My dog's tail bone is exposed and yellow. Is it an emergency?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Rex. From the pictures, I'm wondering if I can see a bit of bone there, and it may be his mother bit off the end of his tail. It could also just be dry skin. If he is eating, moving around, and is going to bathroom normally, this can wait until Monday. If he is not eating, is very lethargic, and/or isn't going to the bathroom normally, you need to take him into an ER vet immediately. Best of luck.

Hello. I am so sorry that your kitty was injured. Technically, this is an emergency because if an infection gets started in the bone, it can have serious consequences for her. It is very unlikely the tail will heal on its own, but I have seen this injury in feral cats & the tail tip can eventually just slough off. Keep cleaning the wound but do make an appointment with your veterinarian at your earliest convenience to have this taken care of properly. All the best & thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The skin will probably not grow back and the tail will probably go through a process of necrosis, which may put his life in danger. i strongly recommend taking him to the vet, the tip of the tail will probably need to be amputated.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Cali. Unfortunately this cannot avoid a vet visit. This will be very painful to her, and there are no OTC pain medications you can give her. Many human ones are toxic to dogs and can be fatal if given. She really should see a vet for this for pain medication, but to also make sure her tail isn't broken. Please take her into a vet now. Best of luck.

This does not look correct and in my opinion this needs to be re-operated on, i.e. the skin around the bone needs to be mobilised, freshened and stretched and sutured over the bone, or, if the bone protrudes too much, that last tail vertebra needs to be removed and the skin and tissue freshened up and sutured. This may heal by second intention ( by putting ointment on it ), but there is also a chance that it will not and that the bone will stay exposed, or that infection sets in.

Hello. I am sorry to hear that Chulbul is having trouble. If bone is present then you need to have the tip of the tail amputated. Any vet should be able to perform this surgery. Also, antiboitics and pain medications are needed. Exposed bone means exposed spinal cord, and infection can travel up this quite easily. Loss of appetite means that he may have a systemic infection now. You need to get him to a vet, and get bloodwork to check for infection and get the tip of his tail amputated and surgical closed up properly. This is not degenerative myelopathy. The signs of that are different, and are unrelated to infection.

It sounds like he has a degloving injury to his tail. If there is bone showing, then he needs to see a vet right away. This can easily get infected, and he will need antibiotics to prevent it. In a degloving injury of a rat's tail, the skin and tissue do not grow back, and the bone showing may need to be removed surgically. This will be painful to him as well, and he will need pain medications for it. I would take him into a vet now.