dog wont stop biting tail

chris139ryan

my bull terrier pup just wont stop biting the tip of his tail, so much that its bleeds and you can hear him whimper but that still doesnt stop him. I stop him whenever i see him doing it but hes straight back chewing his tail as soon as you turn your back on him.
He is 11 weeks old, just wondering has anyone any advice on how to stop doing this and if it cant be stop would getting his tail docked be the best option or is he too old ? I just dont want him to keep hurting himself or getting an infection in it.

Justask

Maybe put something on it that doesnt taste nice. Im sure you have treated him for flees and checked that he has no bites on his tail that is irratating him ?

chris139ryan

Justask wrote: »

Maybe put something on it that doesnt taste nice. Im sure you have treated him for flees and checked that he has no bites on his tail that is irratating him ?

yes i have checked for the above, its just with this breed it can be a neurological disorder that they bite their tail.

star-pants

Have you been to your vet about this? so that they can eliminate any possible physical causes?
For the moment though I'd get a cone from your vets, to stop him chewing it so it can at least heal - it will only get infected.

Tranceypoo

If it's nothing medical then maybe it's just a learned behaviour, a habit kind of thing, so you need to teach him not to do it, correcting him and distracting him immediately when he starts to do it, reward when he stops type thing,

Docking his tail is most definitely not the answer, please don't do this, if he was biting his leg you wouldn't cut his leg off would you? You would work on stopping him doing it, same with the tail.

DBB

chris139ryan wrote: »

yes i have checked for the above, its just with this breed it can be a neurological disorder that they bite their tail.

As you have identified OP, Bull Terriers are quite prone to several stereotypical behaviours caused by impaired neurology.
I would urge you to talk to a good vet asap to see if this can be dealt with at this early stage with medication.
Until you have established that this is not neurological, do not contemplate docking or buster collars... Docking will get rid of his tail, but it will not get rid of the underlying cause, and its likely his stereotypies will manifest in another way, tail-chasing being a likely one in this particular breed.
If it is neurological, I'd urge you to contact your pup's breeders. They should not continue breeding from these lines.

littlebug

Is he too young to need anal glands emptied? When I got my dog she was constantly biting her tail to the extent that it was always raw and bleeding... there was blood all over walls and doors at waggy tail height.
once her glands were done (*really* needed done) the biting eased and vet suggested a sock over the end of her tail to save it from bleeding again everytime it hit a surface. Problem gone within a few days... and hasn't happened since nearly a year on.

Obviously you're concerned with more serious issues but just thought I'd throw that possibility in.

chris139ryan

DBB wrote: »

As you have identified OP, Bull Terriers are quite prone to several stereotypical behaviours caused by impaired neurology.
I would urge you to talk to a good vet asap to see if this can be dealt with at this early stage with medication.
Until you have established that this is not neurological, do not contemplate docking or buster collars... Docking will get rid of his tail, but it will not get rid of the underlying cause, and its likely his stereotypies will manifest in another way, tail-chasing being a likely one in this particular breed.
If it is neurological, I'd urge you to contact your pup's breeders. They should not continue breeding from these lines.

I am going to drop into my vet tomorrow after college have a chat with him, hopefully he can steer me in the right direction about what to do with him.

littlebug wrote: »

Is he too young to need anal glands emptied? When I got my dog she was constantly biting her tail to the extent that it was always raw and bleeding... there was blood all over walls and doors at waggy tail height.
once her glands were done (*really* needed done) the biting eased and vet suggested a sock over the end of her tail to save it from bleeding again everytime it hit a surface. Problem gone within a few days... and hasn't happened since nearly a year on.

Obviously you're concerned with more serious issues but just thought I'd throw that possibility in.

I will bring this up with the vet tomorrow as well, never heard of getting a dogs anal glands emptied, what could cause this ?

tk123

chris139ryan wrote: »

never heard of getting a dogs anal glands emptied, what could cause this ?

it can be down to their food - especially if their poos are soft say if there's not enough fiber or if the food doesn't suit them. Firm poos help to drain the glands but if they're not draining it can cause them discomfort. My guy used to have stinky anal glands and farts when he was on royal canin because it his poos were hit and miss - changing his food solved the problem thank god!! Many an evening our eyes were watering from sbds where the glands drained before I changed the food! :pac:

chris139ryan

well brought bruno down to see the vet about an hour ago, his glands are perfect so thats not the problem. The vet examined his tail, turns out its quiet bad so bruno is now wearing one of them collars to stop him biting it until it heals (about 7-10 days) if the problem persists after that the vet said the only option left is to get him docked for his sake and well being. this vet has dealth with alot of bull terriers in the past when he was living in england and nothing will get them to stop biting their tails once they start. its going to be weird seeing him without a tail as i think it really suits him, but if its best for him im not going to think twice about it.

DBB

OP, has your vet any expertise in dog behaviour? I would be very disappointed in his approach to this. If you amputate pup's tail, I would say the chances of him developing another stereotypy are very high, given his breed.
If your vet had any behavioural expertise (and I don't believe he has, given his answer to your problem. Not many vets do, especially in ireland) he would know that there are ways of dealing with neuropathic tail-biting and spinning with medication, and this avenue simply must be exhausted before opting for amputation.
You might want to talk to someone with veterinary behavioural training, I'd be happy to guide you to the right person if you like.
In the meantime, as tail-biting and spinning in Bull Terriers is genetically linked, I hope you plan to contact his breeder so that they would reconsider breeding from his lines any more, sparing more owners and pups from the same fate.

chris139ryan

DBB wrote: »

OP, has your vet any expertise in dog behaviour? I would be very disappointed in his approach to this. If you amputate pup's tail, I would say the chances of him developing another stereotypy are very high, given his breed.
If your vet had any behavioural expertise (and I don't believe he has, given his answer to your problem. Not many vets do, especially in ireland) he would know that there are ways of dealing with neuropathic tail-biting and spinning with medication, and this avenue simply must be exhausted before opting for amputation.
You might want to talk to someone with veterinary behavioural training, I'd be happy to guide you to the right person if you like.
In the meantime, as tail-biting and spinning in Bull Terriers is genetically linked, I hope you plan to contact his breeder so that they would reconsider breeding from his lines any more, sparing more owners and pups from the same fate.

I would love to go this route to see if there is anything i could do to get him to stop biting his tail rather than dock it. the parents of this pup wont be breeding again the mothers owners said it was too much hassle and the father owner only breeds each of his male dogs once, but i will mention it to them.

DBB

Hi OP,
Have PM'd you. Hope it helps:o