Abstract
Limber tail is a condition that typically affects larger working breeds causing tail limpness and pain, resolving without veterinary intervention. It is poorly understood and the disease burden has not been well characterised. Data collected from owners of the Dogslife cohort of Labrador Retrievers have been used to describe incidents and a case–control study was undertaken to elucidate risk factors with 38 cases and 86 controls. The cumulative incidence of unexplained tail limpness was 9.7 per cent. Swimming is not a necessary precursor for limber tail, but it is a risk factor (OR=4.7) and working dogs were more susceptible than non-working dogs (OR=5.1). Higher latitudes were shown to be a risk factor for developing the condition and the case dogs were more related to each other than might be expected by chance. This suggests that dogs may have an underlying genetic predisposition to developing the condition. This study is the first, large-scale investigation of limber tail and the findings reveal an unexpectedly high illness burden. Anecdotally, accepted risk factors have been confirmed and the extent of their impact has been quantified. Identifying latitude and a potential underlying genetic predisposition suggests avenues for future work on this painful and distressing condition.
Highlights
Limber tail in dogs is a condition characterised by a flaccid tail, often with a stiff tail base
The purpose of this study was to describe the incidents of limber tail reported to Dogslife and undertake a case–control study to elucidate the risk factors associated with the condition
The contribution of sires to the case dogs lies at the extreme right of the distribution and is significantly different from the randomly sampled distribution (P=0.0002). This case–control study demonstrates the utility of ownerreported information regarding illnesses that are often not presented to veterinarians
Summary
Limber tail in dogs is a condition characterised by a flaccid tail, often with a stiff tail base. There is no clear case definition for the condition and it is diagnosed on the basis of signalment (being reported in larger working breeds), the clinical signs and their rapid self-resolution, which excludes other likely causes of tail flaccidity and stiffness. Dogs often show signs of pain and distress when they develop limber tail, these resolve with the other clinical signs. Limber tail was initially described in 1997 in the Veterinary Record as “acute onset paralysis of the tail (frozen tail or limber tail)” with onset following “swimming in, or showering with, cold water” (Hewison 1997). The consensus was that the signs typically followed exercising in cold water and that they resolved after a period of as much as 10 days
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