The Tale of the Droopy Tail

Once upon a time there was a sweet dog named Abby who needed a bath. One hot, sunny day the three sweet sisters in her family decided to give her one. They all had fun in the sun, got the job done, and Abby was happily soft and sweet smelling after.

Hold up a minute... the very next day said sweet dog would not have anything to do with the sweet sisters and in fact would not wag her tail or even move it. She spent the day alone in the garage, would not even eat a treat, and winced when anyone touched her tail. Concerned that her tail was broken or that there was something else seriously wrong with her (have you seen Marley and Me?) we googled "limp tail lab" and found this website: http://www.thelabradorclub.com/subpages/coldwatertail.php

Poor Abby has something called "limber tail syndrome" or "cold water tail" that sometimes occurs in dogs (often labs) that have been in cold water recently. Sort of like a delayed onset muscle soreness in humans.

I am happy to report that she is slowly getting her wag back :)