, however, suggested something even my vet didn't know about -- cold tail.

WHAT IS COLD TAIL?

Not a lot of people know about it. It's not even mentioned on PetMD. And we're not even sure how it happens.

Basically, the condition occurs in dogs who are hunting dogs -- that includes beagles. The tail goes numb or limp at the base. It normally happens after a strenuous day of work, or after swimming or bathing in cold water.

The condition is known by many names, such as cold tail, limp tail, broken tail, even beagle tail.

Janet Steiss and JC Wright at the Sports Medicine Program at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Auburn University studied the condition, and I found this article about it AKC Labrador Retriever website. They found many of the dogs who were examined early on had higher levels of serum creatine phosphokinase, which is a muscle enzyme. It's why the muscles around the tail base will seem sore.

But if you don't know to look for that, or catch it early on, there's no way to know that's the cause.

So what can be done? The best medicine is time. But anti-inflammatory meds, according to beagle experts, can also shorten the duration.

Right now, I'm happy to report Lulu's tail has come up every once in a while. She is just not holding it up. But other than this, she is totally fine.

On Saturday at Barkworld, we tried to take a group picture of my #petchat peeps. Mom's dog Cappy accidentally stepped on Lulu's back. Lulu yelped and then snapped at Cappy.

But today I can pick up Lulu's tail without a yelp. So she will be fine. This is not a permanent, dangerous condition. Just give your dog some rest. And get some anti-inflammatories from your vet.

How did it happen to Lulu? We're not sure. The vet thought that maybe her tail was stepped on or something. I'm wondering if she wagged it a little too much during Friday's training session with Petco. She could have gotten waglash! 

I can make jokes now, but I can tell you I was near tears over the weekend.