# Poppy's Surgery



## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Poor sweet Poppy! Hopefully this will be the last of any more surgeries for quite a long time! Glad she healed without problems! I bet you are exhausted too! LOL!


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## pudellvr (Dec 1, 2016)

How horrible. Glad she is improving!!


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## marialydia (Nov 23, 2013)

Thank you for the update. You both must be glad it's all behind you. 

The tail hair will grow! And let's hope it doesn't bother her at all anymore.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Poor baby, that's quite a lot of surgery and healing - and not located to one area. You did an excellent job keeping her safe while she healed. Glad to hear she is on the mend.

That photo of her shaved tail tip is so cute.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I understand how rough that must have been. Years ago one of my Maine **** cats had a crush injuty to her tail. I think it happened while playing with her sister on opposite sides of a doorway. Since cats very strongly work to hide illness and injury I didn't know she was so badly hurt until the tail needed to be amputated. For the first week afterwards the bandage was a tight vet wrap and she basically left it alone. After that the pressure bandage came off but the sutures had to stay for another week. We came home and within five minutes she showed me she could reach around the cone to try to pick the sutures out. It took two trips and eventually a jury rigged dog e collar to keep her from being able to reach the sutures. It made he horribly miserable not to be able to groom. In the evening when she was relaxed I would take it off to let her groom and as soon as she started to be interested in her tail I would pop it back on. I can't imagine how hard it was for both of you to do the canine version of that process.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

The most difficult part for me was those last 3 days tethered to her. She would pull and yank and twirl, all day and all night.

I have old and serious neck and shoulder injuries that my lovely chiropractor friend has worked very hard at making me comfortable and pain free. 

At the end of the 3 days I was hardly pain free and had a big sobbing melt down....HIGHLY out of character for me. Lots of tender skilled chiropractor care, ice, heat, cold laser, electronic stim, and cranial mengial relief treatments and some really nice hugs of encouragement from Dr. Gil, my close friend, once again has worked it's magic. I am mobile and painfree again.

It was my job, as a Mom, to keep Poppy safe and I am happy to have done so.

Now we can get on with teaching her to be a GROWN UP, at least part of the time.

I do LOVE that girl!

At times she wore a donut. She looked cute in it, but could reach ALL of her wound sites while wearing it. When I wanted her to sleep I put it on her and she would just go in a corner and sleep...worked better than drugs, which did not work at all. I think it just made her sad to wear it. 

She would eat and drink in the donut but would not or could not in the cone, so I tried to have her wear the donut most of the time. It also was a built in pillow for nap time.


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## Beaches (Jan 25, 2014)

Poor Poppy and poor Mom - glad that is behind you both.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

lily cd re said:


> I understand how rough that must have been. Years ago one of my Maine **** cats had a crush injuty to her tail. I think it happened while playing with her sister on opposite sides of a doorway. Since cats very strongly work to hide illness and injury I didn't know she was so badly hurt until the tail needed to be amputated. For the first week afterwards the bandage was a tight vet wrap and she basically left it alone. After that the pressure bandage came off but the sutures had to stay for another week. We came home and within five minutes she showed me she could reach around the cone to try to pick the sutures out. It took two trips and eventually a jury rigged dog e collar to keep her from being able to reach the sutures. It made he horribly miserable not to be able to groom. In the evening when she was relaxed I would take it off to let her groom and as soon as she started to be interested in her tail I would pop it back on. I can't imagine how hard it was for both of you to do the canine version of that process.


Catherine, it sounds just like what we went through with our tail issue. The first 10 days with the bandage were fine, but it was when that came off that we had the big issue. I know how difficult it must have been for to deal with your cat's tail issue too. We just do what we gotta do to make it work...even if it means being the "Mean Mom" for a short while. Poppy had LOTS AND LOTS of yummy treats and many short "loose leash" walking exercises to occupy her while we worked through it. Glad you were able to help your kitty deal with her surgery successfully as well.

Cathy


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Skylar said:


> Poor baby, that's quite a lot of surgery and healing - and not located to one area. You did an excellent job keeping her safe while she healed. Glad to hear she is on the mend.
> 
> That photo of her shaved tail tip is so cute.


Her cute little tail has a nice little regrowth of fuzz on it so maybe the hair will grow back fast. The rest of her hair grows incredibly fast so maybe we will het lucky here too. I miss her pretty plume! 

Most people about town recognize that she had surgery on her tail but one lady actually said " Why did you do that weird thing to her tail? It looks awful that way!" I just said, It's not weird, it's called surgery, and walked away.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

marialydia said:


> Thank you for the update. You both must be glad it's all behind you.
> 
> The tail hair will grow! And let's hope it doesn't bother her at all anymore.


i

Poppy doesn't mind if you handle her tail or rub it lightly so I think she'll be fine when the hair grows back. I think it must itch a bit because once in a while she licks it a little, but no biting.

When the bone was sticking out this winter it bothered her a lot in the cold and would just make her nuts when she came back in the house. Glad this is over for her.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

MollyMuiMa said:


> Poor sweet Poppy! Hopefully this will be the last of any more surgeries for quite a long time! Glad she healed without problems! I bet you are exhausted too! LOL!


I was quite exhaused at the end. After the last stitches were out Monday I went right to the chiropractor then home and we both slept for hours and woke up refreshed. I am hoping for NEVER any more surgeries, or at least some drugs to knock us both out during recovery...that did not happen this time!

We are both back to normal now....Poppy, crazy, me, a little less crazy than she is!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

pudellvr said:


> How horrible. Glad she is improving!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you! We are doing well and happy to have this over with!


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## chinchillafuzzy (Feb 11, 2017)

Poor poppy and poor you!!! After the tight wraps come off and the blood flow starts going fully the itchiness is horrible, I have experienced that with every surgery I have had. You are such a good mama to help her get through this hard time! 

Does your vet know why she had the bone issue with her tail? Was it just a problem with the way it was originally docked? For the repair did they just remove that last vertebre completely? I have had a dog grow back a few claw but haven't ever heard of this happening to a tail, it sounds so horrible!


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## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

So glad it's over for both of you, it's hard enough getting them through surgery and the recovery, but you had more than usual to deal with. Great job Mom!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

chinchillafuzzy said:


> Poor poppy and poor you!!! After the tight wraps come off and the blood flow starts going fully the itchiness is horrible, I have experienced that with every surgery I have had. You are such a good mama to help her get through this hard time!
> 
> Does your vet know why she had the bone issue with her tail? Was it just a problem with the way it was originally docked? For the repair did they just remove that last vertebre completely? I have had a dog grow back a few claw but haven't ever heard of this happening to a tail, it sounds so horrible!


It was an issue with the dock. The last vertebrae was actually split in half during the dock and then there was not enough tissue cushioning the tip so eventually the bone poked through the skin. She was about 7.5 months old when I noticed it. This was not always that way as I played with her tail all the time. My previous girl hated having her tail touched so I made it my mission for Poppy to be OK with me gently handling her tail. The dew claw poked through about the same time as the tail.

The vet took off the split vertebrae plus 1 more so that he would have plenty of tissue to close over the tip and cushion it, preventing it from making a repeat appearance. He even saved the part he removed, and the dew claw toe to show me. He knows I am interested in that sort of thing. I joked that I was surprised that he didn't show me the little uterus and ovaries too! He said, "I have them in a little jar if you really want to see them!" I declined.....he doesn't save body parts for everyone, just the weird ones like me! I have known him a very long time, we are friends.

I am glad that Poppy had a long dock on her tail to begin with. With losing only about a half inch it will really not be noticeable once her tail,plume grows back.

Dr. Shackelford and I wanted to do all of these proceedures at once so she would have one anesthesia event and one recovery event. Sparing her additional surgeries in the future. It was a wise decision. Now we can get on with life.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Caddy said:


> So glad it's over for both of you, it's hard enough getting them through surgery and the recovery, but you had more than usual to deal with. Great job Mom!


Thank you. I know you have had your share of doggie recoveries to deal with as well. Hoping for no more for you in the future!

Cathy


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## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

I am so glad to hear Poppy is recovering well. I know what a difficult and stressful job it is trying to keep a determined dog from getting to its wound (and those collars unfortunately don't always work, particularly for an intelligent poodle who can work out how to manipulate them...!)
You were so helpful and thoughtful with Gunther's recovery (we are eternally grateful for the Manuka honey tip!) and it sounds like you're doing a wonderful job caring for Poppy, she couldn't ask for a better mummy/carer to get her through this.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Poor Poppy AND you! I am glad you both are on the mend. The longest days are the ones after surgery, especially with a spirited, young poodle on restricted activity. Gentle hugs.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Viking Queen said:


> The most difficult part for me was those last 3 days tethered to her. She would pull and yank and twirl, all day and all night.
> 
> She would eat and drink in the donut but would not or could not in the cone, so I tried to have her wear the donut most of the time. It also was a built in pillow for nap time.


