To band or not to band

[Lindseys Lemon Line]

This is my 9 month old pup after 2 hours of running............ have no choice but to band her tail.... i have tried everything to keep from banding........... ran her with duct tape, vet wrap, ect. can't keep anything on it.

any thoughts from any of you fellow beaglers

[little e kennels]

have you tried to put the clotting agent on it as it starts to bleed.......... It will stop the bleeding pretty fast.. just a side not that is kinda impressive for being 9 months old.

[yoteslayer]

Ive never had a dogs tail do this. Is this from cutting her tail on brush and or whats the main cause of it?

[Ky. Hunter]

If I had one bleeding out that bad I would band it.

[reddog1]

I have had several of my hounds do this over the years and it's really not as bad as you think. I don't see a puddle of blood on the floor so she's not bleeding out and on a mostly white dog it always looks worse. The tail is acting like a paint brush when you try to shake the paint out of it flinging blood all over the dog. I personally would not band her tail if it was my hound .

Years ago I had a red hound that would get so bloody that you could smell the blood. He lived to be 14

[littlewoody]

I wonder if the problem is dry skin that cracks easy on the tail ?

[fasttrackpa]

I would. It is only gonna get worse.

[Norshore]

I think Reddog is right,it looks worse than it is. I'm running a young open marked male that starts out mostly white and 2 hours in he looks like a red dog. He always carries his tail high and is very animated with it when he works a line. You can here it smacking brush and prickers when they are in frt. of you in thick brush. I also run his litter mate sister, she's the opposite and normally carries her tail lower and has very little swing in it as she works. She hunts the same cover and every bit as hard but seldom has any color on the white tip of her tail.

I decided that I was going to take the top 2.5 inches of his tail after season ends,not because it's a problem but because I don't want it to be a problem down the road.As far as is it normal, If I have 8 dogs with me 3 or 4 look that way to varying degrees and I consider it normal like cut up ears and skinned up legs.

[BCBeagles]

I agree with Norshore and Reddog. I have a couple that are much worse. The little droplets of blood go a long way in spreading out. I had a male just as described with total blood covering. He scared people that would hunt with me. Never did slow him down, JMO.

[mw7881]

BAND it. If it stops it from bleeding just think how she will fell if she isnt loosing blood the whole time she is running. Has to be hard on a dog to loose blood that just my two cents. Cant hurt them only make them fell better.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PrideHillKennel]

I have a red and white jip that is almost 7 and she has always been a bleeder. Some times she bleeds so much that when it dried it is actually crusted like a big scab. Her tail right now has almost no hair on the last 3" of it. Just a bare stub. I just keep doctoring it and have been smearing it with Nitrofurozone(SP ?) cream before and after I run her and it helps. Her cut up ears will slow her down before her tail does. She really looks bad when both of her ears are bleeding down her face and front legs and the back half is bloody from her tail. I wish I could post a pic....

[Dale L.]

It is ultimately up to you as the owner if you want to band or not. Me personally, I would not. I agree with the ones who have said it probably looks worse than it is. I honestly do not think a dog loses enough blood from its tail during a hunt to effect how it feels. I heard someone say one time they had a dog bleed from its tail while hunting so badly they had to carry it to the truck due to weakness. Personally I don't believe it. I also just do not like the looks of a banded tail. I have a male right now that is missing alot of hair on the end of his tail and it begins to bleed within the first few minutes of hunting. However it doesn't seem to effect him any. But if you feel banding is the best option it won't hurt the dog.

[bucks better beagles]

If you don't hunt much, it will clean itself up in a month or so of lay-up time. However, if it begins to bleed seriously on a daily basis, I would band. I have done it many times and the only caution is the age of the dog. The younger the better and remember not to try to cut too much off at once. A severe bleeding tail can lead to anemia if allowed to go on too long.

[Newt]

I wonder if the problem is dry skin that cracks easy on the tail ?

Not it from banging their tails on black berry briars as well as other sharp objects. I have one that seemed to be losing her energy. I looked at her tail and there was a trickle of blood. I banded it, shortened her tail by a couple of inches and then she was fine.

[Lindseys Lemon Line]

i havent noticed her losing energy but this is the way she will look five minutes out of the truck.........rather you run 10 minute or 6 hours she will look this way.......... I've just never been i fan of a bob tail dog........ I raised these pups and they are the best pups I have ever raised..........Just dont want probs down the road..............