Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus.) to tie something, e.g. a tin, to dog’s tail.

1859

Bell’s Life in Tasmania 9 Aug. 3/7: It [i.e. a tin caught in a crinoline] beat on the ground with the same kind of noise as dog that is tail-piped.

2. (US) to follow closely.

1973

S. Ace Stand On It (1979) 111: I was tail-piping Hack and what neither one of them bastards knew was that I was the only one who didn’t have any brakes.