I am writing a book about a humanoid wolf (named Wolf. See what I did there?). Wolf lost most of his tail in an accident when he was younger. He hides the stump under his jacket to avoid being embarrassed by having a short tail.
Humans can walk without a tail. But my canine/human hybrid walks on regular canine paws, which are much smaller than human feet. Does Wolf need a tail to balance?
I'm sure in nature the tail has another purpose, but when the creature stands on two legs, the tail is good for balance. Either way, I'm not sure whether to say that Wolf has balance problems at some point during the book, or to say that he can manage because he's lived with it for years.
Here's the character design rough draft: