Buster Has A Very Sore Tail Pocket

Alice Kable · Nov 18, 2014

Yesterday when I had Buster out for his afternoon walk he hunched up to poop and I caught a quick look at a bright pink area under his little nubbins of a tail. When we got back inside the house I cleaned his bum with an unscented baby wipe and noticed some red bumps. I tried to get up under his tail, but he kept it clamped down really tight. I called the vet and that's where we went at 8 am this morning. The vet, with a tech holding Buster, had trouble getting into the pocket and when he did the whole county heard Buster squeal! We quickly determined that I wouldn't be able to keep his pocket clean as long as he hurt so much. He started him on an antibiotic and I'll take him in every day this week to get it cleaned and a topical applied, About 3 months ago he started doing this bouncy dance while sitting on his bum; I thought it was his anal glands and took him in to have them checked and they were fine. So, an angry, itchy, sore tail pocket is what caused his bouncy bum dance. If this is a chronic problem we will have surgery on his little tail!

Jakeyjake · Nov 18, 2014

Awww poor Buster's lil bum:sorry:

Cbrugs · Nov 18, 2014

Poor Buster!

2bullymama · Nov 18, 2014

OUCH... poor Buster. Good luck with it, hope it clears up fast

Tgirl · Nov 18, 2014

Poor baby.

Schimpfy · Nov 18, 2014

OUCH poor Buster as of yet Chance has no tail pocket - knock on wood but guess i need to check if one develops
Hoping it works out and Buster cooperates with treatment and cleaning

mhuinker · Nov 19, 2014

Aww, poor little Buster bum.

Hope it clears up soon for the poor little boy!!

Squishy Walnuts · Nov 19, 2014

Poor Buster.

I hope it heals up soon!

nikki86 · Nov 19, 2014

Zeta has a tail pocket too and it's imperative to clean it no less than twice a week or you will end up having to the the tail removed and it's $1800-$2500

shortstuff · Nov 19, 2014

Bisou has absolutely no tail to speak of, just a little spot where the fur is slightly longer, and you can sort of feel a little bumb... how can I tell if she has a pocket? I tried to Google photos and only found pictures of little puppy butts after surgery

Alice Kable · Nov 19, 2014

shortstuff said:
Bisou has absolutely no tail to speak of, just a little spot where the fur is slightly longer, and you can sort of feel a little bumb... how can I tell if she has a pocket? I tried to Google photos and only found pictures of little puppy butts after surgery

This is a first for me. It sounds like Buster has a tail like Bisou and the problem is caused by no air circulation in that area. The vet cleaned it again today and applied a topical. Judging by the way he squealed it is still very sore. This is the best shot I have of his tail. He can't lift it up or wag it.

Alice Kable · Nov 19, 2014

Here are pictures of Mack's (R.I.P.) tail and Ruggles' tail. Mack could lift his tail so it was straight out even with his back. He did that when he was in "strut" mode. Ruggles can lift his tail too but doesn't get it up as much as Mack did. None of our previous Bulldogs had tail pocket issues but they all could lift their tails and get air circulating under there. I frequently wipe Buster's bum after he poops but because that little tail clamps down so hard I wasn't getting up into the pocket right below his tail.

davidh · Nov 19, 2014

Poor baby boy, hope his tail feels better soon.

blushy · Nov 19, 2014

Aw, poor guy! Feel better soon!

I watched the video via this website on how to find/clean the tail pocket, I found it on the homepage, and I checked isabelle and she doesn't seem to have one.

Hoping for a fast recovery & no surgery!

Alice Kable · Nov 24, 2014

Buster had his last scheduled tail pocket cleaning today. We're just going to watch him and bring him in if he starts doing his bouncy dance again. He didn't squeal today, but he sure said some bad words! He didn't want anyone touching his precious bottom. Fortunately, he doesn't hold a grudge, and was everybody's friend again after the exam!

2bullymama · Nov 25, 2014

Alice Kable said:
This is a first for me. It sounds like Buster has a tail like Bisou and the problem is caused by no air circulation in that area. The vet cleaned it again today and applied a topical. Judging by the way he squealed it is still very sore. This is the best shot I have of his tail. He can't lift it up or wag it.

that does look really tight.... Banks' is like that and it was a wrestling match whenever I had to clean it (daily) Daddy held her and distracted with treats while I did the dirty work. Cheli has a little cotton tail like a rabbitt - I'll try to get a shot of it tonight

Alice Kable · Nov 25, 2014

2bullymama said:
that does look really tight.... Banks' is like that and it was a wrestling match whenever I had to clean it (daily) Daddy held her and distracted with treats while I did the dirty work. Cheli has a little cotton tail like a rabbitt - I'll try to get a shot of it tonight

How often did you clean it?

2bullymama · Nov 25, 2014

Alice Kable said:
How often did you clean it?

Banks was daily, sometimes twice a day due to her allergies. Cheli I will wipe his little bum maybe once a week

bullmama · Nov 26, 2014

Ouch, poor Buster! Sounds like it was really inflamed in there. [MENTION=950]shortstuff[/MENTION] I'll do an article on tail pockets today if I can that will include a picture of where to find it.

bullmama · Nov 26, 2014

I just published an article for our information center about finding the tail pocket: http://frenchbulldognews.com/content/71-tail-pockets-french-bulldogs.html

Hope Buster is better soon Alice!