The tail-less Rottweiler

"Is it possible to amputate the Rottweiler's tail now?" Mr Alfano asked as he noted the deep strangulated wound near the 4-week-old puppy's anus. The coccygeal muscles showed through the gap between the yellowish white skin edges.

"How long was the rubber band used?" I asked.  Rubber bands are used to dock tails of older puppies. The home breeder who sold the puppy might not be aware of this need to dock the Rottweiler's tail at a very young age, preferably at day 3.
 

"5 days," Mr Alfano replied.

The puppy had been licking this area for some time.

"It is possible to cut off the tail," I said. "However, the skin stitches will not hold together, since the area is infected by bacteria and is full of bacteria toxins."

Mr Alfano nodded his head.
I continued:  "Once the skin stitches break down, there will no more healthy skin to stitch. You will have to bear the responsibility for a big ugly hole in the tail for the rest of the dog's life. Will you accept this risk?" 

Mr Alfano needed time to imagine the complications.
 

Surprisingly, the puppy's rectal temperature was normal at 38.5 degrees Celsius.  I had asked Mr Alfano to enter the operating room so that he could see the necrotic tissues so that he would understand that any skin repair surgery would be unsuccessful.

"I can try to stitch up the edges of the strangulation wound,"  I said. "Dying cells are white-yellow in colour and the skin is melting away. This area cannot heal properly. Do you still want the stitching to be done?"

What would be Mr Alfano's response? He shook his head. He would not take the risk of tail amputation now. What was now the solution to this situation?  One solution was to stitch up the wound, using new skin edges.

He gave permission for tail skin to be stitched and a later surgery to dock the tail further away from the anal region.
 

Usually, the tail is docked at the area where the brown and black colours of the tail meet. This gives the Rottweiler some tail length.

At the present level, the Rottweiler would be tail-less as the rubber band had been placed too high up, too close to the anal area. I stitched up new skin edges as the puppy slept under general gas anaesthesia, unaware of the painfull tail.

"You've got to pray that the puppy will not die," Nurse Ann said as she clasped her hands together and looked at the ceiling.  Nurse Ann was a devout Catholic. 

Puppies do die of infection subsequently although this one looked strong on the operating table. Nurse Ann had seen numerous puppy deaths over the years. Canine deaths happen in veterinary premises all over the world. 

I had advised that the puppy be kept in the surgery for a day or two for observation. However, Mr and Mrs Alfano wanted the puppy home. There was no need to pray for divine help.

5 days later, the Rottweiler came with a shrivelled tail. Pus and hairs plastered the wound and all stitches had separated.

As the puppy had been on antibiotics, the tissues and muscles were fresh red. No bacterial infection. I anaesthesized the puppy and removed the dying portion of the tail. A white coccygel vertebral bone protruded from the exposed gap. There was insufficient skin to close this gap. What should I do?

Any stitching over the tail bone would definitely result in wound tension. The stitches would break down and there would not be a second chance.  Mr Alfano would not be so happy. 

I had to get new skin further up. I cut off the protruding bone so that the new skin edges could cover.

I needed 14 days for the edges to heal strongly. Would there be infection and pain?  A painful puppy would try to rub its tail on anything to relieve the pain and the neck's Elizabeth collar will be ineffective.  The puppy was not much bothered. It had fever in the evening and recovered. It had good appetite.

I asked his wife to care for the puppy at home to save further veterinary costs when she came to visit the puppy on day 3.  Low veterinary costs are much appreciated by pet owners all over the world.
 

The veterinary cost for two general anaesthesia and surgeries amounted to around $400.  A rubber band tail docking of an older puppy would not be costly but the puppy had to endure at least 10 days of a painful tail while the tail dies from deprivation of blood suppy and falls off.
 
Now, the Rottweiler puppy was alive and that was most important to Mr Alfano and his daughter. 


NOTE:

In 2003/2004, some vets in Singapore do not dock tails as they consider this surgery cruel. The animal rights activists have been asking for tail docking by veterinarians to be banned.

In the U.K, I believe that a law prohibits tail docking by any person other than veterinarians. Another law prohibits veterinarians from doing tail docking.  From the breeder's point of view, they have to do-it-yourself even if they don't want to! 

Recently, some Australian states appear to have banned tail docking and puppies imported to Singapore may have tails.

In Singapore, the back lash from the animal rights activists has not been strong enough to ban tail docking yet. 

Extracts from the
Asiahomes.com Book:
Apartment Puppies in Singapore:  How Singaporeans care for their puppies.
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS.

Buyers interested in this book to be published in 2004, email to judy@asiahomes.com or tel 9668-6468.