My 8yo Mix Breeding Losing His Tail Hair

[Diesel's Mate]

Hi, I know 8yo isn't 'old' but I think this is the best place to get some advice.

I have a Black clour Weimeraner?XPointer?XLab? who is a meduim size (36kg, bit taller than a lab) and he is losing his tail hair.

It started over a year ago, just thinning slightly from the tip to half way up. It didn't cause any alarm as it was not bothering him and not too bad. I just noticed that now (recent past 3 months) it has bald patches almost 2/3 way up. He has a thick coat, we wash him with Aloveen Oatmeal shampoo/conditioner and the rest of his coat is thick and soft.

He has arthritis in one of his legs already but I don't think pain is causing the hair loss. He is a really happy chilled out dog.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Edited to add: I just researched further and it's a cortisol and thyroid type issue.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Diesel's Mate

[harley]

Hi does your dog chew his tail at all?

Maybe a vet visit?

Good luck :)

[zeebie]

Had this problem in another dog and it was related to a skin mite which was around the base of tail and had gone along the whole tail with application of maleseb wash and antifungal powder it was sorted in around 2 months and then hey presto all this nice hair grew back