The extreme tip of my dog''s tail got caught in a door and was cut off. It was the very extreme tip, just about 1/4 inch or less. It bled quite a bit but after being bandaged for a few hour it seems to to have stopped. (No indication of blood through the bandage). She's acting fine now like nothing happened and not really paying attention the bandage at all, but Im concerned she might pull the bandage off and start bleeding again. Also, is there a very good chance of infection with this kind of wound? Please Help.
Optional Information: Pet's Sex: FemalePet's Age: 3 Already Tried: Bandaged the tip of her tail with standard household bandage's. Im thinking the bleeding has stopped as I cant see any blood soaking through the bandages. How long will it take to be safe to take bandages off & the bleeding to stop?
could you please tell me did you clean the dogs tail apply any ointments or anything to the area before applying the bandage
I did not apply or do anything before applying the bandages because whenever she wagged her tail (she a very hyper dog) blood would get spread everywhere. So I just bandaged it asap to stop the bleeding. My intentions were to wait until tomorrow , remove the bandages, clean the area & apply some antibacterial ointment and re-bandaging if it was still bleeding.
You will need to trim the hair around the area. It would be better if you could do this today rather then tommorow, just place her in the bath tub so if it is still bleeding it wont make a mess.
The following basic wound care instructions are brief and easy to follow
If the wound is small, you can leave it uncovered; it will heal nicely on its own. Cover larger wounds with gauze pads and tape them to the shaved or clipped skin.
If your dog can't reach the wound, place some antiseptic ointment on it. You said he is leaving it alone so it will be ok to do this but just watch and make sure he is not eating or licking the area.To ensure fast and complete healing, follow up with a gentle cleaning once or twice a day. Use gauze pads soaked in some fresh, diluted antiseptic solution.
If the wound does not appear to be healing properly (if it feels hot or swollen, or appears to be more painful for your dog that it was at first), call your vet .
Your cleaning and caring for this area will be the result of an infection or lack there of so it is very important to clean this area.If you have any other questions please feel free to ask. I hope this has been helpful please accept pay and feedback.thank you bonus always appreciated dogfirstaid101
Experience: vet with local practice
Thank you very much for this information. You were a great help. May I just ask traditionally how long it takes to heal to the point we dont have to be concerned with the wound reopening and bleeding again? Thanks again Jay and Tar & especially Koda :)
I can not really say how long without seeing the wound but i would say give it an hour or two and then try and change the bandage.