When Javelin had sutures near his armpit last November the ER vet gave me a hard plastic cone. He wouldn't/couldn't eat or drink or seemingly even think about peeing with it on so the next day my early morning trip was out to get a donut. It made him so much happier. It is a thing we should all have as part of a first aid kit I think.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

I think donuts were meant for short-necked dogs. Poodles have necks like a dragon... long enuf to reach around anything. 

I got lucky. When Tonka was going thru his 'don't touch' phase, he never seemed bothered by the stitches in his belly. Or by the t-shirt he wore for about a week.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Donuts definitely don't work if the no no site is near the back end of a poodle. You are right CB they are way too flexible and their necks are long. The only reason the donut worked was that Javelin's sutures were too far forward on his body to reach them with the donut. It is the more practical version of many of these things to put in a first aid kit too.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

UKpoodle said:


> I am so glad to hear Poppy is recovering well. I know what a difficult and stressful job it is trying to keep a determined dog from getting to its wound (and those collars unfortunately don't always work, particularly for an intelligent poodle who can work out how to manipulate them...!)
> You were so helpful and thoughtful with Gunther's recovery (we are eternally grateful for the Manuka honey tip!) and it sounds like you're doing a wonderful job caring for Poppy, she couldn't ask for a better mummy/carer to get her through this.


I could sense in your post about Gunther's wound that you were both frustrated and worried. I was so happy to hear that you tried the honey and that it worked. It was such a miracle for my friend Tom's dog. We both keep it in our first aid kits now. I told my vet about your success with helping Gunther heal and his face just lit up....he said that really gave him satisfaction to hear stories like yours. Poppy is mostly recovered and all we need now is fast hair growth on the tail!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Mfmst said:


> Poor Poppy AND you! I am glad you both are on the mend. The longest days are the ones after surgery, especially with a spirited, young poodle on restricted activity. Gentle hugs.


We are still not back to the dog park yet. It's just too vigorous right now. Lots of brain games to tire her out and lots of walkin & bunny watching....that's exhausting!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

lily cd re said:


> When Javelin had sutures near his armpit last November the ER vet gave me a hard plastic cone. He wouldn't/couldn't eat or drink or seemingly even think about peeing with it on so the next day my early morning trip was out to get a donut. It made him so much happier. It is a thing we should all have as part of a first aid kit I think.


I do think the donut is more tolerable. Poppy was panicky in the cone she would fog it up with panting and drool a lot and would pace endlessly. Not a good situation. I had to put it on her if I left her alone in the house, only 4 times in 10 days. With the donut, even though she could reach her booboos she just did not try. I think it just made her sad to wear it so she would settle and sleep. 

When I got ready to put the donut away I took the cover off to wash it. Although it did not look dirty, it was FILTHY! The water from hand washing it was nasty! Glad I thought to do that and grateful they made the cover removable....yuck!


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## Axeldog (Aug 29, 2014)

VQ - what a time you have had! So exhausting to deal with all of that day and night! After Axel had his neuter, even the highest dose of sedative had barely any effect on keeping him calm, so i can relate to that. 

She does look cute in her donut, doesnt she? If she could talk, I am sure she would beg to differ with that. 

Glad she is doing well, and things are getting back to normal!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Countryboy said:


> I think donuts were meant for short-necked dogs. Poodles have necks like a dragon... long enuf to reach around anything.
> 
> I got lucky. When Tonka was going thru his 'don't touch' phase, he never seemed bothered by the stitches in his belly. Or by the t-shirt he wore for about a week.


Besides the long necks they are also so bendy and flexible so we do need to be creative with them. I must say Poppy looked pretty good in her tshirt too!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Poppy did look good in her Manna Pro horse feed t-shirt from the feed store where I used to work.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Axeldog said:


> VQ - what a time you have had! So exhausting to deal with all of that day and night! After Axel had his neuter, even the highest dose of sedative had barely any effect on keeping him calm, so i can relate to that.
> 
> She does look cute in her donut, doesnt she? If she could talk, I am sure she would beg to differ with that.
> 
> Glad she is doing well, and things are getting back to normal!


