Why is my dog chasing his tail, lethargic, and losing tail hair?

Poor Tobias! Thank you for providing pictures of his back. This behavior is commonly caused by flea, and if he isn't up to date on his flea medications, I can give you a flea treatment program for him. First, I would give him Capstar. It's a one time pill that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes. Then follow up with a spot on treatment, such as Advantage or Revolution. This is a treatment that has to be used once a month. You will also have to disinfect the environment. Wash his bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. If Tobias is up to date on his flea treatment, then he could be suffering from allergies or mites causing his symptoms and I recommend taking him into the vet for an exam tomorrow. The vet can do blood tests and skin scrapings allergies and mites. Once the cause of the itching is found, the vet can prescribe the appropriate treatment.

Poor guy. I would be concerned about his anal glands being full, or him having a superficial bacterial or yeast infection at the base of his tail. For either issue, a quick vet visit should give him a lot of relief. Even if it started as a an anal gland issue, he may have caused a superficial infection with constant licking and now need a medicated bath or even oral antibiotics. I hope that helps and that he's back to normal soon!

Poor guy. This sounds like he may have a common condition called “happy tail” and likely injured the end of his tail due to hitting it on hard surfaces. Another possible cause is a fungal infection, but typically this causes hair loss as well. The hair needs to first be shaved to get a better look at the skin and also allow the area to be cleansed antiseptically and apply topical ointment or spray if needed. Oral antibiotics will also likely be needed if the infection is deep. This would be best taken care of by visiting your vet. Proper wound management is essential for wounds like this to heal well and since it is the tail area it already proves difficult to shave without causing further harm. Your vet will be able to do this quickly and efficiently and also be able to provide a prescription for antibiotics which is often needed for tail wounds to prevent the infection from seeping into the bone and causing further issues. Until you can get Louis seen, you can clean it with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water. Best of luck with your pet Louis and his tail wound. I hope this heals well soon! Take care.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Bentley. I recommend that he sees his veterinarian. He may have overly full anal glands, an anal gland infection or even a skin allergy affecting his hind end. The veterinarian will examine him and try to determine how best to treat him. In the meantime, place an E-collar on him to prevent him from licking the area. I hope this information helps!

Considering your description he is either try to defecate something (whose passage may be painful) or he has a problem with his anal glands (severe inflammation or infection). It is possible as well that the pain is coming from the lumbosacral area. Unfortunately without checking him, it is not possible to give you more specific advice at his stage (unless you send us more descriptions or pictures of the area). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

The most common things that could cause this behavior are flea bites around the back or tail, anal sacs that are full and itchy or infected, or a tail injury. You can check for fleas by combing the fur with a fine tooth comb. If you see fleas on the comb then give a bath and apply a flea prevention product. If you see him scooting I recommend your veterinarian express the anal sacs to empty the fluid and see if there is an anal sac infection. You can feel his tail and if there is a tail injury there will be one area that is more sensitive. Usually tail injuries will heal without treatment over a few days. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Savage.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I recommend a vet visit for Toby to assess the cause of his hairloss. Hairloss can be from allergies, parasites, endocrine disorders or breed related alopecia. Depending on what the veterinarian finds during Toby's exam they may recommend diagnostic testing to look for a primary skin disorder or bloodwork to check for endocrine (such as thyroid or adrenal gland) abnormalities. I hope this helps.