Small Tail cuts

[freakier_darkali]

My 1yr old Collie has just caught his tail in a door that slammed. He has got a small cut not on the tip of his tail but quite close to the end on the under side of it that looks like a chunk of skin has been taken off. It bled a fair amount. We have cleaned it up with some warm water and stopped the bleeding.
Does this type of injury need to be bandaged up? Or is it best to just keep an eye on it and leave it to try and heal itself before getting involved?
He doesn't seem bothered by it at the moment pain wise and has only licked it once or twice so far.
Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks.
ALi

[freakier_darkali]

Thanks, he is all bandaged up in a self adhesive bandage. He is being so good with the bandage not trying to rip it off or anything. Fingers crossed.
Thank you so much for your help.
Ali

[Ghilly]

If he's knocking the scabs off you might want to figure out a way to pad it and wrap it until it heals over, otherwise it could develop into a nasty summer sore in this weather.  The hot weather is coming and if you cannot get it to stay closed there's all kinds of problems that can occur, not the least of which is a summer sore that refuses to heal because flies are keeping it open.  Flystrike can make chopped meat out of the area around a wound so you want to make sure this doesn't happen.

Ghilly

[freakier_darkali]

I have just checked his tail and the scabs are reopening I have washed it. Do you think I need to put a bandage on, to nip this in the bud before it becomes an issue?
Thanks

[freakier_darkali]

Hi thanks for your reply. He does wag his tail a lot but it seems to have scabbed over nicely now and we have been washing it with salt water gently every day to keep it clean.
So far so good, keeping our fingers crossed!
Thanks again
Ali

[Ghilly]

The most important thing with this type of injury is to prevent him from constantly re-injuring it by wagging his tail and whacking it on things.  Unfortunately, this is also one of the most difficult things to prevent, especially if he's a happy, demonstrative dog!  If he's anything like my 6 month old collie, the tail is moving CONSTANTLY!  

As long as the bleeding has stopped, keep a close eye on it to make sure there are no signs of infection and I think he'll probably be back good as new in a short time.  If he keeps re-injuring it, you will need to involve the vet to make sure it finally heals completely.  Please keep us updated as to how he is doing.

Ghilly