Kay, I'm sorry I didn't see this until now. The condition Kiara has is known as limber tail or cold tail. Dixie had this same thing happen to her several times when she was younger after long exhuberant exposure to swimming. It usually happens in colder water but it happened once from warmer water. In all cases it was after she had swam exerting lots of energy. Remember that dogs use their tails extensively as a rudder when swimming so the tail gets a major workout swimming.

My vet believes it is a mild sprain and informed me that sprains can sometimes be even more painful than breaks. He said he usually sees this in dogs with a thicker base. If you do some searches on the net, I'm sure you can find more information.

In Dixie's case she couldn't even sit without pain. She was most comfortable laying and it was very sad to see her tail just hanging there. She normally got a shot of cortisone to relieve the pain and reduce the swelling and then after about a week the tail was somewhat back to normal. After two weeks it is completely healed. It is frightening though because it isn't common and it gives no indication of what is wrong except the tail is just limp and the dog is in a lot of pain.

Please give Kiara a {{{{{BIG HUG}}}}} from me. She will be in our thoughts for a quick and complete recovery.

Candy