Why would a pug ...

... not curl his tail? Chamuco this time. I checked his back, his tail, his butt and nothing seems to be bothering him. But he's standing with his backside a little down and he won't curl his tail. Energy eating otherwise normal? Any thoughts?

Thurston does this when he is tired. I call his tail his "Battery Indicator". Tail's down, battery's low.

So he does seem normal. Even did a pugtona tonight. But at the same time, a pug mom knows. Something is off about him. Here's a photo to compare:


This is him last week:


This is him tonight.


See? Tell me I'm not crazy. Or I am. I already made an appointment at the vet (even though I can barely afford it). Still, he's insured.

This must be going around. I have a case of uncurled tails at my house too, Ichiro, and Skeeter. Sheesh!

Happens here, too. Hattie has a droopy tail whenever she's unsettled or worried (which is happening a lot at the moment as we have a house full of workmen, it's noisy, and all her usual snoozing places seem to have temporarily disappeared). Her tail is a hugely good indicator of her mood.
Poor Chamuco. Hope you find the reason for it.

Unhappy pugs, tired pugs, just plain out-of-sorts pugs or pugs with a sore back or sprained tail will all do this.
If there are no other symptoms at all, I would wait for a day or two to see it it corrects itself. If not, I would get it checked out.

He's cute either way!!

Puggered wrote:Unhappy pugs, tired pugs, just plain out-of-sorts pugs or pugs with a sore back or sprained tail will all do this.
If there are no other symptoms at all, I would wait for a day or two to see it it corrects itself. If not, I would get it checked out.

He's cute either way!!

I took him in anyway. Cost me $50 and the vet (who Chamuco is totally in love with by the way) examined him from head-to-tail and couldn't find anything seriously wrong. We're going on the "sprained tail" theory and watching him for the next couple of days. Honestly, y'all will think I'm nuts, but it scared the crap out of me. he always has that beautifully perfectly pug curled tail and it was scary to me that suddenly it lost its curlness. Thanks for your advice and info. I'll keep y'all posted.

Awwww. He's so cute. I would be worried about a lack of curl for any extended period of time, unless it was obvious why (eg tired, cross or whatever)

Snifter&Toddy wrote:Awwww. He's so cute. I would be worried about a lack of curl for any extended period of time, unless it was obvious why (eg tired, cross or whatever)

Yeah, me too. He's a very sensitive animal. The most sensitive I've ever been around and does sulk occasionally, when he's upset or spooked. But I've never seen him drop his tail in the way he's dropping it these last few days. Thus, the reason for the visit to the vet. Again, he seems normal but "grandma" is in town and no telling if and what she may have fed him or if she accidentally ran over him with her walker (she's getting used to it as she recovers from back surgery). Anyway, we're keeping a close eye on him. I'm just a silly worrywort like my Mom, only my "kids" have four legs, not two.

puglouie wrote:

Snifter&Toddy wrote:Awwww. He's so cute. I would be worried about a lack of curl for any extended period of time, unless it was obvious why (eg tired, cross or whatever)

Yeah, me too. He's a very sensitive animal. The most sensitive I've ever been around and does sulk occasionally, when he's upset or spooked. But I've never seen him drop his tail in the way he's dropping it these last few days. Thus, the reason for the visit to the vet. Again, he seems normal but "grandma" is in town and no telling if and what she may have fed him or if she accidentally ran over him with her walker (she's getting used to it as she recovers from back surgery). Anyway, we're keeping a close eye on him. I'm just a silly worrywort like my Mom, only my "kids" have four legs, not two.

See, I feel the same way. Any small change, and I get very worried. My Ichiro has had a droopy tail for a week or so. At the time, the vet thought it was a sprained tail, so we started him on some rimadyl. A few days later, he came down with an infection in his manly parts. So, I needed to just rule out everything. We did xrays and a culture. Not a thing came out on the xrays.

I'm still worried about him. His tail appears to be slowly getting better, but it still worries me. I am keeping a close eye on it.

Any updates on the baby? I tend to worry and agree a pug mom just knows when something is not right with their babies.