Ranger's Tale of Infection

We had an excellent hunting season this last year. I was able to really put some time on my hounds. When running them as much as I do, we are bound to run into health issues. This past season brought something I had never seen in my 40 years of running these little hounds. My favorite hound, FCGD Purnell's DeadRiver Ranger developed a bad infection in his tail. We see a lot of times that the end of the tail gets tattered by whipping the brush and most of the time is not a problem, other than some discomfort for the hound.

When we realized that Ranger had developed the infection, we were amazed at how fast he actually became sick. We followed our Vets advice and put him on antibiotics and crate rest but the infection spread fast. Our vet suggested that we bring him and he would dock his tail. Never in a million years would I have thought this simple procedure would lead to the work for us and the discomfort that ranger is feeling. We have to change his dressing once a day and make sure he doesn't pull off the bandage. Ranger is a very strong dog and the normal "one of shame? is no match for him. He destroyed 2 cones and ate the bandages luckily they passed and we do not need to get that mess removed. There is a plus of sorts to the situation. I am able to bring Ranger with me to work and make sure he is comfortable and not able to get the bandage off and further damage his stump. The top picture is a couple of weeks before and the one below is of him relaxing in his crate beside my desk. Sure is a huge relief that I can keep him right handy and make sure he is okay. I will say that Ranger is really enjoying all the pampering he is getting here at LCS!