My dog's tail is thinning and body hair isn't growing. What's wrong?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. The hair is expected to grow back when the allergies and infections resolve. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If the hair is growing back in the area, the original problem has likely resolved. It could have been from an allergy that caused Buddy to chew the hair off of the tail. This could also be due to a skin infection, skin parasite or hormonal disease causing the hair loss. I would monitor this for now and if it does not resolve or if it worsens, I would have a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please remember to rate this answer as helpful or not. Thank you!

Poor Marley! Slow regrowth of hair on certain parts of the body can often be caused by hormonal problems such as hypothyroidism or Cushing's disease. Your vet can run some simple blood tests to check for these problems, so I would suggest having this done when you are able to - these are very treatable issues once a diagnosis is made :) In the meantime, if he isn't having any other symptoms at all, you could also try an omega-3 fatty acid supplement such as Welactin to help promote healthy skin and hair - sometimes this can help if he's otherwise doing fine.

This can be from an injury, scratching from fleas or an allergy, or may be due to her being hypothyroid. Low thyroid levels can cause dogs to have a rat tail look. I would check her for fleas, see if she’s scratching or rubbing the area due to allergies and consider getting a thyroid panel done to see if she is hypothyroid. If her thyroid level is low which is common in older dogs, then there is a daily supplement that will get the levels back to normal and the fur should fill in on the tail. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Daisy.

She may have an endocrine disease, such as hypothyroidism (her thyroid gland isn't working right) or Cushing's disease (her adrenal glands are releasing too much cortisol). I would recommend you get her in to a vet so he or she can examine Poutchi; if the vet suspects a problem, he or she will recommend running some blood tests. I hope thats helpful for you! Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is difficult to say for sure what the problem is based on the picture you provided alone. The thickening of the skin could be due to a skin mite such as demodex, a skin infection or allergies. To rule out the various potential causes, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Mia so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I would be happy to help you further.

Hello and thank you for using our consultation service. dogs that are his age and breed can sometimes get conditions or diseases that can cause all of the dermatological symptoms you are experiencing. Some of the possibilities include shedding, food allergies, breed specific pattern baldness, flea bite dermatitis, ringworm, etc. In order to find out exactly what is going on, you need to have your local veterinarian do a complete physical examination as soon as possible before this gets worse. Your vet will want to do some testing such as a skin scrape, ringworm culture, bloodwork, etc. so that they can make a correct diagnosis. Although this certainly could be considered shedding, it is fairly unlikely because there are patches missing in different places. Therefore, this is most likely a condition or disease that needs to be diagnosed by a veterinarian. I hope I have provided you with the answer you needed. Have a great day.