My dog has a large wound with hair gone. Is it an emergency?

I am sorry to hear about Shelby. It is difficult from the photo to tell what we are looking at but it appears to be her hind leg? She most definitely needs to get to the vet right away- to the emergency vet if your vet is not open. This is a severe wound that has retracted and exposed the muscle beneath the skin. It will need to be thoroughly cleaned and debrided and sutured closed. I would taker her straight away. Best of luck to you and Shelby.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The pictures look like there is a small wound there. The wound looks like it might be from where a tick might have burrowed into Oliver's leg. I don't see any little spot to suggest the head is still present. There are many other causes for small wounds like this (other bites, dog fight bites, and self trauma if itchy). I recommend getting an E-collar to prevent any self trauma, and just keep the area clean and dry. Do not apply any creams. If it is looking worse, or has any green/yellow/cream discharge then I would go to a vet for antiobitics, otherwise just monitor. If it is painful you might need to go to the vet for pain management. It should heal by itself in a few days, if not, see your vet. Best of luck with Oliver.

From the pictures, the skin appears red and inflamed. It does look like it is infected. While this may not be a true emergency, I would recommend getting in to see your veterinarian very soon. Pookie will need the area shaved and cleaned up. Your vet may prescribe an antibiotic for this as well depending. Until you can get to your vet, you can keep the area clean and dry and use a mild soap and water to clean the wound. If Pookie is licking it, you can put on ECollar on her to prevent licking.

Oh my. That is definitely something that should have been seen if she was monitored for a few hours. Poor girl. I am so sorry, but I would highly recommend taking Holly in to an ER vet to have them look at this gaping hole closer to determine if this is going all the way through to the abdomen or has the potential to in the near future Also they need to start antibiotics right away and potentially close this area surgically with a drain in place, so it doesn't abscess. I am so sorry you are in this situation, but the best course of action here is to get Holly seen by a vet right away for proper wound management, before this turns into something more serious. Flushing this with betadine diluted 50;50 with warm water is ok to do tonight, if you can't get her in until the morning. Here is a website link that can provide you with ER vets in your area. http://www.vetlocator.com/hotline.php I hope that your fur baby Holly heals up soon! Best of luck and take care.

Ouch - poor pup! This wound looks quite deep, so yes - I would definitely recommend a vet visit. This may need stitches, depending on how long ago it happened, and your pup will certainly need antibiotics to prevent it from becoming infected while it heals.

This is a pretty significant wound on Nova. The top layer of her skin is missing and the black tissue (likely muscle) is dying (necrotic). I would recommend that Nova get checked out by a vet ASAP for proper treatment. She likely needs to be sedated to have the dead tissue removed so it will heal without infection.

This wound requires an immediate check up and possibly a stitch up as it seems infected and it is unlikely that will heal without immediate intervention. Proper disinfection and antibiotic treatment is required. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.