My dog's tail got shut in a door

Hi,
Today as I was letting my dog in the house, the screen door accidentally shut on his tail I thought it had just pinched the skin or pulled some hair....no. I found the very tip, skin and hair, on the back stoop.

I feel awful. It was my fault that the door shut on him. Now he's sitting here with a sanitary pad wrapped with blue painter's tape halfway up his tail to keep it from bleeding all over and to stabilize it. My dad said that if it's still bleeding tomorrow or looks infected, we'll take him to the vet. I told my parents that I'd rather take him now, but that was hours ago before I went to work. When I got home, I helped my dad change the dressing, and it was no longer bleeding. If we took him tonight, it'd have to be to the vet hospital.

Should we still take him in? My parents gave him half of a tylenol , and he's been lazy and sleeping ever since. I'm so worried, especially since it probably wasn't the smartest thing to give human medication to an animal.

((Indie'sOK)) - I'm sorry this happened and please don't blame yourself...this was an accident. I checked online and its seem okay to give tylenol but I don't know how much your dog weighs and its best to call the vet tomorrow. Its important not to over medicate to prevent liver damage. I also checked online for this kind of injury and found some advice. It say the wound should be cleaned and the hair surrounding should be trimmed gently. Antiseptic ointment should be put on the wound as long as he's not licking it - if he is then apply ointment and bandage in gauze. As long as the bleeding stops it can wait till tomorrow - if it continues to bleed then he should be taken to an emergency vet. Here's the info for treating a injured tail tip:

http://www.justanswer.com/pet-dog/2a...ught-door.html

these things happen it was an accident.Just make sure you have it looked at by the vet as 2 years ago 1 of my dogs had a similar accident and after 2 weeks of treatment i had to have half her tail amputatedI felt awful for such along time but jet got over it quickly and is a happy short tailed lab x Good luck

It was just an accident hon! Some good advice from Lynn.

How is your dogs tail today Indie?

Where do I send the gift for this unintended bris by an inadvertent moyel? (So if things don't work out at TH's...)

http://www.judaism.com/display.asp?nt=aaci&etn=GDFGF

Also, if the poor little guy develops gender identity issues from having to wear "feminine protection", remember, there's an app for that, here on PC!

HUGS & lots of biscuits to both of you!!!

Please do seek professional care as soon as possible. Dogs have nerves in their tails - an injury can be really painful, although dogs (like most other animals) instinctively hide their pain.

I don't want to scare you but I know a dog and a cat who both died after tail injuries and one of my neighbors owns a cat whose tail was permanently injured (and the cat barely survived) after someone viciously lifted the cat by its tail and swung it around.

An animal's tail is generally considered a barometer, so to speak, that indicates their response to every sight, sound, fear, excitement, etc. It's all about nerves and injured nerves are painful.

He's much better today, and the tail is covered with gauze and neosporin. It's hard as the decision to take him in really is not up to me.

Oooh... accidentally hurting your dog hurts you! I almost lost it when I thought I scratched my dog's eye with my fingernail when we were playing, but it turned out there was a hair in his eye and it wasn't a scratch. I also had to call the ASPCA poison control line once because I lost one of my pills and couldn't find it, and couldn't take the risk that he had eaten it. I called my vet and they were useless (only the intern was there) and I tried the pharmacy but they don't have information on dogs. Anyway, I understand how you feel, I was bawling on the phone with the ASPCA. Thankfully, the pill was a small enough dose to not hurt him, as I was on an odd prescription at the time. He probably didn't eat it anyway, but I couldn't take the chance.

Something you should know, though, it's really unsafe to give animals medication that is meant for humans.

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/acetami...ogs/page1.aspx

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/nsaids.html

Humans and other animals do not process chemicals the same way, so something that has been tested and found safe for people could seriously harm a pet. Always let the vet decide what medications they can take. Tylenol can easily kill cats, as they do not have the required enzymes to break it down, and it does damage to their organs. Advil can kill dogs or give them serious gastric, kidney and liver damage. Both animals can develop toxicity or bleeding from Advil, Tylenol, and Aspirin. Human drugs are not meant for animals, but some are prescribed in very small doses by a veterinarian on a case by case basis.

The number for the ASPCA Poison Contol Center is 1-800-548-2423. If your dog has eaten a pill that you've dropped, or if you suspect they have eaten a household chemical, these are the people to call. They do ask for a donation. Unfortunately, I don't have a credit card, and it's an American organization so there was no way I could give them any money, but when they realized I was bawling my eyes out they did me a favour. These guys are great.

I'm really glad your dog is doing better. I would still recommend that he see a vet just in case.

I'm really sorry about your dog. I was cutting a mat out of my dogs ear once and cut a chunk out of her ear by accident. Another time she got a big cut on her belly from jumping over a barbed wire fence and my husband wouldn't let me take hwe to vet until week later. By then took a month to heal. She's like my kid and I just cried and cried. I'll send positive energy to you your dog that all turns out well

likewater; Not being a parent my self, my dog is the closest thing to a child for me. If I don't do what's best for him, or if I do something that hurts him, I feel awful about it. It's that major sense of responsibility and care that makes it so hard to forgive ourselves.

My cousin had a scotch collie names Brandy, sweetest dog ever. Brandy was deaf in her later years, and I guess she was sleeping in the lane near the car and my cousin drove over her snout! It was broken, but after surgery and wiring, thankfully she made it through ok. My cousin felt absolutely terrible. I know several more people who have accidentally hurt or even killed their pets, and it's hard to get over.

Accidents happen, and it's always unfortunate. It's a sickening feeling to hurt something that is entirely dependent on you, and we are too hard on ourselves sometimes.

