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4 mo. old ACD tail chasing/biting/aggression

19 14:41:34

Question
my acd fem. pup chases and bites her tail, causing it to bleed. she is the "runt" of the litter, but is also the self designated alpha canine. her pack includes an fem. 18 yr.old acd, her parents and her 3 siblings. the pups just recently recovered from parvo, while she was sick for a short time she did not develope a high fever. i wondered if this could have promted the sudden tail chasing issue? she of course as an acd does, wants to chase and catch everything. just the site of her tail behind her sets her off! when she bites it hurting herself it just makes her madder and more aggressive in the attack! first i tried just a cone, but her tail is too long and she still catches the tip. the we tried medicating the tip with pain releaf 3 way ointment covered with gause and electrical tape. the bandaging is not wrapped to tighly and is removed every night.she can still catch it with out hurting herself, so now it just makes her mad pulling on it. next we made a soft leather harness that holds her tail loosely between her hind legs and is secured at the belly strap. she can still eliminate with out getting it on her tail. this has worked the best so far. if she can't see it she doesn't chase or bite it. she looks around for it for a minute then settles down and rests. she of course can not continue to live in this get up, my question is should i consider meds or docking or? please advise... thank you, erin.

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Answer
Hi Erin, Tail biting is not exactly rare in the breed...but it is an exasperating problem, which unfortunately cannot often be solved. I do know of one client who brought her dog inside the home(he had been an ouside kennel dog) and the lack of external excitement cured him of tail biting.It sounds to me like your situation is worse, so we must look at the options. You could medicate...but all meds have side effects...and for such a young dog, the side effects could raise havoc as she gets older. You might try medicating for a month or so...with some form of Prozac...and she might just break the habit. Docking the tail is major surgery...and to be frank, normally I would not advise it. But, you have already tried several options, none of which have worked, so docking may be the best bet. Be certain you have a vet experienced in this surgery...and be VERY CAREFUL re: infection.In conclusion, try medicating, and should this not work, dock the tail. Let me know what you decide. Wendy

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