Drugs did NOTHING to quiet her down.....hard to keep a good poodle down for long!


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

For Poodles, they need to make concentric donuts. Why doesn't somebody invent something like this for dogs. lol


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Oh wow! What a lot of surgeries. What happened to her tail? Well, I'm glad it's all over and she's well on her way to recovery. I think it was good to get those all out of the way at once too. It must be a relief to you. Best wishes for continued good healing.


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## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

Haha, yes that would be perfect countryboy!
Gunther wore the cone of shame for 2 weeks after surgery and it was bloody painful getting whacked in the legs by it every time he came near because he had absolutely zero spacial awareness or peripheral vision. He was like a huge walking lamp shade, poor thing.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Poodlebeguiled said:


> Oh wow! What a lot of surgeries. What happened to her tail? Well, I'm glad it's all over and she's well on her way to recovery. I think it was good to get those all out of the way at once too. It must be a relief to you. Best wishes for continued good healing.


Her tail bone was poking out of the skin on the tip. In cold weather it bothered her a lot, causing her to spin and try to chew her little tail tip. The last vertebrae was split in half during docking, so he removed that one and one more to create a tissue cushion for the tail tip so bone won't come through again. He did a very tidy job. 

Thank you for the good wishes. We are doing well.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Countryboy said:


> For Poodles, they need to make concentric donuts. Why doesn't somebody invent something like this for dogs. lol


Well, there you go, thinking up good stuff. Go apply for that patent now!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Poodlebeguiled said:


> Oh wow! What a lot of surgeries. What happened to her tail? Well, I'm glad it's all over and she's well on her way to recovery. I think it was good to get those all out of the way at once too. It must be a relief to you. Best wishes for continued good healing.


I really dreaded doing it, especially the tail part. I knew it would be problematic due to hearing horror stories from others. We are both glad it is behind us.

In a short while we are headed out to go shopping, go to some dog friendly stores, buy dog cookies, visit our groomer just for a quick "hello" and shop for spring pansies. We will do Poppy's least favorite thing and drive through the car wash too. Got to be brave, girl!

Colorado has had a warm winter, warmest on record and a very early spring. Fruit trees are in blossom 6 weeks early and it will be mid 60's today so we intend to enjoy the day out. Our city is very dog friendly so Poppy enjoys the same "fan clubs" at various establishments where Iris was also well known.

A year ago this time Iris was very ill and leaving me, slowly. That has been on my mind a lot lately. Iris left on May 16th and Poppy came May 20th. Very hard to believe.

I have a lot to remember and much to celebrate too!

Happy spring and happy Easter, everyone!

Cathy and Poppy


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Happy Easter!! both you and poppy went through a lot. I am glad you guys both are feeling better. You've put so much effort into her recovery and she was so brave!! Thank you for advice on Lucky's upcoming surgery. 


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

snow0160 said:


> Happy Easter!! both you and poppy went through a lot. I am glad you guys both are feeling better. You've put so much effort into her recovery and she was so brave!! Thank you for advice on Lucky's upcoming surgery.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Thank you so much for the good thoughts.

Without the tail issue the rest of Poppy's recovery would have been a breeze. I have had many dogs in my life and all have sailed through spay/neuter recovery with no complications. I am sure your boy Lucky will do so as well. I will be thinking of you when the day comes!

Happy Easter to you and your family as well!


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Wow, what a crazy 2-3 weeks you went through ! It must have been exhausting for you both. The constant stress of her trying to get at her tail must have been quite unnerving. I am glad it's over. You can now rest and enjoy the nice weather !


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

That must have been very hard. Our dog April had her dew claw grow back. It was a tough recovery with just her foot, but the tail must have been maddening for both of you. Gentle hugs.


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## Verve (Oct 31, 2016)

Wow! That's a tough recovery! When I neutered my boy, I had to switch to a larger cone and add tighty whities to keep him from licking his sutures. Those long poodle necks make a donut pretty useless. 

Just out of curiosity, do you know what method was used to dock the tail? 

I'm glad you have all that in the rear view mirror, and can just enjoy your girl!


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## MainelyPoodles (Jan 16, 2017)

I've been so busy and just catching myself up with poppys news! I am glad to hear that the surgery went well. The recovery days must have been so long, and I hope the worst is over and there is no more issues with her dew claw or tail. 

