Hi there ~ my 4 year old male (undocked) Rottie has two sore patches on his tail.  He keeps nibbling and licking them which exacerbates the problem.  It's almost as if the sore patches are self-inflicted.  Both he and my Cocker were recently Frontlined as I'd noticed a few fleas on the spaniel.  My main question is whether it is worth getting the Rottie docked ~ he had to see the vet about six months ago with exactly the same problem (which wasn't flea-related).  He also seems to have a nervous disorder where he sits up straight, then drops his head and licks one front leg, then rocks to the other side and licks the other one (really not sure what brings this on!).  He does also seem to have sore patches on his front 'knees', although these are rough rather than scabby and bloody.

Can anyone advise whether it's worth getting him docked, just to avoid this stress that he puts himself through.  Thank you :-)

Would suspect anal glands. The leg may be rheumatic as may be the tail but I doubt that.

And no I would not advice docking just as I would not advice the cutting off of the leg, not that I am against docking but in this case there seems no reason too.

Sorry to seem dense, but I cannot see a connection with the symptoms and there being a problem with anal glands... could you elaborate!  thanks :-)

Depends on where he is biting his tail, as you did not say I assumed, which I should not have done, that it was near the root but if his back end is hurting then he could bite at anywhere on his tail or hind quarters.

Could just be that he has some sort of temperament flaw that causes him to lick and nibble when his mind is not else where.

I see you found fleas on your other dog it could be the Rottie has a flea allergy and it only takes one bite to set it off.

Oh I see.  His temperament is perfect, really, although he is very 'foot shy' (if you touch his feet when he's sitting or laying, he leaps up as if he's been shot!!!).  His nibbles are on the top side of his tail, about 6 inches down towards the tip.  The other is on the underside of his tail, about 6 inches from the tip.  I wondered if he felt a flea on him, then even when they are gone, he has already done the damage... although when it happened before, there were no fleas, which is why I cannot really make a strong connection...

Thing is fleas do not live on the animal it jumps on, bites and jumps off a goes lays eggs under the skirting or else where. If the dog has a strong reaction to flea bites then it will only take one to start the nibbling off and then the dog can get into a itch bite cycle.

Just been in the garden... literally just this minute.... and he's now got extremely stinky diarrhoea, like water...... now I'm worried!

Just wondered what your vet thinks about it? As in whether his anal glands need cleaning out as someone suggested, he has an allergy or he's picked up a behaviour trait he can't stop, like a bad habit.

Eltoro, it could be hotspots.  I believe rotts are quite prone to them and there is some thought that they may be linked to diet, in particular grains are thought to exacerbate them.  What do you feed your boy?

My rott had a few as a youngster as he was constantly at them chewing and licking and they started off as bald patches and ended up oozing then scabby and appeared to be really uncomfortable with them.  They seemed to appear from no-where and grew large very quickly.

We feed both our dogs Butchers tripe tinned food, mixed with complete dry food, a variety really... we try to vary it every time we buy a large bag.  They do have raw meaty bones from the butcher as well, usually as a treat.  I'll have to check the 'grain' percentage, and see if changing his diet helps.  I do think the Rott has a tendency for nibbling generally, it's just the thing with the tail is driving him (and us) mad!

my boy actually suffered from hotspots when he was on grain free and touch wood hasn't had one since he went on food with grains so he is bucking the trend.  Below are some links to threads with members here discussing solutions for hotspots.  http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/dogdiseasesh/a/hotspots.htm  this one gives info about what hotspots are.

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/113691.html
http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/125662.html

Thank you, I'll check this out :-)

Now we are having problems... Bob's been up all night (as have I) with dreadful diarrhoea, blood and poo all over the kitchen!  I've heard that a side-effect of Metacam is intestinal bleeding, so can only imagine this is the problem.  The vet advised giving him the pain relief to alleviate the painf rom his sores... and now we have another problem on our hands!  Does anyone know how long the side effects of Metacam last?

Think that if Metacam is to cause bleeding it is a relatively long term matter although diarrhoea can cause blood in the stools with no medication present - stop the Metacam and all food and see your vet again if the dog is at all depressed or unwell (apart from the Diarrhoea)

You say there is blood and poo all over the kitchen, which gives the impression there is a lot of blood, if this is so then the dog needs to see a vet. If the blood is just streaks then this is normal with diarrhoea and if you deal with that the bleeding will stop anyway.

I think a trip to the vet today is in order. You can only assume it is the Metacam in wich case he needs something different as it is obvioulsy not suiting him. You need to rule out the fact that it could be something else.
I also think you need a more definitive diagnosis on the tail problem. Maybe a referral to a skin specialist if it is causing him so much trouble. Aileen

One of my (Rottie) girls can't have Metacam, but it causes projectile vomiting rather than the other end. She's fine with an injection of Metacam, but can't tolerate the liquid "take home" stuff.

He's off to the vet today.  I've noticed more 'hot-spots' on his rear legs, so will definitely have to have a skin test I think.  He's very under-the-weather now, because of his diarrhoea, but hopefully the vet will sort this out.  Many thanks for all the advice.

Good luck and let us know how you get on. Fingers crossed they can find something to ease his discomfort..

good luck @ vets , fingers crossed x

Hello again ~ we've been to the vets (yesterday) and he thinks Bob has a stomach bug, hence the bloody poo & vomitting.  This could have been brought on by stress (caused by the scabby/itchy tail).  But he's had bloody diarrhoea for nearly 48hours that isn't getting any better.  Is this really just due to a stomach bug?  The vet didn't seem bothered when I mentioned the Metacam, and that ulcerated intestines can be a side effect....  What do I do now?  I can give Bob the antibiotic tablets, but he throws up water every time he has any so what's the chances of the tablets staying down?   Really don't know what to do now!

Hi , whenever my dogs have a stomach bug the vet gives Canikur tablets , they are brilliant . You can buy them without a prescription , I always keep some in my cupboards now just incase.

Have you tried some Pro-kolin? Google it and it should bring it up. Most vets keep it in but you will have to ask for it. If the V & D goes on much longer I would insist that you are seen again as dehydration can set in quite quickly. Did they give you any lectade or rehydration salts?

I now have a multitude of tablets to give him plus a kolin paste to bung him up.  The vet has said if he doesn't improve in 24 hours then I'll have to take him back in.  I still think it's a bad reaction to the Metacam.  Bob was asleep earlier and his legs were shaking intermittently, like he had cramp.  Will keep an eye on him tonight, as he's had 3 more bloody poos in the last 2 hours.  Keep you posted.

If it was one of mine who had that many bowel movements that are bloody i'd be sat at my vets waiting for a serious answer or tests to see what is going on.  My girl once had a stomach bleed (due to immune medication) and sicked up a lot of blood...my vets were brilliant and checked absolutely everything, even phoning me the next day to check all was ok...I was told all poo's to be checked and straight back if any were black or had blood visible.

I hope you get some answers soon but the best people will be the vets who should be helping.

It sounds like hes being given lots of medication! Just a thought but have you tried something called bionic biotic? its a supplement you add to their food, like a probiotic for humans. As lots of medication can really mess with the tummy, especially in rotts (mine always had a sensitive tummy)
I have used it with success for dogs with ongoing tummy problems, skin problems, hair loss etc and it does appear to work very well.

I may have missed it but have his anal glands been looked at yet?

When my oldie came here she'd chewed a permanent bald spot into her tail, and on talking to her old owner's ex it transpired that she'd been biting it until it bled for months.

Her anal glands were full to bursting and very painful, 5 minute vet visit and she's not chewed since.