My dog's tail got shut in a door

Gosh Im so sorry to hear what your dad did to the dog.Do you have an spca or humane society that perhaps could help your family out with subsidised vet treatment ? I hope that the tail stops bleeding sounds like you're stuck in a very hard place and you obviously care about the dog very much. please stop thinking that it was your fault accidents happen hey it could have easily been say your finger so please don't beat yourself up about the situation big hugs to you and the dog Also even in my neck of the woods taking a trip to the vets is very expensive so you are not alone in thinking or saying that.I've worked out that in the last 3years i have paid enuff money to my vets to send them to South Pacific 4 times over and I am certainly not a wealthy human being. One last thing may be you could pay so much up front and pay the rest of the bill off it's worth a try keep your chin up ok

Hi Indie. It was the very tip that was injured, right? The rest of the tail is okay? I googled "dog tail tip injury". They really seem more concerned about injuries further down being more dangerous to the dog. But any will take a long time to heal because the tail is very vascular, like 6 months. Is puppy chewing on it? You need to prevent him from doing that, like with one of those lampshade collars. And they said to change the bandage every 2 to 3 days. I guess they know the dog isn't gonna sit still for it. Do this google if you haven't already, there is stuff written by vets and regular people you should find helpful and consoling.

Here's a thread posted by lizardlady and maybe one of these sites can help financially or by phone:

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=190094

Indie

I am so sorry that your father is being such a jerk (understatement, I know!) .

Let's try to work past blame and work towards caring for your dog now. Meaning: focus on NOW. You can certainly call the vet, explain the circumstances clearly and ask for their advice. Is coming in necessary? If so, would they be willing to take a couple of payments to make cost less shocking? If they aren't willing to take payments, where else do they advise you to take the dog? Are home remedies an option to reduce chance of infection from recurring?

Very best wishes sent to you and your dog, Indie. You're in my thoughts!

Thank you everyone My parents did end up taking him - only $65 rather than the $400 my dad anticipated spending. The vet said that these things are hard to heal, and that if it's not better in a few weeks, he might have to amputate part of his tail. But he wrapped up the tail, gave him a bottle of antibiotics and sent him on his way. Glad to know that it's not serious from a professional's point of view. Thanks again for the well wishes everyone

That's great ((Indie)) and I'm so happy your dog went to the vet. I pray his tail will heal without further complications. I know its frustrating how expensive vets are but I think $65 is very reasonable. Here in Canada (don't know if its the same in U.S.), the vets straight out charge for a physical exam and then any additional treatment...... $70 is right away charged, so $65 is very fair.

A year ago Bella had to have bladder stones removed and I was surprised because she was only 2 at the time. We had to do the surgery and it cost almost $2000. We don't have that kind of spare money so we arranged monthly payments. Two months ago Bella went and ate almost the whole package of gum, with foil wrapper on each piece and 3/4 of the package too. Most people don't know that Xyletol sweetener is toxic and we thought it was in the gum. It was after hours so we had to take her to emergency which is guaranteed more expensive. My husband really loves Bella too and he didn't hesitate a second to take her. Turns out the gum didn't have xyletol but they did have to give her a shot to make her throw up all the gum, foil and package.

Our pets are important members of our families and they're worth the expense. I hope his tail heals and I'm very relieved he went to the vet. I hope you feel better too ((Indie)). I don't know if your dog ever had to take pills before - I usually take some soft bread and smash it around the pill and act like its a yummy treat...you can even put a little peanut butter on it. You're lucky its not a cat you're giving a pill to which would be a major feat lol.

Thank you (((Lynn))) Yeah, this dog eats just about anything - especially when it's coated in peanut butter lol. Thanks again

Hi I am glad it didn't cost an arm and a leg to go to the vets.Your vet is quite right when he says they are notorious healers tails.I said in an earlier reply bout my dog jets tail having to be amputated.This was because :a)she kept hitting it on things when she wagged her tail and b) the vet we saw insisted that we did not require a head cone as jet wouldn't chew thru her bandage to chew the wound.Well how wrong the vet was and after numerous trips to get treatment for worse damage to her tail I began to notice ulcer like sores begining to appear futher down the healthy parts of her tail .Now not to freak you out I was changing the bandages and treating daily it began to smeel and look grey so we popped back to the vets where I lost the plot thank goodness mum was with me and we told the vets that the wound was turning grey and spreading It was then that the vets said "sorry" we will have to operate to remove the dead tissue well half a tail l8ta jet is happy and waves her windmill round and round love and hugs to both you and the sweetie of a dog Both my dogs send woof woofs to the dog

mel80 - thank God you noticed your dogs tail when it was turning a strange color - if that was left it eventually would have killed him - its gangrene. Its good you're sharing your story so Indie and her parents can check their dogs tail over the next few days and hopefully the antibiotics will prevent it from getting like that.

Yes sometimes all the medications in the world are not enough to fight infection sadly.Well when I started feeling ulcerated skin in the healthy undamaged flesh I really knew that things were starting to get very serious.When the vets did a temp check her temp was almost 40 degrees my gut just told me that the flesh should not have been the color that it was and the smell even with regular bandage changes I just knew things were not right.however like I said jet is now happy and fighting fit I love her dearly

Haha...my dad gave the dog his medication - big horse pills they are - with bread and peanut butter, and the fool just lapped them up like they were candy. Didn't even bat an eye. I bet he'd even have eaten it had we given it to him without the food. Wouldn't it be funny if he'd eaten the bread and peanut butter and spit the pill out?

Oh that's good your dog took his pill eagerly - dogs are usually easy with pills. My dog eats almost anything but for some reason she doesn't like her heart med, so I have to mush some bread around it. In my experience cats are the worst to give medication to - they usually act like you're trying to kill them and they get this super cat strength all of a sudden. I always had to have another family member to help lol. So good to hear this has a positive outcome ((Indie)).

The only way I can get little Amy to take her monthly flea tablet is in some soft chocolate.
Glad you dog got to the vet and is now on the mend!

I remember a few years ago one of my gerbils tried to run up a climbing tube as i went to pick her up, i only managed to grab her tail which in gerbils is not a good thing to do, she shed her tail, leaving me holding the hairy skin whilst she carried on running with only the bone on her tail!!!!! I felt awful.. neirly fainted with shock at what i had done, felt sooo guilty for weeks, I was usually sooo careful not to grab their tails, but this day it happened so quick. it was late evening so i bandaged it up and took her to the vet the next morning where he amputated it. the vet was great, very understanding and when he gave her to me after the op it was like nothing had happened, she was fine, the wound healed in a few days and although she was a little unstable when jumping or standing up meercat style it never bothered her at all. i think the scars were deeper in me than in her as i still feel guilty when i think about it and always err on the side of caution when handling my gerbils now.