Best wishes to you both from brother Milo and I xoxo


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

MainelyPoodles said:


> I've been so busy and just catching myself up with poppys news! I am glad to hear that the surgery went well. The recovery days must have been so long, and I hope the worst is over and there is no more issues with her dew claw or tail.
> 
> Best wishes to you both from brother Milo and I xoxo


Thank you so much. Fully recovered, both of us, and all we need now is for the silly looking tail to grow more hair! Some lady today very cautiously said, "Isn't her pom pom on the tail done backwards?" I explained it wasn't a bad fashion statement, just surgery...we had a chuckle over that.

Here she is with the pop can with pennies that was supposed to scare her into NOT COUNTER SURFING! It's her new favorite jingle toy.....sigh. You can see her silly tail in the picture. She carries it proudly, regardless of the hair cut.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Yay I am so happy both you and Poppy are feeling better! Back to mischief with the can of pennies. Lucky is bouncier too. I hope Lucky and I are gonna be where you guys are now in a few weeks. Thank you for the update!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

snow0160 said:


> Yay I am so happy both you and Poppy are feeling better! Back to mischief with the can of pennies. Lucky is bouncier too. I hope Lucky and I are gonna be where you guys are now in a few weeks. Thank you for the update!


Lucky sounds like he is right on track with recovery. You are doing a great job with him. At least you did not have to deal with the tail business.... he also looks so cute in his shirt and socks!


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

Viking Queen said:


> Her tail bone was poking out of the skin on the tip. In cold weather it bothered her a lot, causing her to spin and try to chew her little tail tip. The last vertebrae was split in half during docking, so he removed that one and one more to create a tissue cushion for the tail tip so bone won't come through again. He did a very tidy job.
> 
> Thank you for the good wishes. We are doing well.


In some enlightened places, tail docking is no longer allowed. Hope poppy gets her pom-pom back OK.
Eric


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

ericwd9 said:


> In some enlightened places, tail docking is no longer allowed. Hope poppy gets her pom-pom back OK.
> Eric


I would be completely ok with a ban on tail docking and ear cropping in the US. 

Poppy's tail hair is growing back pretty quickly and I think before too long we will have a fluffy tail again. I felt so awful having to put her through the surgery and would not have done so for just cosmetic purposes. In cold weather, after being outside, it bothered her something terribly and she would try frantically to chew it to get relief. We were afraid she would chew it open or get an infection from chewing on it. 

We had a cold spell three days ago where our temperatures dropped below freezing and her tail did not bother her at all after being outside. I would say our mission has been accomplished and I am glad it worked as well as we had hoped. 

A friend's poodle had the same problem with his tail and he kept chewing it open. He did it 3 times and each time required surgery. That was a horrible ordeal which I hoped to avoid.

If the tails had been left natural to begin with none of this would have been necessary.


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## UKpoodle (Jul 22, 2015)

So glad you're both feeling back to normal. I hope Poppy doesn't drive you too nuts with the sound of the jingling can!


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

UKpoodle said:


> So glad you're both feeling back to normal. I hope Poppy doesn't drive you too nuts with the sound of the jingling can!



I used a baking dish with assorted spoons etc in it. When it falls it makes a scary noise and spreads them around. You must be there when this happens or the intelligent dog will find profit in the result after eating the reward.
Eric


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

UKpoodle said:


> So glad you're both feeling back to normal. I hope Poppy doesn't drive you too nuts with the sound of the jingling can!


Oh, I put all the cans away that first day.....could not reward her by putting jingle cans all over the counters. The first time she knocked one off and played wit it I put it back on the counter. She immediately took it off to play wi it again. Cans gone. She is a funny one. So far only thing in life that scares her is the car wash!


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

ericwd9 said:


> I used a baking dish with assorted spoons etc in it. When it falls it makes a scary noise and spreads them around. You must be there when this happens or the intelligent dog will find profit in the result after eating the reward.
> Eric


Hmmmm. Haven't tried this one. I did try the cookie sheets and pie tins on the counter. She swept them off, then pounced and played with them. She NEVER gets on or near the counters when I am present. Only if I am out of the room and out of sight.

She knows "leave it" and many other helpful commands, but as a teenager is currently ignoring ALL previously learned commands/requests.

We are set to begin an obedience class next week as I have exhausted most of my old tricks and need some new ones. Highly intelligent dogs can be exhausting at times.


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