Coccygeal muscle injury in English Pointers (Limber tail)

A condition colloquially referred to as "limber tail" and "cold tail" is fa miliar to people working with hunting dogs, primarily Pointers and Labrador Retrievers. The typical case consists of an adult dog that suddenly develo ps a flaccid tail. The tail either hangs down from the tail base or is held out horizontally for several inches from the tail base and then hangs stra ight down or at some degree below horizontal. Initially, the hair on the do rsal aspect of the proximal tail may be raised and dogs may resent palpatio n of the area 3-4 inches (8-10 cm) from the tail base. Most dogs recover sp ontaneously within a few days to weeks. Anecdotal reports suggest that anti -inflammatory drugs administered within 24 hours after onset hasten recover y. Less than one half of affected dogs experience a recurrence. Affected Po inters almost always have a history of prolonged cage transport, a hard wor kout the previous day, or exposure to cold or wet weather Most owners and t rainers Familiar with the condition do not seek veterinary assistance. In c ases where people are not familiar with this disease, other conditions such as a fracture, spinal cord disease, impacted anal glands, or prostatic dis ease have been incorrectly diagnosed. We examined 4 affected Pointers and f ound evidence of coccygeal muscle damage, which included mild elevation of creatine kinase early after onset of clinical signs, needle electromyograph ic examination showing abnormal spontaneous discharges restricted to the co ccygeal muscles several days after onset, and histopathologic evidence of m uscle fiber damage. Specific muscle groups, namely the laterally positioned intertransversarius ventralis caudalis muscles, were affected most severel y. Abnormal findings on thermography and scintigraphy further supported the diagnosis.