A year ago this past June I came in from a late afternoon doctor's appointment not feeling well. I ordinarily do not let my pugs use our doggy door without supervision - our backyard is only a few feet away from our den and kitchen (where we stay most of the time). Particularly in hot weather I have always watched to see they'd run outside for a few minutes and make sure they came back in. That one afternoon I didn't! I did not realize an insect, probably a wasp, stung my 11-year old Jimbo's right eye.

Later, after dark/at bedtime, I took Jimbo for a short walk and I guess I was too absorbed in my own concerns but I didn't realize anything was wrong with his eye. I kinda' thought, as we were getting ready for bed, he was squinting but, again, I missed an urgently important sign.

The next morning I woke-up to find Jimbo's eye TOTALLY ulcerated. It didn't even look like an eye, it was white/blue clouded with an opaque film. We got him to the veterinarian within minutes but the damage was done - Jimbo suffered permanent vision loss. He had scratched his eye all night including rubbing it on carpeting and he'd dug a hole to within one thin membrane of totally blinding himself; plus I know he was in a lot of pain.

It took three painful procedures and an entire year for the eye to heal, a couple of trips out-of-state to a specialist and probably $2,500 to save his eye, we could not save his vision...all because I missed seeing something I should have taken more seriously.

I've always been the neurotic, paranoid, over-protective pet owner...the one time I ignored something (the squinting), my pug suffered permanent vision impairment.

I hope we aren't upsetting Indie with these tragic stories, not that my early comments were any better. We humans ourselves don't get stitches for every kitchen accident, we evaluate the situation and make an educated guess of its severity based on our experience. Do we need Indie to give us specific measurements of what was left on the door so WE can decide? Or can we be supportive and maybe a little more cheerful? Hope the pupparooney's feeling better, and I AM sorry about my earlier comments, and also for the losses my fellow posters here have suffered.

I think the point of sharing these stories is that as pet owners, we all make mistakes, accidents happen, and we all feel terrible when something goes wrong. None of us is alone in that.

Queen: That's the thing about dogs, though, they instinctively hide pain. They make it look like nothing is wrong if they possibly can, and sometimes we have no idea anything is wrong for quite a while. It's certainly not your fault a wasp stung your dog, but we always feel guilty because we're responsible for their lives. Not a fun feeling. You obviously did everything you could once you realized there was a problem. And I'm sure that once he healed, he was still running around playing with his buddy in the yard.

visioneer, thanks for clarifying for me! (sorry to take up a whole box, I don't have the little thankyou on my phone!) sorry if I was rude / out of line / just not understanding / whatever?!
thanks!

Hankster: No worries!

Interesting and sad stories. Queen of ChaosI'm sorry to hear the tragic story of your pug who got stung on his eye - my God that must have been painful. Maybe we could start a new thread about our pets. I know my dog Bella has had numerous 'eating the wrong thing escapades' - most recently (2months ago) she ate 3/4 pack of gum...foil wrapper and package - we had to take her to the vet ER.

Indie - I hope you or your parents have removed the bandage and looked at the wound to rule out infection. It should be disinfected again and more polysporin should be put on it.

I'm sorry if I upset anyone. All I've ever known in all the years I've been online was sharing true personal experiences on forum-style websites. I wouldn't deliberately upset anyone for anything in the world but I can't pretend I don't see a significant danger and not express what I sincerely believe. I honestly can't be cheerful about any injured animal until I know they're improving.

I don't think you upset anyone here (((Queen of Chaos))). Its natural to share your own stories and be concerned.

Queen: No, don't worry - you didn't upset me at all I'm not mad at anyone. Thanks for sharing everyone, and for caring. My dog is doing the same as usual - normal. He's acting like himself, so I'm assuming that's good. We're going to change the bandage again tomorrow to see how it's doing.

When my parents first gave him the ibuprofen, I asked whether or not it was safe, and they said yes because he weighs about as much as a small human (120lbs). Seriously? His weight doesn't matter so much as the fact that he's a DOG and dogs metabolize stuff differently than humans do. Well, he must be ok because it was about 2:30pm Friday that they gave him the pill, and he's been fine ever since, given the situation.

Indie, first off - please be kind to yourself. What happened was an accident. You didn't intentionally slam the door on his tail. I When our furbabies are hurt it's upseting an scary, but not your fault.

I'm with lynnP about the injury. Check and see how the wound looks. If it's healing OK, no swelling, heat or redness he probably doesn't need to see the vet, BUT if you think the vet needs to see him by all means take him in. Just like we can't give someone mediacl advice on-line we can't give vet advice either. Come Monday morning, if you aren't sure about going to the vet why not call the office and see if they think you need to take hime in?

He's not getting any better......my asshole dad started yelling at everyone and kicked the dog when he wouldn't hold still...it started bleeding again and he says he's not going to take him to the vet. I'd like to kick him so that he feels like the dog does.....he's going to die and it'll be my fault. My ******* fault. Always my ****ing fault..

Why the **** are vets so expensive anyway? Are the rich only intended to have pets?

((((((((((Indie)))))))))))))))

It isn't your fault. You made a mistake. At this point it is the decision of your parents, not you. We know you care about your dog very much. It is so clear from your post.

I'm sorry (((Indie))) - this must be so upsetting and I'm upset just reading what happened. I know vets are very expensive. What does your mom say? Would she be willing to go above your dad's head and take your dog tomorrow?? I know you're working and maybe you could offer to pay for the vet bill. Kicking a dog in animal abuse and your dog didn't want to stay still because his tail is in pain. I feel so sorry for you and your dog.

Oh, I am sorry it has turned out this way. I hoe something works out so you can take him to the vet.